2017 NFA Awards!

There's no way to post this article without it being humble-braggy. It's totally crazy. Here's what happened for this year's NFA awards:

2017 Flute Choir Composition Competition Winner - Chivy for flute choir

2017 Newly Published Music Awards:
Asphyxia - Winner for Solo Flute
Wail for flute and trombone - Winner for Flute and Other Instruments
In Cahoots for flute duo & Orion's Belt for flute trio - Finalists for Flute Chamber Works
Trisection - Honorable Mention for Flute Chamber Works
Lilliputian - Honorable Mention for Flute and Other Instruments
Dizzy - Honorable Mention for Flute Choir

See y'all in Minneapolis. I already bought my plane ticket.

We're Recording an Album of My Music!

A New Year's Resolution of mine every year has been to make an album of my music, and every year I find the task to daunting to do it. Come to find out, it was only daunting because I didn't have friends I love, trust, with amazing chops to help me. This is the year, we make an album.

It's finally happening! I'm recording an album of my flute music with a couple of amazing musicians, flutists Mary Matthews and Matthew Angelo. We've been long time collaborators and schemers. They've have premiered the bulk of my flute music, we've gone on roadtrips, and there's been amazing performances. It only makes sense that these be the first people I record an album with.

So here's the catch. It takes quite a bit of money to make that happen. A successful album can help a musician's career, and we're hoping this album will shake some things loose for us. We have a contract with MSR Classics label, but we need to hire a recording engineer, cover CD manufacturing costs, and promotional materials. If you could pitch in some money, we have some wonderful rewards including the CD, signed scores of Asphyxia, and even online video flute lessons! We started a Go Fund Me Campaign, and hope you will contribute so we can make this happen. And if you were looking for a belated 40th birthday gift, this would be awesome :)

Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for beatboxing flute quartet

I don't do many competitions. I prefer to self-publish for reasons I won't get into here, but this blog article by John Mackey says it all. However, this time I made an exception to both.

I don't like to do competitions unless: A. It costs me nothing (or minimal), B. I can get a good performance by another group in the likely event I will lose, C. If I feel its something that would sell, and D. If it feels a void in my catalog. This competition let me do all sorts of things I couldn't do on my own.

Securing rights to anything is tricky and seems like a daunting task that I would not enjoy at any point in the process. Sheet Music Press does make it easy for me to look through their catalog of titles and find something that appeals to me and decide to do it. In this instance, I thought how crazy fun it would be to make an arrangement of  Metallica's "Enter Sandman" using extended techniques then get my flute quartet to perform it (none of them have or had listen to heavy metal).

The other great thing about this competition is that it is based on sales, so it makes me push things more (get back to blogging!) So here I am, pushing and hustling. Get on it kids! Buy my cheesy arrangement of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" for beatboxing flute quartet. I have to get my sales in by June 24! 

Every day at NFA

I didn't plan to go to the National Flute Association's Flute Convention in San Diego this year. Going to the convention is an expensive endeavor especially when it involves flying to the other coast. Unless I had something major being performed I was going to sit this one out. So when my friends started conspiring to perform and commission new pieces with the hopes they would be selected to perform at NFA, I had my doubts any of it would be selected - especially the proposal that involved playing 30 minutes of my works on one program. I had made up my mind that we couldn't swing going to NFA this year, and that if would be crazy to think any of those proposals would be selected.  So when 5 of the 7 proposals were selected, I was in total disbelief.

from last year's NFA

This year's NFA really is going to be an extraordinary experience for me. First of all, I've never been to California - yay, travel! Secondly, I have 6 pieces being performed. SIX!!!! I always feel lucky to just get one piece performed during the 5 day convention. This means every day at the NFA convention I am having a piece performed. Thirdly, in spite of my printer's attempts to die, I've managed to convince Flute World to sell my music at their humongous booth at the Exhibit Hall at NFA. Lastly, I get to take an epic road trip with two of my friends and conspirators from Boulder, CO to San Diego, CA which includes stopping at the Grand Canyon for a couple nights. The best part about going to NFA is a chance to see and meet all the wonderful people who have performed my pieces and friends I rarely get to see. I also hope to meet people who I've made connections with online who have performed my music. It's a rare opportunity and I had to figure out a way to get to NFA.

So how do you get to NFA on a budget. I have been putting some money away from my sheet music sales since Christmas on. With that, I was able to pay all my NFA fees and plane tickets. The hotel is expensive, especially in San Diego. Luckily, nothing like friends to help defray the costs on the hotel. My 3 other cohorts and I are splitting a hotel for 4 of those days. I have to stay over by myself one night. Believe it or not, the cost of my hotel with my 3 friends was cheaper than my one night alone.  The only thing I have left to pay is food. Food, in my opinion, is the easiest way to save money. If the hotel doesn't serve a free breakfast, I can run to the grocery store and get some Luna Bars for the week. Lunch is usually catch if you can - if I remember to eat. Dinner - well dinner is always worth a good sit down meal with some adult beverages. For someone who didn't plan to go to NFA, I was able to do it. Now next year, I'll have to play be ear again. The lesson is "Always Be Saving".

Last year's NFA with my sister and FNMC

What do I hope for this year's NFA? I hope that I reinforce previous relationships with performers, learn some new tricks for my student's sake, and make new connections for more commissions. I've reached a lull in commissions. It happens. I may have exhausted my current connections and its time to make new ones. While I hope to have a good time with my friends and get a chance to see a bit of San Diego, I will have to put on the used car salesman hat my grandfather left me and go shake some hands.I'm just lucky that I enjoy my job so much that it doesn't always seem like work. Let's face it, its a Sunday afternoon - I should be relaxing, but I love what I do and it doesn't seem like work.

Traditional Hymns for Flute Duet

I've made it no secret that the summer is a struggle for us freelance musicians financially. A good bit of my students take the summer off for travel or camps. So I am teaching less. It is also slim pickins for paid performances, with the exception of some "Stars & Stripes" gigs for us flute/piccolo players . The result is I typically have more time to compose. While I have been doing that, sometimes I like to revisit doing arrangements especially for flute duo.

 My Christmas Flute Duets have by far been the best seller of anything I have available for sale on my website. Unfortunately, those typical only sell during October through early January then sales drop off. I managed to prolong some sales by adding Easter and Lent Flute Duets as well as Wedding Flute Duets. Although those have been received well too, I have had many requests over the years to do a collection of traditional hymns. Music for church services is performed quite a bit, and people who perform that music on a weekly basis are always hungry for new music.

 The result is I finally had some time this summer to get to a project I have always wanted to complete. It solves many problems for me. It makes me brush up on my basic composition skills, create some much needed income, and gives me some new music to perform with students and friends at my own church. Right now, I have 5 Traditional Hymns for flute duet: "Amazing Grace", "Be Thou My Vision", "How Great Thou Art", "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name", and "O Sanctisimma". So far, people seem to really enjoy them. Perhaps in the future I will be able to expand on the collection. They are always fun to arrange and perform. I'm always so please to hear how other flutists are so glad to find some new hymns to perform at their own church.

You can listen and buy all of the Traditional Hymns for Flute Duet here!

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!