More awards and accolades for Light As Paper!

More awards and accolades for Light As Paper, the beautiful and evocative short film created by my friends and collaborators at Evolve Puppets (Tanya Khordoc and Barry Weill). First it was a selection for the 2021 Vienna International Film Awards, and now selected by Animovies Festival of Animated Objects. Light as a Feather uses excerpts from my chamber piece Pas de Deux (for cello and piano) as its score. You can catch it streaming through April 30 ANIMOVIES: LIFE IS A JOURNEY package, part of the Festival of Animated Objects!

Joel’s latest Stanford Beatles course: Abbey Road & Let It Be! 2/5/22

My next Beatles class , MUS-05 The Songwriting of The Beatles: Abbey Road and Let It Be, will be offered through Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program (CSP) starting February 5th. So much new info to discuss and digest: the deluxe 50th Anniversary package releases of Abbey Road and Let It Be, and of course Peter Jackson’s monumental The Beatles: Get Back documentary series. MUS-05 will be a virtual online course via Zoom videoconference held on 4 Saturdays: February 5, 12, 26, & March 5, 2022 from 10 AM-12:30 PM PST. Reminder: while this is a Stanford CSP course anyone can register, and the silver lining of a virtual course is… you don’t even have to leave your house to attend. The Beatles from the privacy of your living room? Yes, indeed! Over the past two years I’ve had people register not only from across the country, but even from as far away as Moscow. You can register HERE. [Future Tease: look for an all-new Sondheim course this spring at CSP!)

Tags | music, songwriting, Standford Univeristy, Stanford Continuing Studies, The Beatles, Rock, Beatles, Let It Be, Get Back, Abbey Road

World Premiere of Uncle Hokum’s Fiddle for 2 violins Pt. 2

At the request of my friend and violinist-violist-composer-tech guru and all-around badass Karen Bentley Pollick I wrote a 2 violin version of Uncle Hokum’s Fiddle (think Wieniawski meets Orange Blossom Special!) that will receive two performances in Mexico this month, this one on Virtuosos de Cámara’s Fiddle Fest in Puerto Vallarta. The amazingly versatile violinist Philip Brezina will be a one-man rhythm section supplying chop ‘n’ groove. I will post links for video and how to purchase the score soon. Virtuosos de Cámara’s YouTube channel can be found here. Details:

Tags | Karen Bentley Pollick, Philip Brezina, violin, fiddle, violin duet, fiddle music, Uncle Hokum's Fiddle

World Premiere of Uncle Hokum’s Fiddle for 2 violins Pt. 1

At the request of my friend and violinist-violist-composer-tech guru and all-around badass Karen Bentley Pollick I wrote a 2 violin version of Uncle Hokum’s Fiddle (think Wieniawski meets Orange Blossom Special!) that will receive two performances in Mexico this month, this one on Virtuosos de Cámara’s concert at Entre Amigo’s in San Pancho. The amazingly versatile violinist Philip Brezina will be a one-man rhythm section supplying chop ‘n’ groove. I will post links for video and how to purchase the score soon. Virtuosos de Cámara’s YouTube channel can be found here. Details:

Tags | Uncle Hokum's Fiddle, Karen Bentley Pollick, Philip Brezina, violin, fiddle, violin duet, fiddle music

LIGHT AS PAPER: an Official Selection by the 2021 Vienna International Film Awards

I’m pleased that my friends and collaborators at Evolve Puppets‘ beautiful live-action, wordless puppet film LIGHT AS PAPER has been named as an Official Selection by the 2021 Vienna International Film Awards in the category of Best Experimental! Music from my cello-piano piece Pas de Deux forms the score to this lovely work.

Joel’s the Expert for QOTD (Question Of the Day)!

A little while ago I sat down with friend/collaborator Murray Horwitz and we talked about one of my favorite subjects: The Beatles. Well, the early Beatles. Wait, the really early Beatles. No…  before they were Beatles, as in the Quarrymen. This time it was for The Question Of The Day created by Sarah Andrew Wilson & Joel Wilson of matchbox.io! Check it out: HERE.

Four By Sondheim At Stanford!

Guest Lecture at Chapman U!

This Monday night I’m giving a Beatle talk at Chapman University to my dear friend and ex-colleague Daniel Alfred Wach’s orchestra class! Daniel and I taught together at Swarthmore all those years ago. We’re gonna work our way up to… Tomorrow Never Knows. Yummy.

Happy Inauguration! My new song “Right In Front Of our Nose!”

Violinist Stephanie Chase Interviews me for Stay Thirsty Magazine!

Dear friend, and violinist extraordinaire, Stephanie Chase interviewed me for this month’s edition of Stay Thirsty Magazine. You can find it HERE!