arrange • compose • conduct
Periodic updates and announcements from my professional journey.
I have been blessed with some fabulous Patrons on Patreon supporting me in creating new vocal music every month. In April, my project was an a cappella SATB arrangement of “What’ll I Do?” – the classic Irving Berlin ballad that recently entered the public domain. Patreon supporters get free access […]
For the past 5 or 6 years, I’ve had an annual Tip Jar in which I accepted donations from readers to help support my costs of maintaining the website. Many people were very generous in their encouragement of my writing. In 2020, I skipped it – it was a time […]
Please join me and GRCC Shades of Blue this Friday for a real, live, in-person concert! We’ll be presenting an evening of vocal jazz outdoors on GRCC’s campus. There will be lawn seating – bring blankets! Music will include three group numbers, as well as five solo songs that Shades […]
In my daily writing, I tend to focus on what’s next. (Since I write daily, I’m focused on what’s immediately in front of me – I’ve got to write something again tomorrow!) It’s how I live in the rest of my work life, too – pride and very occasional reflection […]
I recently started building a Patreon community around new original compositions and vocal arrangements. I am loving the motivation it gives me to experiment and create new music with supporters behind me. Just yesterday, I shared the first fruit of my Patreon project, a set of Six Nonsense Canons – […]
Besides “Who is it for?”, one of the most important questions to ask with any new creative endeavor is, “How could I fail?” If your new creative endeavor has no possible way of failing, then it isn’t very creative. On the other hand, if the stakes are so high that […]
I support artists on Patreon because of what’s in it for them. I love that a few dollars pledged monthly can give artists a steady income, enabling them to devote more time to their craft. But it’s easy to understand the “What’s in it for me” mindset. Like any voluntary […]
“Who is it for?” is one of my top animating questions for any artistic project. The more specific you can be about who the art is for, the more decisive you can be in crafting the art. Who, then, is my new Patreon experiment for? It’s for people who want […]
Why did I choose to experiment with the Patreon direct-patronage model? First, I think the model is really good. Working for a patron when patronage was prevalent in the Baroque and Classical eras correlates with some really remarkable music being written. Moving away from the single commission model can light […]
I’ve been creating music as a career for a long time – my first paid commission came about 20 years ago, and my work is now fairly evenly divided between teaching/conducting and writing for choral ensembles. While virtually all of my work over the last 10+ years has been on […]