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.

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 Holiday!!

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!

(Jonathan gets full credit for the title of this post, btw)

Sadly I will be out of town for more than half of this glorious contemporary music week at the Kennedy Center, but you all better get over there and check out as much as you possibly can, because this stuff does not happen often in our Nation’s Capital. Many of the events are free, so no excuses! I do plan to be at the Knussen NSO concert on Friday, and if anyone wants to join in, let me know – the more the merrier!

*****

There are so many good things to say about this group, Lo Cor de la Plana. The music is based on ancient church music, and the six members sing in Occitan (!), accompanied by frame drums and tambourines. Please take note of the insanely virtuosic tambourine playing, and the stomping!!

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:

First of all, Thank You to those of you who have been commenting! Much appreciated. Now that there are more than 3 actual regular (*gasp*) readers, I do feel some responsibility to post more regularly, even just wee tidbits like this.

Has anyone else noticed the Twitter explosion of late?? So many new organizations and people. I am conflicted about Twitter; so much so that I have joined and left, then decided to give it another shot and joined up again. My issues with it are many – personally speaking, I’m not sure I really feel comfortable sharing that much/often, nor am I sure I can keep the tweets sufficiently witty and creative to make it interesting for anyone else. Taking a broader view, imho no depth or subtlety can be effectively conveyed using 140 characters. Reports of future news and serious information being communicated in tweets is plain scary. There are definitely people and organizations who make it work, and I appreciate their presence, but most of it seems, er, self-indulgent. Do we really need to know that you are cooking an omelet? Really??

Anyway. Color me skeptical.

*****

A sentence that I am glad to write: There have been more interesting new music events happening between DC and Baltimore than I have had time to attend.

Another sentence that makes me happy: With the recent addition of musical friends like Brian and Molly and Steve and David to the DC-B’more area, I realize that I no longer feel lonely for regular new music bonding like I used to!

*****

Something else to amuse you until the return from Composer Lockdown:

If you have even the slightest interest in baked goods, you must must must check out this blog right this minute.

1. Got form and structure?
2. Step away from the synth preset! Unless you can employ it with as much panache as Corey.
3. Be yourself! I adore Radiohead (*insert band or composer of choice here*) just as much as the next person, but the only ones who will ever really sound like Radiohead are, um….Radiohead.
4. Drugs don’t make the music better. At least not while you’re actually creating it, that is. Just say no. Seriously.
5. A really awesome idea is a million times better than really awesome gear.

1. *CRACK!*
2. SSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHcracklecrackleSSSSSHHHHHHHcracklessssssssssss
3. *BOOOOMmmmmm!*
4. Repeat every 20-ish seconds

That is the sound of trees falling. Weighted down by a thick coat of ice, thanks to the “wintry mix” that had been falling several hours, entire trees were snapping like matchsticks. I’ve never heard anything like it – a strange nighttime battleground. Things became a bit nerve-wracking when a giant falling limb grazed the side of the house where I was sleeping, and for the rest of the night I stayed awake, listening.

In the morning I went outside to see what looked like the set of a strange, post-apocalyptic video game.

I was particularly dismayed at this sight:

Yes, that is – or um, was – my car. Ouch!

After girding ourselves with coffee and pancakes in Colony Hall, which thankfully has generator power, the only sensible thing to do was to go exploring.

Everything was coated with ice.

Including downed power lines, yikes!

It was all very surreal.

And surprising!

The next day the temperature dropped even more, down to single digits, but the sun came out, and oh, it felt like being inside a chandelier.

Long story short, there was a bit of winter camping, a lot of time spent on the phone with my insurance company, and extensive fire-stoking. The staff was completely incredible during my whole time at MacDowell, and over this difficult week they were heroic – many had sustained damage at their own homes and were without power, but they still showed up and always kept their cool, and their senses of humor!

Unfortunately electricity hadn’t reached my wonderful studio before I left, and packing up my gear in freezing temps (even a roaring fire wouldn’t totally warm up the large space) was definitely glum. However, I did receive an fantastic gift during that week – as small pockets of electricity began to come on around the estate, Resident Director David Macy invited me to spend a day working in the music room at Hillcrest, the huge, lovely house that is now used for important visitors. Built by Marian MacDowell as a special place for Edward MacDowell to work, the music room is one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen – my photos don’t do it justice – and I was completely honored to be able to simply look around, let alone settle in a bit and do some composing!

Basically? This was an astounding experience. Another reminder that Mother Nature can seriously kick our butts at any time!

The title of this post was inspired by architect David Pressgrove, who is not only doing fantastic work designing and rebuilding homes for people in Mississippi whose lives have been devastated by weather, but is also exploring a number of terribly interesting building ideas, including how a structure might be designed to incorporate the characteristics of tumbleweeds. A protective shelter that moves with the wind.

Happily, worker bee mode is paying off. The orchestra piece is only measures away from done, and I’m starting to play with the cello recordings from November. One more week!

Here are a few examples of the incredibleness that I get to have dinner with:

• Natalia Almada – filmmaker
• Ryder Cooley – interdisciplinary artist
• Kevin Doyle – playwright/director
• Wendy Lee – novelist
• Maria Levitsky – photographer
• Harriet Salmon – sculptor
• Kirk Stoller – sculptor

Reading:

• Art/Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Listening:

• wind
• rain
• crackling fire
• snow (oh but it does make a noise)
• trees “squeaking” in above wind
• crunching steps on gravel roads