Six sites worth your time

I'll admit that I've struggled as much as anyone to balance the all-pervasive influence of the Internet in my life. The proverbial cat videos and catchphrase GIFs can really eat up your day. For that reason, I love it when I find a site where the content is curated a little more carefully. Someone else has already gone through the selection process of what is praiseworthy. Of course there is Wikipedia, which can lead to nearly endless chains of articles that take you from fish to space dust to Finland before you know it. If you like revealing reads, fascinating facts or trusty tools, you'll like the sites on this list, some of my favorite places on the internet. When I'm not giggling at Cracked, that is.

Mentions in the Press, January 2013

I feel a little bit like Mike Wazowski, when he is happy that he is on TV even though his face is covered. This weekend I've got a piece being danced to at the Breaking Ground Dance Festival, and it is mentioned in this article. The piece is called subtidal, and although I'm not mentioned by name (the article probably went to print well before I was brought in on the project) it is still pretty cool to see this kind of press for something I'm associated with! If you're in the Phoenix Area this weekend come on out to the performance!

Unique Christmas music you should add to your collection this year

"Saxophone on the radio/Recorded 40 years ago/All I ever get for Christmas is blue"

If you're anything like me, you enjoy the Christmas season and the feelings of faith, nostalgia, and celebration that accumulate in December. As far as music goes, I do enjoy the Christmas classics, in measure (I wear out a little on Sinatra, love him though I do). But we've made it a tradition to add some new music to our rotation every year. From the Classical to the Modern, Jazz to Indie Rock, here are some unique favorites of the things we've collected so far - check out the list and let me know what music you can't wait to pull out for the Christmas season! (*SPOILER* the best is last - don't miss it!)

Private Constellations Installation

Poster announcing installation of Private Constellations

This last spring something really exciting went down that I wasn't able to talk much about because I was so busy getting ready to head out to Russia. But this project is in an exciting new branch of musical creation. Private Constellations was written between fall 2012 and spring 2013 and created as a 'sound installation' (something like a museum exhibit, where the sound is constantly playing). A large playlist of composed sound files was loaded onto twenty-one computers in a room, each playing different things at different volumes and different times. 

I have wanted to create something like a living web of music for a long time. The philosophical idea behind the piece is to create a unique musical experience for every person who experiences it. Just as countless individuals have looked at the stars over the millennia and declared various combinations of stars to be ‘their’ constellations, I want to give each listener the chance to experience something vast and yet unique to them. No two listeners will have quite the same experience when encountering the piece, for several reasons. First, the piece has a nearly infinite number of possible combinations. Second, the listener can choose their own route through the installation. Finally, each individual can choose how long to listen.

4 Non-music TED Talks that resonated with me as a composer

For the last several months I have been really inspired and motivated by TED Talks. The funny thing is that I can't help but think of my creative activity as a composer while I watch talks that often have nothing to do with music. Although there are some great talks about music, I'd like to share 4 that don't have any direct connection to music, and yet have inspired me in some way as a creative being. Whether it is turning constraints into creative opportunities, the awe of infinity, redefining what it means to be the best, or understanding that people with different tastes aren't wrong, these speakers have helped me start to think more openly and creatively. Click through after the break to read my thoughts and watch the clips.

St. Lawrence String Quartet Reads "The Roots of the Firmament"

When I heard that the St. Lawrence String Quartet was going to be doing a reading of pieces by student composers on campus at ASU, I knew that I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. I also knew that I didn't really want to take out too much time from finishing up Karelian Soundscapes. So I gave myself a 24 hour period to compose something (really about 4 hours of writing and another 2 of cleaning everything up). The result is this: The Roots of the Firmament. The piece is compact and aphoristic, channeling a bit of Webern via Kurtag and my former professor Michael Hicks.

Blessings of Service & Two New Hymns!

The links to the scores of the two new hymns are at the bottom, please check them out!

I recently attended a meet-and-greet event for graduate students in the Herberger Institute at ASU. I met architects, musicians, dancers, artists, industrial designers, and people whose degree descriptions I didn't understand at all. They were from China and Louisiana, D.C and Sudan, Iran and California. I've got to be honest, it was an exhilarating and welcome change of pace from BYU, where the odds of meeting somebody from a diverse background are much lower.