SBCF Emerging Artist Award

Added on by Patrick Greene.

Happy to share the news that I've been selected as a recipient of the Saint Botolph  Club Foundation's Emerging Artist Award in Music for 2015!

The award - which consists of a generous grant, some publicity, and inclusion in a showcase later this year - goes to a handful of artists in music, literature, and visual arts each year.

I'm deeply honored to be included in those ranks, and to put this money to use in the composition of my next large project: Machine Language for Beginners.

Much, much more on that to come. :)

New project - song cycle on "Erasing Infinite" for soprano Joelle Kross!

Added on by Patrick Greene.
David Foster Wallace, in prime bandana mode. (Credit: Hachette/Salon)

David Foster Wallace, in prime bandana mode. (Credit: Hachette/Salon)

I'll admit it: I'm sometimes a little too enthusiastic. I can't count the number of times I've said something (a hamburger, a graphic novel, a laptop, a zoo) has "changed my life." I think I really do mean it in the moment; over time, though, most of these "a ha!" experiences fade away into a sea of little influences and inspirations gurgling somewhere, unperturbed, in my subconscious.

There have been four events in my life, though, that have altered the courses of things in ways so deep and immutable that I know, unequivocally, that I've left a "before" and entered an "after." They are:

  1. When I fell in love with my wife.
  2. When our son was born.
  3. When I first heard Ravel's string quartet.
  4. When I read David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.

This particular announcement, I'm happy to say, concerns #4.

My dear friend Joelle Kross (who just happens to be a very talented soprano) approached me last year about collaborating on a recital piece - a song cycle, with piano accompaniment, to be performed in Chicago during 2016. Ms. Kross is a fantastically emotive singer, and she possesses an expressive, fluid coloratura. She's basically a composer's dream. So I said "yes," immediately; finding a suitable text, though, proved to take considerably longer.

Then, a few months back, I stumbled upon an incredible poetry project called Erasing Infinite. The poet, Jenni Baker, has spent the last couple of years creating "erasure poetry" from every single page (and trust me, there are a lot of pages) of Infinite Jest. It was a beautiful idea; what was even more remarkable was the execution. The poems - some of which whittle an entire page's contents into three or four words - are breathtaking. Some are laugh-out-loud funny; many are heart-wrenching.

I immediately emailed Ms. Baker about a possible collaboration, and she was just as excited about the idea as I was. 

So now I get the chance to write a piece for an amazing soprano (who also happens to be a great friend), in a new city (I've never had anything premiered in Chicago), on stunning poetry that distills and explodes and refracts the words of my favorite book.

You know what? I think this just might change my life.

 

MY DEAREST FRIEND just picked up a C7Prize!

Added on by Patrick Greene.

The C7Prize ("Choirs, Conductors, and Composers Collaborating on a Choral Composition Competition") is a very cool new competition: it links composers, conductors, and performers throughout the adjudication process, and increases the exposure of a diverse array of new choral works. 

As a "Recommended Work," My Dearest Friend will be performed at least once this year, and will be shopped around (by the fine folks running the competition) to various conductors and choirs. 

The piece, which was composed for the wedding of two very good friends of mine back in 2011, has long been one of my favorites. I'm glad it's getting some increased exposure, and can't wait to see what some new performers bring to it (it's only been performed once, publicly). 

2015 is shaping up to be a pretty good year, if these past few weeks are any indication.