Last week was spring break and I was fortunate enough to kick it off in the biggest little city in the world. Back in December, I was introduced to Joan deAlbequerque, the director of the Symphonic Band at California State University Long Beach. Her group was awarded the opportunity to perform at this year’s regional CBDNA conference in Reno (which is a HUGE honor for a university band, let alone a university’s second band). To my excitement, they chose to close their program Turkey in the Straw! So naturally, I begged and pleaded to let me tag along until, finally, they gave in. I’ll say more about the amazing performance as soon as I get my ears on a recording to share.

Joan deAlbequerque, conductor

It was a quick two-day trip which began when I flew to meet Joan and the Band in Reno. From there, we hopped on the bus and drove up a mountain through lots of snow, crossed back over into California, and landed in a small town called Truckee. As part of their tour, the Symphonic Band performed their concert at a small handful of high schools on their way up from Long Beach to the conference. The first concert I was able to attend was at Truckee High School for an auditorium full of anxious junior high and high school students who actually seemed to enjoy the quirky, cartoony aspects of my piece.

CSULB Symphonic Band warms up in one of the (larger) hallways of Carson City High School.

The last stop of the tour was in Carson City later that night at Carson City High School. After Long Beach’s performance, the Carson City students gave a short concert and closed — to my surprise! — with Shadow Rituals. Even though the concert went late into the night, I had the casual opportunity to chat with the students afterwords and mention a few things about myself (boring.) and the piece (way cool!). I mean, it was seriously way casual (see photo above). Halfway through my little speech about Shadow Rituals, the school lights automatically shut off (irony?) and I was told that we hadn’t much time before the alarm system kicked in. I’m pretty sure that made this my favorite venue ever. Totally my style!