Sitting down

As I'm sitting here exhausted, I've finished all my current commissions and am in that nervous time while the performers are rehearsing - probably finding that the pieces are each in their own way almost impossible to play. The arrangement of Inner Sanctum is a known entity, at least. The strings playing Labyrinth are going to hate me for the fast and frenetic final movement. The cellos in Dystopian sunrise are going to gasp for air from the stratospheric heights of their parts.

In the interim I'll start a new job, plan my new courses, do my UK taxes, and move in to our new house. We are halfway there. Somehow I'm going to have to figure out how to fit into my new (smaller) office, possibly the smallest one I've had, except for the 8x8' room I had in Saxmundham - but I was also renting a larger office in a nearby business center at the time. I'm nearly set up, but I have no idea where my books are going ... and the stereo. That's probably going down in the living room, but it may be too big.

Still much to do, but my body hurts, and it's only a few days until Christmas. Presents? Are you kidding? We haven't had time to think about them.

I'm ready for an early night.

Labyrinth

As I am sitting here (instead of going to bed), the score to Labyrinth is printing. All I have left is to proof and extract parts.

Even with a long lead time, most of the composition came down to the wire. I've been so busy with this semester and my move to Cincinnati, that I basically lost all my weekends. I don't think I've ever composed so quickly, and speaking of quick, the last movement is ridiculously fast with a lot of notes. It probably can't be played as quickly as the tempo I've marked, but I'm hoping the performers can prove me wrong. It's a very different beast than I originally envisioned, but I think it's good.

Premiere: Jan. 22 at 2 pm - Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY