Every now and then, YouTube sends an email notifying me that someone posted a new comment on a video of Shadow Rituals. They are usually very flattering, but today I couldn’t help but end up laughing at this one from orangeyxlove:

love this song, we played it for our districts
but the changing time signatures made me want to knife people in the faceeeee.

Like last year, the Texas Musix Educator’s Association annual convention was nothing short of a party. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a “classical” concert where the band or orchestra played something like Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 and the crowd rocked the house SCREAMING their approval like it was an American Idol taping or something. It was amazing to witness this degree of camaraderie among Texas music students, their families, and teachers. 

The All-State musicians are crazy good and played some crazy hard pieces which included, to name two, Frank Ticheli’s Wild Nights! (4A) and Joel Puckett’s Ping, Pang, Pong (5A). I didn’t have any performances this year and mainly spent my time helping Kevin distribute magazines at the Manhattan Beach Music booth. I think all in all we must have given out about 900 or 1,000 magazines!

It’s always good to get out of Arizona for a little while, even if it is Spurs territory. I can’t wait to go to Austin in two weeks!

Remember the Alamo?

I’ve been working a lot the past few weeks on a commission for a junior high level piece and finally finished the first draft of the score this week. There’s still some work to do, including coming up with a title for the piece (which seems like it should be easy, but sometimes it’s not). My focus this month is This New Piece (which is a harder grade 3+), but I also keep revisiting Memento (which is a grade 4, brooding ballad). I’ll be sure to post the score and probably a MIDI in the next few weeks.

Next week is the Texas Music Eduactor’s Association conference in San Antonio. Some of us lobbied for Manhattan Beach Music (who usually only exhibits at Midwest) for a booth or three at TMEA. They signed up late so their booths will be in the smaller exhibit hall, but nonetheless, they are at TMEA. I will also be there at the booth helping Kevin and looking like I know what I’m talking about. So come say hi!

After TMEA, I’ll have about another week to finish proofing That New Piece before I have to start laying out parts and before I do some work for the Arizona Musicfest Organization. My good friend Dan Malone is contracted to do the live sound for the event and usually hires me to come help out. It’s a good event with a lot of great music.

At the end of the month, I’ll be travelling back to Texas for what looks to be an amazing performance (two, actually) of Turkey in the Straw by the Austin Symphonic Band. It will be the first performance of the piece I’ve heard in concert so I’m totally pumped. Turns out they’re closing the concert with it, too. How ’bout them apples? If you’re near Austin, you should go! Here’s their program:
 

Definitely looks like a promising month!