4 success

The concert came together wonderfully. While not knowing all the pieces beforehand the program order was really quite perfect. Much to my surprise, 40 programs was not nearly enough. There were probably a good 60+ people and there was a general feeling of excitement in the air. My piece 4UbyU was played spectacularly and the performers really enjoyed doing it. I can't wait to get the recording. The program...

The orchestra reading was a nice opportunity and as I expected, it was not nearly worth the amount of work that goes into an orchestra piece. This is not the fault of the director, who has made it a priority to read student works or of the orchestra, who actually rather impressed me with their ability to assimilate and cohesively perform in a matter of moments! Rather, as a composer you spend weeks writing then 3 eight hour days preparing parts and then.... 15 minutes and you were either right or wrong and then it all gets put away in the closet. I am rather pessimistic about the whole thing, but at least with an electronic composition the end result is perfect (or as perfect as one can make it) and with a chamber piece, you get more rehearsal. None the less, it was enjoyable and I did learn a lot.

A picture from last weekends hike in the Los Padres National Forest.