I have exciting news to share! Bryan Anderson, a colleague and friend of mine from Curtis who now lives in Houston, has started an online publishing house for sacred music and organ music called Cordial Publications. I’m honored to be one of the first composers in Cordial’s catalogue! Many of my pieces are featured on Cordial’s website, and you can always view my pieces on the compositions page.
I hope you’ll take a look through Cordial’s catalogue. There are many great pieces by talented composers that may be useful to those in church music fields.
This summer I was hard at work on a new piece, Sonata in A for clarinet and organ. It’s one of the first pieces I’ve written in Classical form and I’m glad to be able to share it now! The other “half piece” is an adaptation of my existing arrangement of Charles Wood’s Mass in F. Wood’s Missa Portae Honoris was adapted by the composer in 1927 to pair his Mass in F (Latin) music to English text. I took my existing arrangement of Mass in F and adjusted it to fit the English setting. All this to say that you can now perform Charles Wood’s Mass in F / Missa Portae Honoris with strings, harp, and organ in Greek/Latin or English!
Both of these pieces are listed on the compositions page, and I hope you’ll take a look!
Earlier this month, I took part in Mannes’ virtual graduation, earning my Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting. While we couldn’t celebrate in person, it was still a joyful occasion to mark the end of many years of schooling. I was privileged to study at Mannes among smart, friendly, musical colleagues and professors. David Hayes was instrumental in my development over the past two years, as were my studio mates, whom I admire very much. The next few years are exciting indeed. I’ve already moved to Philadelphia and look forward to working at Saint Mark’s on a full-time basis as their Assistant Organist and Choirmaster, among many other parts of the future to which I look forward.
I remain grateful to all my mentors and supporters over the years. They have shaped me in a way I could not do on my own. At the center of my support system is my family, and I remain thankful for all they do for me. I’m a lucky person indeed!
Here’s to much more ahead, and to celebrating what we’ve accomplished so far. My heartfelt thanks to all who’ve helped me along the way!
While we’re all stuck inside these days, St. Mark’s and I thought it’d be a great opportunity to show everyone what it looks like inside our Aeolian-Skinner organ at the church. I’ve put together this virtual tour of the organ for anyone who is interested in the instrument, engineering, or just finding out how things work. It’s rather simple in its presentation – one day I’ll go back and make a fancier one – but I hope it provides some interesting information from behind the facade! The video is below and can also be found on my YouTube channel.
I’m excited to share a new batch of recordings – hot off the press – of yours truly conducting the Mannes Orchestra! The videos are selections from my graduation concert back in February and feature Manuel de Falla’s masterpiece, The Three Cornered Hat. The orchestra worked diligently to put together the piece and I’m so grateful for their efforts. This was the ideal way for me to close out my time at Mannes, time I’ll remember fondly. I hope you’ll enjoy the new videos which are posted on the recordings page. Stay safe!
