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”.
