Holiday Performances

I will be involved in several Christmas-related musical events this Decemeber that may be of interest.


12-4
11:00 AM
Woodland Heights Baptist Church - Richmond, VA

During the worship service a cantata I have been composing this fall will be presented. It is entitled "The Promise of a Child" and is based on passages in Genesis, Matthew, Luke, and Revelation. In addition to the choir and instrumentalists of the church, soprano Susan Meador and bass-baritone James Lynn will be singing.


12-15
7:30 PM
Woodland Heights Baptist Church

During this Christmas concert, I will perform arrangements of music from Handel's Messiah and will accompany hornist Kathy Hulin (my wife) and tenor and soprano Jeff and Tracee Prillaman in a varity of Christmas carols.


12-18
7:00 PM
Lasker Baptist Church - Lasker, NC

In this solo concert I will play a set of Christmas pieces by Mendelssohn, the Messiah arrangements, and arrangements of favorite carols.

Faure Songs

Last week we attended Richmond Ballet performances that incorporated songs by Gabriel Faure. Since then, I have been struck afresh by how haunting and exquisite the melodies of these songs are.

When we got home from the Ballet, we took out a volume of Faure songs and sang and played a few because we were both still thinking about them.

In the middle of that night, I woke from a dream to find myself singing Faure's "Apres un Reve" in my mind!

And in the days following, I have enjoyed strolling the leaf-scattered streets of my neighborhood in the autumn moonlight and humming more Faure songs to myself.

Third Practice

A major musical event that happens in Richmond each year is the Third Practice Electro-Acoustic Music Festival that takes place at the University of Richmond. This Friday and Saturday, there will be five free concerts of music by innovative composers who are visiting from around the country and beyond. There works incorporate aspects of performance using traditional acoustic instruments mediated in some way by electricity. This could mean anything from a piece of music that exists entirely on tape, to a duet between a violinist and a computer, to a work for a traditional instrument that the composer used a computer to compose. Eight Blackbird, the University's ensemble-in-residence will be performing five new commissions on these concerts. You can see a complete schedule and other information by clicking here.