NEW-ISH MUSIC TO HEAR

Maybe you are here thinking you want to listen to some things from the past year, I don’t know…but if that happens to be the case you could go download a little EP of solo fiddle tunes played in an exploratory way…or check out some samples from Poem for my Grandparents for string orchestra. You could even check out concert footage from a performance I did last Fall at Vanguard New Music series, featuring a few brand new pieces of mine (a Chaconne and Waltz).

WHAT’S HAPPENING

My students and I will be playing at one of the fish fry events that we do each year. This one is at St. Albert the Great on March 14 and April 4 from 4:30-5:30. Come eat fish, and listen to fiddle if that’s your jam. ALSO SOON: Sister Esmerlinda plays a Cadenza Music Saturday afternoon show March 29 at 3:00. THIS SUMMER: my bandmate Nick Gaudette and I are starting up a week long Edina Fiddle Camp which I know will be lots of fun (we have taught lots of camps together in the past). Students in grades 6-12 will be able to learn a whole lot about fiddle and jamming in just one week!

Recent past: It was so much fun to hear the students in GTCYS Sinfonia East play my Irish tune arrangement in their March concert! They worked hard and rose to the challenge of really feeling the beat together and they also did great in the intro section where they could choose the timing and textures of their notes. That same weekend Sister Esmerlinda also had so much fun opening up the festival at the American Swedish Institute Midwinter Festival. I hope we will be getting back there to play more often!

In other areas, very early brainstorming has begun for a new strings piece. Right now, I am just trying to choose themes I think might work for the story it will try to tell. Writing music helps me in part, because it can be like a puzzle to mull over for some time. In any case, check back here soon, because I hope to share some things from my process, and will be working on a concert of works for tiny string orchestra to be scheduled in 2026.

DEMOCRACY

I’ve tuned into the grassroots organization Indivisible and they have some good ideas about how we might fight for democracy, if you’re looking to take action. I’m also interested in what the local group Minneapolis for the Many are up to in trying to promote progressive leadership in our city. I am all for progress…maybe we can make some good strides on a local level!