When I was in graduate school at Yale, much of my time studying composition was spent with Ezra Laderman, the elder statesman of the composition faculty and one of the most open-minded composers that they’ve ever had at that institution. … Continue reading →
Last weekend, the Minnesota Orchestra stood on our stage alongside six talented young composers and applauded the incredibly diverse, exciting, and new sounds they had brought to the culminating concert of our 11th annual Composer Institute. Members of the audience … Continue reading →
I spend lots of time, much more than I’d like, talking about nomenclature — the terms we use for various elements of the musical universe I inhabit. Very often, these terms are highly charged and nearly political in their implication. … Continue reading →
For no reason other than I find it hauntingly beautiful, I give you Shara Worden and Signal, performing Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s The Lotus Eaters. If you want to hear more of Snider’s work, this track comes from her latest New … Continue reading →
I’m about to begin blogging more regularly as we head toward the beginning of the Inside the Classics season, and toward the MicroCommission premiere. I have a lot to tell you all about the piece and how it’s developing, and … Continue reading →
After what felt like a solid week of driving, I’m back from parts East, and once again firmly ensconced in the mad dash that is Sommerfest. We spent this morning rehearsing this Friday’s all-Mozart program – two overtures, two arias, … Continue reading →
You guys never cease to amaze me, you know that? In the middle of the most challenging economic slump most of us will likely ever know, at a time when an entire cottage industry of pundits cranks out daily treatises … Continue reading →
I mentioned earlier this week that much of my time lately has been consumed by Aaron Kernis’s Concerto for Echoes, which is opening this week’s concerts. It’s always difficult to judge unfamiliar works while you’re in the middle of learning … Continue reading →
This week has turned into an unexpectedly busy one (thanks in large part to Aaron Kernis’s viola-intensive Concerto With Echoes with which we’ll be opening this weekend’s (ahem) inexplicably-not-yet-sold-out concerts,) so I don’t have the energy to write a full-length … Continue reading →
This is the third post in a series on why orchestras find it so difficult to incorporate new music into our concerts, and why it’s important that we find a way to change that. For the first two parts, click … Continue reading →
