The inaugural Ruth Wales du Pont Collegiate Composition Competition was open to college students from around the US. After a rigorous audition process, six finalists in classical and pop music were chosen and their works will be heard on Sunday. There, a panel of judges –including me, and powerhouses Dr. Erin Busch, and Georgia Still–and … Read More
You probably remember cellist Tommy Mesa and pianist Yoon Lee recently performed my work Pas de Deux in Washington, DC and Hattiesburg, MS, well I’m excited to report that Tommy was on the recipients of the very prestigious a 2025 Avery Fisher Career grant. He joins an illustrious group including Yuja Wang, Gil Shaham, James … Read More
Sweet Stillness is a seven minute plea for peace, kindness, and grace through humility. The music creates a neutral space to contemplate, center, feel, and extend grace to one another in a world currently full of darkness and strife. The work is dedicated to Dr. K. M (Kay) Knittel “who still lights the world around us.” … Read More
This Saturday night, April 26th I’m giving a Fairfax Symphony Orchestra preconcert talk introducing Mahler 5. 70 minutes of intense, extraordinary, and meticulously crafted music. It’ll be a blast and I can’t wait to hear what Chris Zimmerman does with the orchestra!
I have been asked to host and help create a new series of informal post-concert conversations “And In Closing…” with the Fairfax Symphony’s Music Director Chris Zimmerman and added guests from different artistic disciplines. Instead of doing the usual concert/repertoire-specific talks, we aim to create a sense of community with the orchestra’s thriving audience and to … Read More
As you know my website motto is: Constructing thought, one note at a time. I came up with this it seemed to comprise the many things I do: composing, speaking, teaching, writing, and thinking about music. I love being in the thick of things. So, it’s been a bit since I’ve constructed thought one WORD at a time, … Read More