Musical Universalism clarified some more
Thanks to some pointed questions from my dear friend, Chris Krull, I am heading back to first principles and trying to clarify what I'm really trying to protect.Chris very correctly pointed out to me...
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Relax, don't do it
I've been extra grumbly lately. I'm sure all of you people out there on the internets will tell me if I'm becoming too much of an old man.So, lately, I've been hearing my local NPR station describe the...
View ArticleJazz Cello: All the things you are
Here is a sample of Justin Lepard and I playing together. This was from our Feb. 3 concert. After we finished a concert of modern cello music, we decided to play some standards for everyone. I think...
View ArticleJaunty, jagged, energetic, percussive, quirky cello music
Here is the first movement of my cello sonata "El Café Iridiscente" which is entitled "rojo". This piece was co-commissioned by the National Music Teachers Association and the Nebraska Music Teachers...
View ArticleBrubeck-ish, swinging, Charlie Parker licks containing, jazz waltz cello music
Here is the second movement of my cello sonata "El Café Iridiscente" which is entitled "azul". This piece was co-commissioned by the National Music Teachers Association and the Nebraska Music Teachers...
View ArticleMy funky, latin jazz cello sonata
I received a commission from the National Music Teachers Association and Nebraska Music Teachers Association to write a new piece for their state convention last year.I wrote a cello "sonata" with the...
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Chopin's DaVinci Code or The Secret of Phi
It appears that my mentor, Terry Mohn, has finally come up with some applications of the Golden Ratio that I think we can all support. The theory's application to the arts is something that has been...
View ArticleThe funniest "la contenance angloise" jokes ever
If you like Medieval music theory (and who doesn't?), there isn't much that's funnier than this. It is one of my favorites, and it was pulled down for awhile. I was so glad to rediscover it.This is...
View ArticleTeaching music composition through existential challenge
I have a friend who is generally a genius. His name is Anthony Hawley. Originally I knew him as a poet who had published a stack of chap books that I could call when I needed help translating Italian....
View ArticleRomance and Tarantella
Once again, I am endebted to Christopher Marks for championing my music.Here is a lovely recital he did recently on a pretty terrible instrument. Chris really made the Reuter POFS 1000 sound better...
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MusicSpoke's kickass reading session
Normally, choir directors tell me that when they attend a reading session, they feel lucky to find one usable piece of music. It's a gold mine when they find two usable pieces from a session.After the...
View ArticleComposers to which you should be listening: Rachel Fogarty
Well, it's been a while since I have had a chance to write about new music that I've found. Last week, I got to hang out at ACDA 2015 in Salt Lake City. If you didn't know, that Great Salt Lake is...
View ArticleNew linguistic saw
My wife's business has a customer whose name is Lincoln. That's funny because he lives in Lincoln. If I knew two Lincolns, and one lived in Omaha, I would call this one the Lincoln Lincoln.If he drove...
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On becoming a meme on a stripper pole
Apparently tired of meme-ing the cat, Jennifer has turned her sights on me and unleashed the fury of the internet on my image. We were in Kansas City last summer visiting a start-up incubator that had...
View ArticleUnalienable rights and the cross
It appears that the dreaded election season is already upon us. I'm always taken aback a little when I hear politicians playing like they are theologians — funny, I don't have the same problem when...
View ArticleWhat great musical education looks like
I had another opportunity to find great musical education happening this week. This time, to my great delight, it was my oldest son Zach. He is the executive director of the Academy of Rock here in...
View ArticleFugue on the NPR theme
Some of my composition students are currently in Gretchen Foley's fiercely graded 18th century counterpoint class. She asked me if I would pull out my final project and give her a copy. I had a little...
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The 38 reasons you need MusicSpoke in your life this week. You won't believe #5!
One of our British MusicSpoke composers, Matthew Cann, asked for a list of the a cappella sacred choral music we now have available on MusicSpoke.It's wonderful just to use the site to listen to some...
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Frank LaRocca and a cappella sacred music on MusicSpoke
I updated the sacred a cappella choral list I made the other day to include the music of Frank LaRocca. I wanted to do a separate post about it because I'm so excited to have him onboard at...
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1000 monkeys writing a Beethoven symphony
I guess there is a thing now where you pick a youtube video and send it to me for my commentary. Timothy Tharaldson sent in this one.This is wrong-headed for several reasons, so it's hard to know where...
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The problem with American society explained...finally
I have a diverse group of friends which includes some conservatives, some liberals, some moderates, some capitalists, some Marxists, some distributivists, some anarchists, some Christians, some...
View ArticleWeek One 2015 - Carols in the Style collected
I haven't been doing a personal blog in a while, but I thought I would collect the results of week 1 in a single place in case you missed any.O Christmas Tree in the style of Darius MilhaudNext was...
View ArticleWeek 2 2015 Christmas Carol Mashups collected
Here are last weeks carols collected.Let it Snow in the style of Bartok for Chelsea Coventry.Angels we have heard on high in the style of Grieg for Amy Flammino.In the bleak mid-Winter in the style of...
View ArticleLucretius nails it
"There is a weight on their minds, and a mountain of misery lies on their hearts...For each, not knowing what he wants, seeks always to change his place, as if he could drop his burden. Here is one...
View ArticleSt. Thomas a Beckett
For all the problems of the Middle Ages, I find some things still astounding. After ordering the death of Thomas a Beckett, the pope excommunicated the knights that did the deed and sent them on...
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