REDCAT spring studio 2008

its been a good run since the middle of april that culminated in two great shows this weekend at REDCAT. for me it was very strange to be backstage without a trombone in my hand (or any instrument at all) it was easier to keep the laptop and kaossillator plugged in onstage, but i found myself actually a bit nervous without anything in my hands.

the path of bringing a piece from an idea to a premier is quite a journey. but at some point you have to go forward with what what you got and see how it works 'live'. on the 2nd night, somewhere in the last third of the requiem i realized that i was asking my vocalists to sing at the a full fortissimo at the top of their range for a good 6 minutes. while i was watching them brilliantly pull this off i knew there was there was a much better way to write this. its funny, before the show i did warn the singers (sylvia desrochers and paul cummings) that were were going to take it up a notch, but their looks of surprise and fierce determination to match our energy level was something i wont forget that soon. the fact that they rose above the limitations of my writing and pulled it off was a testament to the great musicians i get to work with. with all that being said, i'll have time to make those edits when we will be performing it in a few weeks at the shane cadman's REALNEWMUSIC in whittier on June 21st.

there is quite a bit to be happy about and some other great stories that i'll eventually tell (naked curtain call), but after sitting around the house in daze yesterday its time to get back to real life. yesterday i couldn't really answer emails and return phone calls. after you get home from a show you don't really know what to do with yourself. there is nothing that you have to do and nowhere you have to go. one of the things they don't ever tell you is that the creative process can terrorize you other responsibilities and relationships. luckily we have been through this before and my wife deb knew the drill; keep me in clean clothes and fed and we will get through it.

i started the day by filling a trash can just going through the mail that had piled up the last 6 weeks, not to mention my change oil light started blinking about two weeks ago and i haven't even started grading finals exams. all i can say is that i'm really lucky to have the support from my family and by the end of the week i'll be ready to start the process all over again.