Photo by Thor Brødreskift

Friday, May 18, 2012

MN Nice


As I’m always happy to report, I’m on a plane to Minnesota.
No gigs, just a long-anticipated week of family and friends following a particularly harrowing (final!) school semester with two doctoral recitals and lots of road-warrior-style concerts.  Thanks to my leisurely MN itinerary I travelled light.  No mallet bags or mixing bowls.  No suitcases of scrap metal, snake’s den of cables, or anything called a “beater”.  The most exotic item in my luggage was a baseball glove, packed for the Bemidji backyard.  For once I sailed through airport security.
And she came, too!

However, upon my return life ramps up with three fun events rounding out the month of May, heralding June and True Summer.

May 27th
Long-distance relationships are tough, but I’m really pleased that Concert Black has remained active, albeit intermittent, this year despite my awkward Connecticut residence. You can find our fair trio performing our wonderful Robert Honstein commission RE: You as well as a group-composed, quasi-improvisational response to his work on Music With a View 2012.
Sunday, 5/27, 3pm, The Flea theater, free

May 29th
I’m very happy to once again join the daring and gifted Bang on a Can pianist Vicky Chow at The Stone to perform Daniel Wohl’s gleefully glitchy duet for piano, percussion, and electronics, Pixelated.  For more details on her solo recital program, have a look on Facebook.  If you have not seen her shrug off this challenging music like it’s no biggie, I suggest that you do.
Tuesday, 5/29, 10pm, The Stone, $10

June 2nd

After a successful U.S. premiere and subsequent tour of their co-commissioned, mind-altering work by Michael Gordon, Timber (seriously, give it a listen), Mantra Percussion is back at it with an ambitious three night stand, each of which focuses on the music of a single composer in a so-called “portrait concert”. 
Some of my favorite Dudes Who Drum, I’m especially excited to join Mantra on a brand new work by Ted Hearne playing, of all things, electric guitar. 
[editor’s note: This is also my birthday!  JUNE 2, !!!]
Saturday, 6/2, 7:30pm, First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, $10

The rest of the summer looks bright.  When not job hunting/gathering and planning a move to The City, it will be filled with a massive Inuksuit recording project, a world-premiere of Memory Palace by Chris Cerrone, Amy Garapic-inspired Make Music New York hijinks, and a couple outrageously fun festivals with Concert Black.  To quote a favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, “further bulletins as events warrant”.