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What a great four days in Duluth! I conducted Only Light (twice), Pale Blue on Deep and Earthshine. I also played the laptop on Bluebonnet Drift with two groups. In total, five bands aging in age from about fifteen (high school honor bands) to 65ish? (Twin Ports Wind Ensemble). Thank you, Mark Whitlock. You’ve built such a wonderful musical band community during your time in Duluth.
I also had the privilege of working with Kim Archer. Beautiful person and beautiful music!
And last but definitely not least, being close to home means I got to work with my daughter. She sat second chair trumpet and did a wonderful job. I’m so proud of how all of the high school students performed!
Glad we got an extra hour of sleep this morning! 😂
Friday felt like the end of peak leaves in our area. The day ended with one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. Many thanks to @peyton.perrine for being slow to find her permit (she always likes to drive us around), as we may have been further down a trail and missed this shot! 😂
Fall colors have been at their peak this week! Here is an image of Huntington Mine Lake, which is located just outside of Crosby, MN. I took it just yesterday morning. It’s crazy to think how deep these mine lakes are; this one is 258 feet at its deepest point!
I love the soft morning light of October!
I have a few favorite trees in our front yard that I’ve photographed often. I find it useful to revisit familiar places and subjects, as conditions always change. So does my eye for the shot. I was fortunate to catch some lovely light today!
I had the pleasure of spending some time last week in Stevens Point with my good friend, John Lynch! Both bands performed beautifully; it was an honor!!
On my drive home, I stopped at Big Manitou Falls to check out Wisconsin’s highest waterfall. Glad I brought my camera!
A visit the morning from one of my many squirrels! 😂
My favorite maple tree just started to turn this weekend. Taken in October a few years back, this is where it’s headed!
Beautiful start to the day!
And so it begins!
I went out to take some photos of the beautiful fog this morning. Unfortunately, I only brought the 24 mm, and I wasn’t happy with the results. Anyone else have a tough time with wide focal lengths? Anyways, I took these in my way back. I like these better!
It’s a moody “mum”day 😉
The afterglow of an incredible sunset on Mille Lacs Lake last night. I couldn’t resist stopping for a quick shot, despite impatient teens in the car! 😉
It’s beginning to feel like fall!
Watching American Century make its way into the harbor! These were taken the morning of August 4th, 2023.
The sunset on Saturday night was incredible! It’s hard to believe I took these images within minutes of each other. I can’t decide which one I like the best!
New Music for strings!
Many of you of familiar with my composition, Only Light, which was originally written for winds. Today, I’m really excited to share the string ensemble arrangement, BEAUTIFULLY recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. Even if you don’t program for strings, I’d love for you to give it a listen! (YouTube link in comments)
Taking a composition for winds and reducing it down to string ensemble was surprisingly difficult! In many ways, I really had to allow myself to think of this version of Only Light as a new work.
Many thanks to Dave Starnes and Hannes Dietrich for all of the feedback and early performances! Michael Scott Butler, Chris Chapman and Andrew David Perkins, I greatly appreciate the performances of the full orchestra version last spring, too!
And last but not least, thank you to my longtime friend, Cathy Metzger, for the lovely score cover; it’s perfect!
New music!
As many of you are getting geared up for a new school year, please consider Earthshine. It’s a colorful, fun and very playable grade 2 - yes, my first actual grade 2 since I wrote April almost 20 years ago! There are melodic lines in all of the parts (yes, I’m looking at you low voices!), and the entire work is in 6/8 time with very limited hemiola. It’s a great introduction to compound meter!
The work was commissioned by the South Carolina Band Directors Association, and the 2023 SCBDA Junior All-State Band gave a wonderful premiere!
Check out the link in the comments, and please share with any directors you know that might be interested!
Anna is four today, and she’s SO excited to celebrate! Happy birthday; we love you!!!
Home now from another quick trip to the North Shore! It was fun to do the Fifth Falls Hike - it’s been a few years!