Yesterday completed part one of a new documentary I have been asked to put together featuring the Musica Nova Symphony Orchestra, violist Hong-Mei Xiao from the University of Arizona, and a new concerto for viola composed by Marc Parella. You may remember Marc and Musica Nova from about a year and a half ago (did I even have photo blogs then?) when Dan and I recorded a series of symphonies by English composer Richard Arnell. Turns out, Marc is working his magic for the series to be released on Bridge Records sometime in the future. This new project should turn out pretty cool, too. Marc enjoyed my last documentary I made for school, So You Want To Be a Composer, that he asked me to explore the topic of soloists preparing new, contemporary works and everything that goes with it. Part two will include filming interviews with him, Hong-Mei, and Warren Cohen from Musica Nova. Yesterday, I ended up playing the role of two videographers and a photographer (something I wouldn’t recommend all at once). Here are a few highlights from the performance/rehearsal: