I meant to write this back in November, but life got busy. I finally had a premiere again for the first time in well over a year! Some good friends and new friends (thank you Greg, Tessa, Ben, and Baylen!) performed the third movement of my upcoming string quartet at the second Punk Ass Classical Basement Show in Minneapolis on November 19. The third movement, currently titled “The Ticking Room,” is a minimalist, rhythmic movement based on the idea of having multiple clocks in one room, and they’re all slightly out of sync. It was very well-received, and I’m delighted with how the performance went! I do have a recording of it that I hope to put on my SoundCloud in the next few days or so. Since it was in the basement of an old house, there’s a bit of creaking floor sound in the recording, but I feel like that makes it more authentic. Sort of. Work with me here.
This was my first Punk Ass Classical Basement Show, and I had a wonderful time! Besides my own work, my friend and fellow composer Michael Betz also had a premiere that night, a haunting work for solo flute that was masterfully performed by Joshua Weinberg. And the turnout for the whole show was amazing! I don’t know how we fit so many people into one tiny basement, but it worked. My only regret was that I had to leave early to get down to Iowa for a work conference. Bravo to everyone involved in the show! I’m already looking forward to the next one!
Now that NaNoWriMo is over (I finished at a little over 58,000 words!), I’m back to working on String Quartet No. 2. I think it’s safe to say that the first movement is finished and ready for a read-through. The second movement is getting some final touch-ups. And then the fourth movement… I have a concept, and I’ve started it, but I think my concept might be a little too abstract to properly convey through sound. However, I’m determined to make it work. My self-imposed deadline for a double-bar on this piece is December 31. It would be so lovely to finally finish a piece again!
That’s it for my quick update. Back to writing!
The Social Composer 