Lilliputian for piccolo and music box

Lately, I've had lots to compose. I've had back to back commissions (hooray!). In fact, I still have one left on the table that is due in July that I should get to hacking away at before I get stressed about it. But, I bought this music box back in December and haven't had time or inspiration to compose for it. I decided to take a break from composing my "to do" list, and compose for my "want" list. So I composed a little piece for piccolo and music box. You can watch a video below:

 

It was as fun as I hoped, and I hope I get to do more. Since this music box would be new to a good bit of folks, I also put together a music box tutorial to explain the process:

I did this project as a fun exercise to get me to think differently. My last year of compositions have been all for flute in one aspect or another and I needed a different challenge. But now, it looks like its turned into somewhat of a fundraiser for my dog who will have EXPENSIVE knee surgery tomorrow so she can walk on all four legs again. You can read about the surgery from our pal Jarrett Bellini who went through the same thing last summer and made me feel good about our decision to do this surgery. It will be worth every penny to see Annie run and terrorize squirrels again...also its painful to watch her try to squat to take care of business. Turns out a dog's back leg is pretty crucial to day to day function.
So help us out and buy the sheet music to Lilliputian or you can browse some more of our music at spottedrocket.com, in case you are not a flutist or piccoloist. Or if you don't see anything you like, you could always commission me. I've got nothing lined up after this one I am working (about to work) on. Thanks for your continued support!

2013 Resolutions

Why is this the only 2012 picture of us together? Not this year!

Ok, so maybe I didn't accomplish any of my goals from last year, but priorities changed. We are going to make my husband's work the scapegoat here. His shifts changed and so our lives had to change, thus our goals changed. I ended up having to do some things without him, but that's ok. We were still able to collaborate on some things even if they were on an incredible small scale. At the very least I got a wonderful flute quartet that he composed for an ensemble I play in, Perimeter Flutes. I can't wait to premiere it! This year had its challenges though and we've had to roll with the punches.

Sam, world's best cuddler -  Miss you buddy!

This year we had to say goodbye to an incredible dog who I bonded with immediately and he even won over my husband. I really don't know who took Sam's death harder, me or my hubs. I'm glad Sam was a part of our lives, and I hope at some point we get another opportunity to share our home with another deaf dog. It's a totally different mind set in communication and relationship (especially for musicians), but a rewarding one. For now, we'll have to be happy with spoiling our little orphan Annie and I suppose the hub's 15 year old cat, Mikey (or tons of fun).

GSO rehearsing

Don't get me wrong 2012 wasn't a total washout. 2012 was the year for repeat performances and revisiting people and projects I have enjoyed in the past. I was commissioned to compose for the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, something I've wanted for a long time. Not only do I love writing for orchestra but the GSO is packed with friends who have a special place in my heart.  I also got to travel to hear some repeat performances of pieces that premiered in 2011, AND I got to compose for the Dahlia Flute Duo again. Looking forward to that premiere in March. If anything it was the year of repeat performances. Something I haven't really experienced in such magnitude, the main repeaters being "Rabbit Tales", "Tamar", "Chatter", and "Hopewell".

Fisticuffs rehearsal with Chamber Cartel

 2012 was also the year of participating with new ensembles: Perimeter Flutes, Chamber Cartel, and Terminus Ensemble. All three of these groups show promise and some fabulous talented people, most of whom I met this year and I hope its the continuation of some fabulous friendships and collaborations. However, I wish to NOT repeat the 5 hour performance of "For Philip Guston" by Morton Feldman. That, my friends, is a once in a lifetime experience for many reasons. Let's move onto new and exciting projects and experiences!

First photo of 2013!

So what about 2013? Well, there's already two commissions in the queue that I need to begin and one contract for a commission where the terms are agreed on, but just waiting for the administration to sign the contract. There are also 3 definite premieres on the calendar for 2013. I better get to work! I plan to compose a flute quartet, clarinet and organ duo, and hopefully more band music. There are also some personal things I would like to compose, but I'm going to keep those up in the air and see what the year brings. 2013 could end up like 2012 and my plans were not what God had in mind.

Week of Rejection

So this wasn't a steller week, and actually a pretty broke week. The dog had surgery...good news is he's recovering very well, the rotor and brakes went out on the car, a work of mine was rejected from a local performance group (there were 200 submissions so I don't feel incredibly bad about that), and I didn't make my audition for the Alabama Symphony (I didn't even advance past the initial round).

Needless to say, this week has been a huge blow to the ol' ego. When it rains it pours. Oh well, I've had worse weeks. Rejection is nothing new, and I'm sure it will never go away. It'll just make the few small successes better...when they finally happen.

I am looking foward to some vacation time, and I'm gonna go home to Savannah this weekend to try to get a jump start on feeling like I am on vacation. I'm gonna step back and see if I can get a new plan of attack.

Spotted Rocket Scuttled

Some of you know about my dalmatian, Jesse aka the Spotted Rocket. He had a couple of growths removed today. All went well. I'll know in a
couple of weeks exactly what they were. Hopefully, like last time,
they'll turn out benign.

Here's some pictures of the poor pup...they are a little gross, so if
you don't have the stomach for seeing Frankenstein type scars don't
bother clicking on the link. He'll have his stitches removed in two weeks:

http://www.nikkinotes.com/jesse/

I know this has nothing to do with music, but he does accompany me
when I practice. So in a loose way he is my music buddy, even if he
doesn't always sing in the right key.