STEEL SYMPHONY in Brooklyn - this Sunday, for free, played by the brilliant Christopher Houlihan

Added on by Patrick Greene.
Michael Falco for the New York Times

Michael Falco for the New York Times

In case you missed it in the New York Times, the New Yorker, I Care If You Listen, or Time Out New York, Christopher Houlihan - dear friend of mine, and world-class musician - will be performing Steel Symphony at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn on Sunday, September 20. 

I wrote this piece for him back in 2013; since then it's been performed numerous times, always to thunderous applause. He's a magnificent interpreter of my music, and a thoughtful, helpful collaborator.

For more on Steel Symphony, check out this blog post from way back when I'd just started composing the thing. Live recordings of the premiere performance (at the Trinity College Chapel in Hartford) are available on the Music page, too.

But I wholeheartedly recommend you make the trip over to Prospect Heights if you're in the area and available. Watching Christopher play is a transformative experience, and hearing those thunderous pipes filling a richly acoustic, beautiful space is unlike any other live-music experience I can think of.

Hope to see you there!

RADIUM GIRLS opens tonight! Here's a sneak peak at the sound design.

Added on by Patrick Greene.

This was a blast of a project, and I firmly encourage all of you to go see the show, which runs from September 4th through September 19th at the Charlestown Working Theater in Charlestown, MA. You can pick up tickets here, and you should! They've put together a magnificent production.

This excerpt is from a dream sequence, and it's best listened to with headphones (and a diaper, perhaps; this thing turns into a nightmare pretty quickly). Some of the sounds you'll hear: whale calls; Geiger counters; a sine-wave interpretation of the radioactive decay of an isotope of radium; and a choir of Meinl Helix Bowls, which are just freaking awesome (see my ESDO post below). And, you know, crying children. Because it's a nightmare.

Enjoy!