Games of Four, Not of Fear

[A]

Act I: Over three months, I meet sporadically with the director of a community chorus, the meetings seem to go well, and I am made welcome to send samples of my work. No reply is ever made to my sending, nor acknowledgment, although when I actually meet the chap, he is pleasant, and one does not believe there is any dissembling. Nevertheless, Act I drew to a pleasant conclusion. My Man on the Inside of the chorus applied diplomatic pressure, simply to listen to my work. I decided that I should attend their 3 March concert, even though it was a choral Pops event and therefore not (as we might say) my first choice. (It was good fun.) I arrived early enough, that I figured I would step in the back (the parish hall of the church, that is) and greet my friend (thanking him for his pains, and for the comp). I found (barged in upon, I might say, without exaggeration) both Eric and the M.D. finishing with their suitings-up. Eric and I withdrew (for I really did not mean to engage the conductor in conversation, so shortly before a performance), and I heard to my delight that Adam has, indeed, listened to my work, and likes it. The plan is a bit longer-scale, to allow for a possible commission.

So, I await the opening of Act II.

[B]

Paul Cienniwa is playing a concert down yonder in Delray Beach with a violinist of the Delray String Quartet, on the 19^th August. They will revive my duet, Plotting (y is the new x).

Ever the impertinent composer, I found the violinist on Facebook, logged a Friend request, and sent a brief introductory message. Shortly after she accepted, and replied with her phone number, making me welcome to call to talk about my piece.  (Questions of layout / page turns.)

For a dozen small reasons, but thankfully no great horrible reason, 1Q18 has been no friend to my musical activity/work. I had not meant for so long an interval before trying Mei Mei, but I did at last call this morning. (A little bird told me to have my music under my gaze during the call.) She had some layout/page-turn requests – and only reasonable. (Offhand, I am not sure how EmmaLee worked around the part . . . probably printed it all out at a reduction.) The call went swimmingly. As I know of the string quartet, naturally I went on to ask if I might send some music for the SQ, specifically (of course – pretty much the only quartet music I have Game Ready at present) the suite of short pieces, It’s all in your head (not that that’s a bad place for everything to be). She warmly accepted, and as the quartet have a September concert, and my pieces are short, she is already considering using one as an encore to their program.

This morning I worked at a better-flowed violin part for Mei Mei.

[C]

In a separate development, EmmaLee Holmes Hicks (who played the première of Plotting (y is the new x), above, together with Paul) has asked for music for four violins.  I originally composed It’s all in your head (not that that’s a bad place for everything to be) – in the case of the first movement, arranged – for a cello ensemble in four parts, and found afterwards that it translated quite readily to string quartet. And for EmmaLee’s piece for four violins, well, transpose a piece for four cellos up a twelfth, and . . . .

[D]

The k a rl h e nn i ng Ensemble will ride again on 17 April at King’s Chapel;  and it is time to get to work in earnest.  We have two duets composed specifically for us by Mark Gresham and Avrohom Leichtling (and we have a rehearsal later this very morning).  Our own Pam Marshall is working on a piece (Birds on the Harmonic Plain) for the four of us plus fixed media;  and I began my new quartet, Down Along the Canal to Minerva Road, on the 19^th February.

And did no work on it since.

Well, technically, there has been nothing since to show for any work on the piece.  I have mulled.

No, really.

So, here I set to a bit more work on this, before heading to Somerville to rehearse with Peter.