Three States of Water to premiere

Three States of Water, a piece for three flutes, will be premiered at Mannes College of Music, 150 West 85th Street, on Tuesday, May 15 at 8pm. The concert is being presented by the Mannes College Extension Division Flute Ensemble, under the direction of Mary Barto. Aki Kasuga will be featured in this performance. The concert is free and open to the public.

Another Reading Performance

Under the auspices of the New York Composers Circle, a late draft of my new piece was given a reading last night. This art song is based on the Rilke poem "Ich bin, du Angstlicher." The superb performers were soprano Sofia Dimitrova and violinist Stanichka Dimitrova. (Yes, they are sisters.) In this pic, Victor Frost is obscured but is indeed playing the piano. Look for an October 2007 premiere of the completed version of this piece. (Click image for larger size.)

Thought for the Day

I know a musician from Iran who came to study music in New York. He was very interested in classical music of (what we call) the Western world. And he said something once I'll never forget: "Western music is the only music concerned with harmony." (Thanks, Hafez!)

I thought about this as I was reading about the Chinese composer Huang Ruo. In the article, he said,

"In China, we never talk about ‘in tune’ or ‘out of tune.’ I think it’s a very Western thing.”

Just some things to think about.

Tim Gunn on Theory

Years and years ago I worked at Parsons School of Design in New York, where I got to know Tim Gunn. Tim Gunn has gone on to become quite famous from the television show "Project Runway." So when there was a large feature article about him in the New York Times yesterday, I read with interest.

He recently left Parsons to accept a position with Liz Claiborne. Of this move, and the changes from academia to the business world, he said,

“I’ve been living in a rarefied bubble, really, for a total of 29 years. Because we were dealing with theory, we could write our own scenarios, where nothing ever fails and nothing is ever lost in the shipping process. It’s a very different universe.”

Aha! Theory! Theory can really get in the way, can't it? For creativity to work, you've got to get your feet wet, get a little rough-and-tumble, mix it up (and all those other cliches). Theory is safe and know-able. With creativity, you've got to be willing to get a little messy and see what happens. Every once in a while something will "get lost in the shipping process", but always be willing to look beyond the "rarefied bubble" of theory.

Stella Trio plays Amelia Asleep

The New York Composers Circle presented an informal reading of works by NYCC composers on March 29, 2007. A piece I wrote, "Amelia Asleep" (from my forthcoming Three Dog Suite) was played by the Stella Trio. Although this was only a reading, the musicians were superb. Here's a pic of Jannina Barefield, violin, Monica Chung, piano, and Laura Metcalf, cello, performing the piece. (Click image for larger size.)