Another Busy Month, June.

I had a great time performing the American Landscapes program in Lubec as part of the SummerKeys faculty concert series. One addition: Roberto Pace’s A Dance in the Desert; for the occasion Roberto played the second piano part and Gene Nichols played percussion.

My son Spencer was also here; three days later he ran in the first Bay of Fundy International Marathon. Click here for a couple of photos.

Next up: Eight Strings & a Whistle will perform “...and nothing remains the same” at the Machias Bay Chamber Concerts in Machias, Maine on Tuesday, July 2. They are a wonder to work with!

Busy month, April was.

We had a wonderful trip to Aroostook County late last month. On the 24th and 25th I played two solo concerts, at the University of Maine branches at Presque Isle and Fort Kent. The program, which I titled American Landscapes, included:

Excursions    Samuel Barber

Thoreau (Mvt. IV of the Concord Sonata)    Charles E. Ives

Three Pieces for Piano   Morton Feldman

Three Preludes    George Gershwin

Mad Rush   Philip Glass

Seascape   Scott Brickman

Variations on Amazing Grace   John Newell

Scott Brickman is a wonderful composer who teaches at Fort Kent. I really enjoyed playing the first performances of Scott's Seascape, which he wrote for me.

The following week I participated in a concert by the University of Machias Chorale, under the direction of Gene Nichols. The group did a superb job in performing five of my choral works.

Piano concert photos - March 1

Thanks to Nancy Briggs of the Lubec Memorial Library for these photos of last week's concert. A small intimate group and, as always, food. My lovely wife wife baked the musical cake.

Do you know what sea smoke is?

On very cold mornings we see sea smoke in the bay. It's a thin layer of condensed water vapor right above the surface of the water. Sea smoke is caused by very cold air coming in over warmer water. The evaporating water molecules condense as they enter the colder air. Sea smoke is quite wispy and incredibly beautiful. As it is often windy here, we enjoy seeing the sea smoke being blown across the bay. 


Recently I observed two crows sitting in their favorite tree down by the water. Like me, they sat and watched. A short work for piano (or flute and piano, or clarinet and piano... oboe would be perhaps a bit melancholy) was the result. Strangely enough it is titled "Two Crows in a Tree Watching Sea Smoke." Here is an image of the first page. I'll post the piece to my web site in a few days.