2019
November: Premiere of a new short dance work at the Ucross fundraising gala. Very excited to have been commissioned by Ucross to have this new work performed at their event. Very special event honoring Rex Tillerson and featuring composer Steven Lutvak and Broadway star Laura Benanti. An honor, as always, to be reunited with my friend and colleague Oliver Halkowich to create the dance and to have my music performed by Andres Gonzalez and Patrick Moore. Great to see so many friends in Houston. More info on the event can be found here.
2018
August: Second residency at the Lilian E. Smith Center at Piedmont College in northern Georgia. Beautiful country and lots of good work getting done!
February: Premiere of new songs based on poems of James Joyce at the Jung Center of Houston. Performance by Rodney Waters and Kenneth Gayle.
2017
August: Residency at the Lilian E. Smith Center at Piedmont College in northern Georgia. Excited for my first residency at this exciting new location.
May: Premiere of a new chamber opera (my libretto), The Sun and the Moon, written with Mary Carol Warwick for Houston Girls Chorus. Premiered at the Chelsea Market Theater and the Mission Bend United Methodist Church in May 2017.
2016
September/October: Much needed residency at Hambidge!
June: Premiere of Three Skeleton Key, the second of my Radio Opera series at Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival in Houston.
June: June: Premiere of a new arrangement of the Telemann Concerto for 4 Violins,
arranged for four double basses at the AFA Summer Music Conservatory. Thanks to
Andy Moritz for suggesting this! Fun Project!
June: Performance of my arrangement of Carry On, Wayward Son for bass quartet
at the AFA Summer Music Conservatory.
2015
October: Residency at The Ragdale Foundation in Lake Forest IL (awesome!).
September: World Premiere of Breath of Life, a new chamber opera written in collaboration with Jefferson Todd Frazier. Two performances staged by the outstanding students and faculty at Texas Tech University Opera.
August: The third presentation of the installation SoundForge, created in collaboration with metalsmith Gabriel Craig. Installed at the Cameron Museum of Art, Wilmington NC and running through January 10, 2016
July: World Premiere of Procession to the Club (based on my piece “Three French Dances”) a new ballet with choreography by Houston Ballet company member Oliver Halkowich. Two performances at the AFA World Premieres Concert at the Houston Ballet Center for Dance and two additional performances at Houston Ballet Summer Intensive Performances (same location).
July: Premiere of my arrangement of Carry On Wayward Son for bass quartet, performed by AFA symphony orchestra musicians on chamber music recital.
July: Whistle Stop!, performed by Dr. Crista Miller, Reflections Series, Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.
July: Midnight Mass performed by the Cappelletti Chao Duo in the Sanctuary at Oxford’s Church of the Holy Trinity, Oxford MD.
July: 5×5 – Two Movements for Brass Quintet performed by AFA Faculty Brass as part of the AFA Collaborations Concert at Pershing Middle School. I also curated AFA’s fourth Collaborations Concert program, with performances at Brazos Bookstore and AFA.
June: Excerpt (opening aria) from Three Skeleton Key performed at Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival Summer Festival, University of St. Thomas, Houston TX, June 26, 27, 28
March: Performance of various songs, including “Heart of the Wood”, “In Just-Spring”, “But Not For Me”, and “I Can Trust” and the world premiere of new duet “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”, performed by Charles Jager and Sofia Burgos, students of Jason Lester, Houston Baptist University, Belin Chapel.
January: Residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
2014
August: Residence at The Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences.
July: Premiere of arrangement of “Welcome to My Nightmare” for string quartet. AFA Collaborations Concert, MECA.
February: Performance of “Listening”, Kelli Estes, Houston Tuesday Musical Club.
January-March: Various performances throughout Southern California of the quintet 5×5 by the West Coast Wind Quintet.
January: Performance of Suite de Danses by the Definiens Project during a residency at the Idyllwild Arts Academy
2013
September to December: Premiere of a new Wind Quintet (based on material from my quintet 5×5), various performances by the West Coast Wind Quintet to be announced soon.
July 12: Curating AFA’s second Collaborations Concert at Anderson Fair. The evening feature newly commissioned works composed by AFA Faculty Aaron Alon in collaboration with writer Tacey Rosolowski and by AFA alumni Gity Razaz in collaboration with poets from Inprint’s 2012 Finnigan Anthology writing project. The concert will also feature a few interesting new arrangements by yours truly.
July 12: Premiere of new arrangements of works by Hildegarde of Bingen and by Ann and Nancy Wilson on the second AFA Collaborations Concert, Anderson Fair, Houston TX
May 16 through late September: Remounting of the installation SoundForge, a collaborative work with metalsmith Gabriel Craig at the Museum for Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR. Click here for more info. You can also click here to see the video that accompanies the installation on Vimeo.
May: Premiere of the Year of Songs Project – new songs I have written over the last 18 months along with some earlier songs and opera arias. Date and performers TBA.
April 16: Performance of To Daffodils, SSA choral work by the HSPVA Women’s Chorus.
February: Residency at the KHN Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
January: Residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
2012
October: Performance of To Daffodils, SSA choral work, and Lullabyes of the Americas, SATB choral work, by VOX: The Rob Seible Singers on “Composers Live” concerts, Houston and Pasadena TX
July: Curated American Festival for the Arts first Collaborations Concert at MECA. The evening featured works composed by myself and AFA alumni Jude Vaclavik.
July: Premiere of Longing and Belonging, multimedia work for film, violin, viola and cello, commissioned by American Festival for the Arts as part of the AFA Collaborations Concert. Collaboration with filmmakers Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand. Premiered at MECA, Houston TX. Click here to see an excerpt.
July: Premiere of To Daffodils, SSA choral work, commissioned by American Festival for the Arts in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the AFA choral program, Dunham Theatre, Houston Baptist University, conducted by Kimberly Tobola.
March: Performance of Midnight Mass, for violin and viola by the Cappelletti Chao Duo, Academy Art Museum, Easton MD
This is the composers studio at Hambidge. A beautiful old barn with a gigantic space to pace around and a 1927 Steinway
February: Wonderful residency at the Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences.
2011
October through December: Premiere of SoundForge, collaborative installation with metalsmith Gabriel Craig premiered at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. You can click here to see the video that accompanies the installation on Vimeo.
October: Amazing residency at the Brush Creek Ranch Foundation for the Arts in central Wyoming. This place was amazing!
June: Premiere of Clever Gretel, a new chamber opera composed as part of the series Simply Grimm, commissioned by Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival, Houston TX
March: Performance of Remembrance: Nunu, University of Houston Moores School of Music, Caitlin Dalton, percussion, and Emily Whaley, oboe
February: Performance of Suite de Danses, mixed sextet by the Definiens Project/Nucleus Ensemble (Los Angeles) at Westchester United Church (Los Angeles, CA) and Cal State Long Beach School of Music (Long Beach, CA), February 2011.
2010
December: Wonderful residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
October/November: Excerpts from Sorry, Wrong Number performed by soprano Kelli Estes as part of “Dueling Divas” at University of South Dakota School of Music (Yankton SD), St. Paul’s Church (Englewood, NJ) and The Three West Club (New York, NY)
June: Premiere of Sorry Wrong Number, one act from my new project Radio Opera at Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival in Houston, Texas. This piece, based on the famous radio show by Lucille Fletcher (thank you William Morris Entertainment and Dorothy Herrmann for their permissions!) is the first of three adaptations of famous radio shows
May: Excerpts from Sorry, Wrong Number performed on KUHA’s “The Front Row” (Houston, TX).
January: Received an Individual Artist Grants from the Houston Arts Alliance to support Sorry, Wrong Number.
2009
My beautiful studio at the KHN Center. The house has some amazing Frank Lloyd Wright inspired touches.
September-October: In residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
June: Performance of Suite de Danses in Houston, TX, by faculty members at the American Festival for the Arts. Performers included Sydney Carlson (flute), Toni Marie Marchioni (oboe), Jennifer Stevenson (clarinet, from The Nucleus Ensemble), John Law (violin), Kate Mathews (cello) and Jerico Vasquez (piano).
June: Dr. Crista Miller performed my organ work, Whistle Stop! at the American Guild of Organists Region VII Convention in Albuquerque, NM
March: Premiere of “Suite de Danses” in Los Angeles, CA by The Nucleus Ensemble (Gregory Milliren, Flute; Jennifer Stevenson, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet; Ryan Zwahlen, Oboe/English Horn; Julian Hallmark, Violin; Carter Dewberry, Cello; and Jeanette-Louise Yaryan, Piano)
2008
November: In residence at the Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences in northern Georgia
September: In residence at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska City, NE. Wonderful space and a terrific town, unfortunately cut short by Hurricane Ike!!! Ugh!
August-September: In residence at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
2007
October: Cellist Julia Cleworth performed my arrangement of Fanfare and Air (originally for Solo Euphonium) at a special event hosted by the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO), Houston, TX
August: In residence at the Hambidge Center for the Arts in Sciences in Northern Georgia. A wonderful space and a definite “must visit” for any working artist.
July: Premiere of a new work for violin and viola duo entitled Midnight Mass premiered at the American Festival for the Arts. The work was commissioned and will be performed by the Cappelletti Chao Duo, Rothko Chapel, Houston, TX
July: A special repeat performance of Collapsible Rhythms with choreography by Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch on the AFA World Premieres Concert at Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, Houston TX
March: My Variations for Flute and Piano was featured on a concert of The Union of Bulgarian Composers at Philip Koutev Concert Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria, featuring Mila Pavlova (flute) and Galina Apostolova (piano). Special thanks to NACUSA-TX for making this concert happen!
2006
December: A very special workshop weekend took place in Houston during December for The Breath of Life, the opera on which I am collaborating with composer Todd Frazier. Several singers from around the nation, including Katherine Barnes-Burroughs, Diana McVey and Jerry Dolter joined us in Houston for a series of workshops and a special performance.
November: Fanfare and Air originally written for solo euphonium premiered in a new arrangement for solo cello. Cellist Julia Cleworth premiered this new arrangement at the “Texas Originals” concert presented by The Foundation for Modern Music in Houston, TX
May: My Four Sandburg Songs was performed by soprano Kelli Estes in a solo recital at St. Stephen’s Church in Houston, TX. Kelli was accompanied by pianist Roger Keele.
March: My Variations for Flute and Piano and Four Sandburg Songs were performed in San Marcos, Texas at Texas State University, as part of the joint conference of the College Music Society Southern Chapter and the Texas chapter of the National Association of Composers USA (NACUSA-TX). Four Sandburg Songs was performed by Juli Wood (soprano) and Sunnie Oh (piano) from Texas State University and Variations for Flute and Piano was performed by Danilo Mezzadri (flute) from University of Southern Mississippi and Faith DeBow (piano).
January: My chamber opera, The Last Leaf, was performed under the direction of Katherine Barnes-Burroughs by the Texas Tech University Graduate Opera Project. This was the first full staging of this work that has, to date, been performed in various concert versions at the Moores School of Music, the American Festival for the Arts and the New York City Opera Showcasing American Composers (now VOX)series.
Pre-2005 Highlights
July 2005: A new ballet, Collapsible Rhythms, commissioned in honor of the tenth anniversary of the American Festival for the Arts, premiered as part of the AFA Summer Music Conservatory. Scored for percussion and electric violin, the ballet was choreographed by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. The premiere was at Episcopal High School’s Underwood Theater. The work was also subsequently performed at the Houston Ballet Academy summer showcase at San Jacinto Community College South.
April 2005: My work, Variations for Flute and Piano was featured as part of a concert by the Foundation for Modern Music. The performers included Sydney Carlson a (flute) and Rodolfo Morales (piano). Thanks to FFM for such wonderful support for this event.
March 2005: My new opera, Mary Surratt, had a workshop at Ovations! in Rice Village. Featuring singers Liz Wade, Tara Faircloth, Lynelle Rowley, Hal Spencer and Sam Brown, this was the first public performance of five scenes from this evening length work. This workshop performance was funded in part by a grant from the Houston Arts Alliance through the generosity of their Individual Artist Grant program.
April 2004: A new choral work, titled Celebration was premiered by the Rhode Island College Chorus and Chamber Singers (Providence, RI). The work was commissioned by the college in celebration of their 150th anniversary. This was a very exciting project. Dr. Teresa Coffman of RIC conducted. Original text was generously provided by Lawrence J. Sasso, a Rhode Island poet and writer. Other texts were assembled from various historical sources. This was a larger work, about 12-15 minutes in length, scored for soprano soloist, chamber choir, full chorus and small instrumental ensemble. UPDATE: One movement of this piece, The Light, toured England and Scotland in May 2004!
April 2004: My children’s opera Sibanda! was performed by the Abilene Collegiate Opera under the direction of Dr. Jaynne Middleton. My great appreciation to Jaynne, Peter Isaacson, conductor Jason Lim and the wonderful cast and crew for such a wonderful production. I was honored to have many people attend a brief Meet-the-Composer session at Hardin Simmons University. I even made the local “things to do in Abilene” column. You can imagine how surprised I was when I found it in the lobby of my hotel!
October 2003: Whistle Stop!, a new organ work commissioned by Dr. Crista Miller of the Eastman School of Music will premiere in Rochester, New York as part of the EROI Festival 20113. The performance took place at the Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester. I shared the performance with Schoenberg’s Variations for Organ (if you can imagine that!) but it was great fun and a wonderful opportunity to hear contemporary organ music (I attended a fabulous recital of works performed by David Higgs). UPDATE: This work was performed again in January and May in Rochester by Crista Miller.
January 2003: Sibanda! A Tale from Africa, was premiered by Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go at the Heinen Theatre on the central campus of Houston Community College. This work was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera’s “Opera New World” program in affiliation with Opera to Go and is presented by the ExxonMobil Houston Grand Opera Student Performance series. Special thanks must be given to the Ragdale Artists Colony, the American Music Center, Alexander McCall Smith and Canongate Books for their generous support.