Above are a few pages of sketches and notes from the making of Mint Conditioner for double bass and electronics – signed, sealed and delivered (several weeks ago) to exceedingly awesome bassist Logan Coale. True to the title, this piece starts out a tangled ball of knots, and by the end rinses out smooth and silky!

About three-quarters of the way through the work I learned of the illness and impending death of a family member. That news and the events surrounding it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t bring myself to write a single dot. Apparently grief is my musical Kryptonite.

I know this is probably the case for many people – death and the grief that goes with it is paralyzing for anyone. Although I wasn’t able to write music, and I had very little interest in listening to music, I found that playing the piano – simply noodling about on the keyboard – was very centering. Perhaps the act of playing music freely, without any expectation, censoring or the need to “produce” something, is housed in a different department of the brain?

A good friend asked if I turn to music when life gets rough, and evidently the answer continues to be yes. But when things become really complicated, the musical experience turns in a slightly different direction.

What helps you find your way through challenging life changes and events?

SO MUCH WORK! Why on earth do you put yourself through this?!

I have asked myself the same thing more than once! The answers are always the same.

1. Because I HAVE to – nothing else feels satisfying in quite the same way that composing does.
2. Because composing music is fun!! Duh!
3. The best reason goes something like this totally unexpected email from Antonio Albanese, the guitarist of the ensemble Compagnie Ch.AU, which is running around Switzerland playing my piece Two by Eight:

Hi Alexandra!

We have been working on your piece and I always forgot to tell you how much fun it is to play!!

Thank you a lot.

I’m sure we’ll have a lot of success with your piece.

All the best!

Antonio

That is why!

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In other news, a new piece for double bass and electronics is imminent! I am smitten by jazz orchestra. In the bloggerhood there happen to be a couple of new kids on the block. While we’re at it, some of my favorite reads are listed for you here since I haven’t got a proper blogroll going yet:

Mostly Musical
John Mackey’s Blog
Mind the Gap
Night After Night
Sound Directions
Unquiet Thoughts
Urban Modes

Extra-musical and excellent/funny/useful/interesting
1,000 Awesome Things
Cake Wrecks
The Daily Coyote
Honey Rock Dawn
Noisy Room Full of Silence
Study Hacks

Cheers all!

I wanted to alert you to some videos from last month’s concert in Baltimore. The combination of fantastic performances, an enthusiastic, open-eared audience, and a venue that has really good feng shui (Baltimore people, if you haven’t been to The Metro Gallery, you must stop in for a drink asap!) made for a wonderful, completely satisfying experience.

Here is The Way of Ideas performed by Kelli Kathman, flute; Alicia Lee, clarinet; Yuki Numata, violin; and Joshua Roman, cello.

Joshua Roman playing Bloom.

There is a reason why performed by Alicia Lee, clarinet; Yuki Numata, violin; Joshua Roman, cello; Chris Thompson, drum set & melodica.

Almost like being there. Enjoy! There are plenty more where these came from too!

Maybe compounded by this joyful event?

Oh wait! I know what else it is! I CAN GET HITCHED NOW!!! Okay, almost. Still exciting!

Whatever the reason, it’s kinda nice to revel in one’s baking urges. As 2009 draws to a close, I have been enjoying the presence of many different types of family; the family into which I was born, an astoundingly cool family of friends, and a rapidly expanding “musical family”. It is amazing to be working with people who not only believe in, and bring their own voices to music that is happening right now, but who are also “in for the long haul”. A composer really can’t ask for better than that!

Happy Holidays everyone! Grab your hot chocolate, or your hot toddy, or whatever your pleasure, and enjoy. I can’t wait to share all the exciting things coming up in 2010 with you. Stay tuned for all sorts of exciting newness at the beginning of January!

Between leading his group Ne(x)tworks, being a member of the string quartet ETHEL, playing countless other gigs and composing his own music for violin and electronics, he still somehow manages to maintain a blog. Lately he’s started doing composer interviews and this week it’s my turn!

Thanks to Neil for including me in this project, and for all his great work! We’ll be performing electric blue pantsuit together in November at The Stone, in a concert that will also feature music by Neil, Corey Dargel, Anna Clyne, Annie Gosfield and Huang Ro.

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To be honest I haven’t been feeling very talkative lately, so I’ve been keeping things on this side of the firewall. During July and August I took a break from composing to focus on some other projects (which I will fill you in on shortly), and to rest my mind and ears. Although it wasn’t intentional, I barely listened to music over the past two months. No earbuds, no listening while washing dishes or puttering around the house… Wind and water, birds and sounds of the city were more than enough to satisfy. Slowly, little musical ideas started to creep in, and then larger and more developed ideas came knocking… all are written down in words and/or dots, and stashed away for use in upcoming projects. Two weeks ago I awoke one morning hungry to listen to music. Since then I’ve been happily listening to all sorts of things, letting go and rolling the music around in my head. It feels like meeting new friends, and rediscovering old ones!

For instance:

Un Dia by Juana Molina. That is how loops should be dealt with!

The Dirty Projectors

A Sound Map of the Danube by Annea Lockwood

Then by Jonathan Elliott

First of all, there was an amazing concert in Seattle! This was one of the very best premieres of a new work that I have ever experienced. Sometimes I am so nervous at a premiere that i don’t really hear the piece, and then all of a sudden it’s over and I wonder how it went (!), but this time I was fully present and when it was over all I could do was smile wide as can be.

The entire concert was truly excellent – every work had it’s own special personality. The ensemble, made up of Yuki Numata on violin, Bill Kalinkos (of Alarm Will Sound) on clarinet, Joshua Roman on cello, and Jason Treuting (of So Percussion) on drum set, also played works by Lisa Bielawa, Stefan Freund, Chuck Krenner and Matt Marks.

Below is a promo video for the performance – very cute, worth the watch even after the fact:

Although the camera didn’t come on this trip, the iPhone is always nice for a quick snap during rehearsal:

Last week I also participated in Molly Sheridan’s Blogger Book Club. We read and wrote about Dave Hickey’s The Invisible Dragon: Essays on Beauty. Tackling this supercharged academic writing on visual art felt a bit like actually slaying a dragon!

Wishing everyone a Happy Independence Day!!

Two weeks ago they outdid themselves with their benefit Future Party, and in my opinion have raised the bar for everyone as far as concert season announcements go. Behold!

See what I’m saying?? How can I possibly ever deal with a paper press release again?!

When I was little I used to freak out my younger brother by telling him that I really came from another planet. Turns out I wasn’t kidding!

Last Monday Joshua Roman premiered Bloom at The Flea Theater in NYC to a big, wonderfully responsive audience. I couldn’t be happier about the performance! Even though it did indeed happen in a standard concert setting, Joshua’s stage presence and playing style blurs the line between audience and performer, creating a surprisingly intimate experience. Here is a post-concert photo, in foggy iPhone style: