Doing it!

So this was probably the first week where I finally felt like a professional musician and not someone who was taking a break from an office job. I had a jam packed week of performing, teaching, music engraving, networking and positive feedback from the whole thing. I really feel like I am actually working as a musician, not hoping to one day get more work. Its definitely here and I am working hard, but still having a blast doing it.

Because I've had 2 performances and 6 rehearsals in the past 5 days I had to reschedule most of my students, so needless to say I haven't seen my husband much. Its been a crammed week for sure. And I am looking forward to having tomorrow off, and having a break this morning is certainly refreshing.

Let's start with the orchestra gig I had this weekend with the concert on Monday. I was hired to play 2nd flute with an orchestra put together by a conducting grad student for his graduate recital. I wasn't expecting much, mainly I was expecting alot of students. That was not the case. Who walks in to play piccolo? Only a flute professor of UGA from when I was at UGA. Although it was fabulous to see him again and to finally get to play with him, it was nerve wracking. This is someone whom I respect as a player and think highly of, and although I had played many a jury with him sitting on the panel I really wanted to play my best this time as a professional. Lucky for me and anyone who has met him, he's so positive, encouraging, and laid back it made it easy to relax, have a good time, and in fact play well. It turned out to be a great experience, and another reminder to always be prepared, you never know who's gonna show up to play piccolo.

Now preparing for Tuesday's concert was a different ball game all together. I was premiering a work of my own for solo flute "Smorgasbord" as well as music by Boston composer Karl Henning. Karl and I were even performing a duet of his, but would only get two rehearsals to put it together. Lucky for me, he as gracious enough to send a midi of the clarinet track with and without a click track for me to rehearse with. I knew it would be a difficult piece to put together ensemble wise with only two days, I felt it was a good request to ask for and see if he could provide. He was more than happy to do so, whew! The rehearsals went well and we really didn't need as much rehearsal time as we had planned. I certainly hope to be able to perform with Karl in the future. We certainly clicked, maybe I'll get to go to Boston next time, a place I've always wanted to visit.

Enjoy a little clip of Karl Henning and I rehearsing his duet Heedless Watermelon:


I was incredibly surprised by the reaction to "Smorgasbord". It went over well, and many people, aka composers, asked about the techniques I used. It certainly raised people's curiosity and the audience found it amusing. I've recently been pushing myself to write more positive and humuorus music, since that is how I have been feeling recently. My life has changed for the better, I am happy, my music should reflect that. I am surprised at how easy that has been for me. "Mangosteen" and "Smorgasbord" are great examples of my upbeat disposition. "Nautica" reflects the intensity and spirit in which I've been tackling my life during this transition into being a wife and full-time musician. This has all been a good thing, and I am glad I took that leap from an intense, stressful office job as a single graphic designer, to a married full-time musician with new experiences every day and plenty of love and support.

Being able to quit my job, makes it easier to practice and write. I feel better prepared for everything, and I am certainly performing better. I am even more productive as a composer. The future is just as exciting, if not more so. "Mangosteen" has been accepted into the 2010 Festival of Women Composers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. So in March, I will make the journey to Indiana, PA to perform it and hopefully check out the Jimmy Stewart Museum. I am also going on my first tour in January. Its only 5 days traveling throughout the south playing in the pit of a musical, but its a new exciting adventure. Playing music and traveling are my two favorite things, and I am gonna get paid to do both....wow. I have certainly been blessed, and I have lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Festival of Women Composers Here I Come!

I found out a score of mine, details to come, will be performed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Festival of Women Composers March 17-20, 2010! I'll get more details later this week, including which of the three scores they selected and if I might be performing. Looking forward to a fun adventure and possibly meeting composer Katherine Hoover :)

Irreplaceable Doodles and Other Flights of Musical Fancy

An evening of meaningfully unaccompanied musical modernisms

featuring the irrationally exuberant music of
Karl Henning

and the tastefully delicious world premiere of Smorgasbord by
Nicole Randall-Chamberlain

as performed by the composers themselves

Karl Henning, clarinet & Nicole Randall-Chamberlain, flute

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Emory Presbyterian Church
1886 North Decatur Rd, NE, Atlanta, GA 30307


$10 general admission
$5 students with I.D.

Smorgasbord

Today I finished a new work for solo flute/piccolo. The piece is made up of 4 short movements:

I. Crunchy - Aggressive and punchy attacks on the extreme registers of the flute give this movement the characteristics of the title.

II. Gelatinous - Jazz influenced, like a lot of my music I suppose, but with a bit of humor. The thick and slow moving quality is credited to the use of quarter-sometimes half tone slides.

III. Carbonated - I use the pizzacato technique quite a bit in my writing for flute. I love exploring the different techniques at the flute's disposal. Unlike other instruments, we don't get to use mutes or other devices to change our sound. Its all in the face :) This movement exercises the flexibility of a player to not only play straight up pizzacato, but to use other syllables to produces different types of sounds. End is result is a poppy, fun, and incredibly humorous piece. Sometimes, music is taken to seriously. It can be fun without being ridiculous.

IV. Fluffy - I took a chance and gave this movement to the piccolo. I don't play the piccolo enough and it has a certain tone quality that a flute just can't produced. My gripe with most composers is that they tend to think of the piccolo as an extension of the flute's register. But there's so much more to this tiny wooded beast. It has its only personality, and in this movement I explore it's toy march persona.

I am looking forward to performing this piece in November. I rather have someone else play my music, so I can relax and hear what I've written with some distance. But I feel I actually wrote within my capabilities with a little bit of challenge. It should go pretty well, its short and sweet and to the point. Hopefully it will add some contrast to the program in November.

duoATL Concert

On Sunday, October 25 at 3pm at MacLean Auditorium in Presser Hall at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA I will be performing with Dr. Brian Luckett in concert. We will be performing a new program. All works are by composers who's lifetime overlapped ours:

Lost Hollow Road by Brian Chamberlain (That's right the hubby)
Sonatina Mexicana by Carlo Domeniconi
New Castle Parade by Brian Luckett
Acrobats by David Leisner
Serenata al Alba del Dia by Joaquin Rodrigo
Six Pieces for Flute and Guitar by Annette Kruisbrink
Suite Buenos Aires by Maximo Deigo Pujol

We took off my work "Mangosteen". We've played it about 3 times for Agnes Scott College related events, I thought it was just time to swap it out for something else at least for this concert.

We found some new pieces and this seems to be a less intense concert than the ones we've done in the past. Hopefully I won't be completely exhausted at the end of this concert. That is if I make an appropriate shoe choice.

I was glad to make a new connection with Annette Kruisbrink via Brian Luckett's love of her guitar duet. We actually adapted her guitar duet for ourselves, but wanted to find a piece she had written specifically for flute and guitar. Low and behold she had written two. I dropped her an email and she was kind enough to send us the scores to read. Wouldn't you know it? The first two movements of "Six Pieces" was from the guitar duet we had adapted. So we just had to put it in our program.

Hope you all can come. Admission is free. Be sure to visit our new website for more concerts and information: http://www.duoatl.com

Mercury Season!

September has turned into the month of rehearsals, and I have to make a few leaps between genres. I love late night rehearsals when I don't have to be in at work the next day at nine. That was killer, I never had time to do any individual practice. Now I feel prepared when I go to rehearsals. Its fabulous!

Last night we kicked off Mercury Season rehearsal. Its a small chamber ensemble made up of flute, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and cello. We're currently in residence at Georgia Perimeter College, so for the past 2 years we've had to come up with a unique program each concert based on a theme. This time we are doing music that was inspired by Autumn.

It was great to get back together with everyone and make some music. We're playing a little bit of everything, like always. Some Piazzolla, Joplin, Vivaldi, Schubert, and even some Neil Young. Last night we just touched on a little bit of everything so we all know where we stand and can adjust our individual practice time accordingly.

We did, however, get some bad news right before rehearsal. Bill got a text that Fred Mills had died. Fred Mills as the trumpet professor at UGA, my alma mater, and a former member of the Canadian Brass. It was shocking news, and not expected from anyone in the room. Hopefully we'll get more information on what happened, and hope the best for his family. I'm sure UGA School of Music will have a fantastic Memorial Concert for him. He did good things for the trumpet studio.

Well today's another day, and I better get to practicing. I have duoATL rehearsal tonight and jazz rehearsal with a new group tommorrow night. Its definately all keeping me on my toes.

Summer Shade in the Rain

duoATL performed at the Summer Shade Festival yesterday. Turned out to be a very rainy one. Luckily we did have a tent, but by the end of the concert I was standing in a good sized puddle. Right before we started the Pujol, Brian says "Don't touch the microphone." Great. Nothing like a bit of fear of death to put some life into the music. I was glad to be done with that gig. It went well, and I appreciate all the folks that stopped in the rain and listened. Next time I just hope its sunny. At least there was no wind turning my pages.