Procrastination?

I've been getting my head together for finals week and grading. It's really just the finals, juries, and a few late entries into the homework assignments, so it isn't so bad. The test is ready except for the photocopying, and juries aren't until Wednesday.

I should start putting some effort into either my SNM commission for next year, or the wind ensemble piece I started this semester, a re-harmonization of Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. I've got all my materials ready. It's just a matter of some broad sketches and fleshing it out.

Should is the operative word.

Instead, I spent this weekend finally beginning to input and tweak my Symphony No. 2. There is a brief passage I want to fix near the beginning, but the rest will be mostly straight input as well as clarifying some dynamics. I'm about 3/4 into the first movement. (I had started a long time ago when I was trying out a new version of Sibelius.) My Euphonium Concerto is in the same state, although possibly further along, except it needs more extensive revision.

My Notagraphia website has been trailing a coming score to Oyre's Garden for a long time now, and that is what I spent today on. I've converted it from Finale to Sibelius and increased the staff size, so it doesn't need to be printed out on large format paper to be able to read it. There are some minor revisions, mostly making it look a little more like it sounds. Again, I've added and clarified some dynamics. All I have left to do is the front matter, and then I can upload it to Createspace. I'm trying to decide whether it needs new parts or whether I can easily adjust the Finale parts.

I'm also going to tweak the score to Chaos. I'm not happy with the accolades (the instrument names in the margin), so I'm going to improve them, add the front matter and post it - probably at the same time as Oyre's Garden. That's probably an afternoon of work between the two scores, so I should upload them by Christmas, and get to the new pieces.

Saying that, I have a typesetting job on its way, so that might eat into my composing time.

Remembering the Night Sky is now available on Createspace

Remembering the Night Sky (chamber version) is now available on Createspace. Parts are free, if you purchase the score and email me on the address inside the cover page. It will be available on Amazon within the next week.

At this point in time, I don't have a release date for the saxophone and piano version, since it is too short for Createspace publication. I'm considering publishing it with a bonus of Mirage, for solo alto saxophone. That will get me up to the minimum page threshold.

Chaos, for piano and orchestra should go live by the end of the month. I need to come up with some interesting artwork for it.

New arrangement

I've been quiet here, but I've been busy.

Firstly, I think Chaos is just about ready to upload to Createspace, and ultimately Amazon. I've edited the harp part, but I may have one more look through the score before finalizing it.

In the meantime, I've finish an arrangement of Remembering Child for a performance in Syracuse at the end of January (http://www.societyfornewmusic.org/concerts.cfm), and I'm expecting proofs in the mail in the next few days to approve. I'll post an announcement. This the first score with my own digital artwork, and I'm hoping it looks good. I'm not sure about the scaling of the jpeg. I may have to go back to one of their stock images. Someday, I hope I'll be able to supply real artwork for my covers.

I've also set the original version with piano, but it's too few pages to publish on Createspace. It's only 16 pages and the minimum is 24. Front matter takes it up to 18, but that is still 6 pages short. I could publish my sax quartet with it as a bonus, or possibly Mirage, which I haven't typeset yet, but it is only a couple of pages long. It's a solo alto piece with loads of multiphonics, key clicks, and pops. I might consult on it first. Some of the multiphonics are awkward, and I might try to find some notes with smoother fingerings approaching and leaving them.

There are two more works on the horizon. Firstly, I have another piece to write for the Society for New Music - for next season. Also, I've been sketching a wind ensemble piece based on Bach's harmonization and my reharmonization of Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. I'll give more details on that later.