Performance: “Those I Fight I Do Not Hate”

July 17th, 2011

“Those I Fight I Do Not Hate” is a work by my friend and Big Robot co-conspirator Jordan Munson, composed for bodhrán, electronics, and video.  Both of us made the trek across the pond to the UK in early August for two performances of the piece (me-bodhrán; Jordan-video and electronics) at the 2011 International Computer Music Conference» Read the rest of this entry «

New John Luther Adams Release: “Four Thousand Holes”

July 17th, 2011

I have had the opportunity to work with John Luther Adams on performances and recordings of his music since 1997, and as such, preparing Four Thousand Holes has been a homecoming for me.  To quote Jim Fox of Cold Blue Records, “Four Thousand Holes is a sometimes lush, sometimes fragile, rhythmically complex and technically demanding work for piano, mallet percussion and ghostly electronic “auras”—electronic sounds created by processing the acoustic instruments’ sonorities”. » Read the rest of this entry «

Percussion at “Sick Puppy”

July 15th, 2011

Sick Puppy Percussionists from left: John Andress, Gary Donald, Stephen Drury, Scott Deal, Stuart Gerber, Cory Bracken, Dave Tarantino, Jeff Kolega, Sayun Chang, Ryan Packard, Christian Smith. Not pictured: Jeffrey Means.

The New England Conservatory Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, affectionately known to its participants as “Sick Puppy” was held at New England Conservatory in Boston June 18-25.  SICPP is an 8-day immersion into new and experimental music for advanced and professional musicians. SICPP began in the 1990’s when Artistic Director Stephen Drury, himself a concert pianist who specializes in new music, decided to create a contemporary music performance seminar for his advanced students.  In the 2000’s Drury, gradually began to add composers, percussionists, vocalists and instrumentalists. It has now grown to include an Ensemble Program, an Electronic Music Workshop, and the New Works Program, which is a workshop where composers have the opportunity to study with the Composer-in-Residence (this year, the French composer Tristan Murial). » Read the rest of this entry «