Sax World

In addition to meeting some cool people this month, and having the orchestra performances, I had the pleasure of hosting the Erie Saxophone Quartet at Carnegie-Mellon. The group from SUNY Fredonia played two concerts, a select performance for music majors, and then an evening concert for the public. Both concerts went swimmingly well! The earlier performance included a premiere of one of my pieces which I wrote specifically for that concert: a saxophone octet! (We're all pictured here on stage.) We also had a composer visit from Norway, the delightful and attractive Peter Edwards, who also wrote a piece for Erie Sax Quartet. It was his first time in the States, and I'm amazed that he found his way to Pittsburgh from Manhattan, on a bus, and was waiting patiently for the quartet in the lounge of the music building!

I've decided that saxophones are my jam: I think the sax and I have a lot in common. We both felt a little left out in our skewed interests about classical music (we're both newbies to the classical world, all things considered) and we both like lots of different things. I like dance music and chocolate-covered pretzels, and the sax likes Miles Davis and Milhaud. We both hate Kenny G. He says potahto and I say mash 'em up with butter...okay, maybe we don't really have that much in common, but I love the sound of the saxophone and I want to keep writing for it! Its sound can be smoky or bright, sexy or stoic, crazy funky or mysterious. And how great is the contrabass sax, or the tubax, which I will probably never see in my life. Though for some reason our high school band had a bass saxophone, which I hear is not all that common either.

Photo courtesy of Peter Edwards, who managed to get all of us without red eyes. Though the magic of stage perspective makes me look less tall here.

Open Chest

A man came to deliver boxes of paper to the office a while back. Good-natured fellow, no complaints. He even helped me lift the heavy boxes of paper off the cart and onto the stairs, where I take them down into the basement. But then he told me he technically shouldn't help...and then he pulled up his shirt, revealing some serious scars. I don't know how you could still be alive with scars that looked like that, because they look ready to burst open at any moment. He exclaimed,
"I've been cut open! Hope you're not squeamish. Doctors told me I shouldn't lift anything, but hey, it hasn't killed me yet!!"

Symphony reading a success

It's over! The Pittsburgh Symphony has now read my orchestra piece, which was a success! The highlights of the performance included some weird power dynamic between the immature bass section and the conductor and the composer in residence, in which the basses (of which there were only 4 out of 9 players present) were asked to raise their dynamic level one tiny notch, and then instead of just very quiet, they played as loud as they could. The harpist was also waving her arms frantically trying to get my attention because her page was taped in backwards. Other than that!... the performance went well, and I'm really glad that the sounds in my brain translated to the music. I was most worried about the climax of the piece, that it wouldn't be long enough, but it was just right! The harp/piano/celesta trio also sounded really lovely and music-box-like, and the soprano sax was just the right haunting touch. Much to my surprise, the brass sections also sounded amazing (no offense to you good brass players); I wasn't sure if their parts would overpower the orchestra, but they didn't!

Though the entire reading session and its luncheon/Q&A were pretty shoddily put together, it was nonetheless a great experience, and I learned a lot about the preparation needed for a big piece. The other three students' works also had really good moments, and I liked most all of them, except for maybe some redundancy in one longer piece. John Corigliano, the composer in residence this year, mentioned that once a composer writes a piece, and hands it over to an orchestra, his job is basically done, aside from very small changes. It seems so obvious, but perhaps it's a good reminder to prepare as much as possible for anything that I could foresee being questioned, and have it clearly marked on the page. The contrabassoonist also made a good point that my piece being sort of slow and ethereal, that performers may have to put extra effort into shaping the sounds of slow notes and textural music, rather than zipping by quick passages, so that it actually makes a simpler piece more difficult to perform.
There will be one "real" concert performance of the piece, by the CMU Philharmonic on the 25th. Rehearsals for that concert begin tomorrow. But after the Pittsburgh Symphony stress, having to talk to the whole symphony on the podium (don't sound like an idiot! don't waste time! don't sweat through your shirt!), speaking to an orchestra of people my own age will seem less daunting.

(To the right, in no particular order: poorly planned photo opportunity with section leaders, student composers, I'm the one guy wearing a tie, conductor Larry Loh, and composer in residence, contrabassoonist).

Pittsburgh Symphony reading tomorrow

Tomorrow morning the Pittsburgh Symphony reads my orchestra piece! Along with three other students from universities in the city, we'll (hopefully) get good feedback on our work, along with a sound from one of the worlds top orchestras, that I'm sure will blow my mind, even if they are just sight-reading. I'm very excited, but very nervous. What if I get torn to pieces because my cues are ugly? Or if I forgot a senza sordino marking? Or what if the third trombone gets annoyed for sitting there too long and gets up in a huff and walks out? Luckily I don't think that will happen, but I'm still nervous. My family is also coming into town to hear the piece, as well as some friends, colleagues, and faculty. All things considered, though, I'm sure it will be a learning experience, and I have confidence that what I wrote is a good first piece for orchestra(!), including soprano sax, piano, and celeste, and some hot crotale action. I'm particularly excited to hear the climactic moment where everyone's really loud (and hopefully appropriately balanced) and the weird solo xylophone at the end, like one last little duck wandering around an Icelandic lake in springtime.
Wish me luck!
(Seen right: Heinz Hall at night, home of the PSO.)

Lose some, win some

The other night I went out to a bar expecting it to be hopping with activity- little did I realize that the gays as a whole are far less adventurous than my friends and I on a cold, snowy night. So I missed out on macking it with anyone (probably not a bad thing, really) but then there was a raffle for a CD that I would have liked to own, and my friend Mark gave me his ticket, which was called! So the end result was -1 makeout, +1 new Goldfrapp album, which I'm really enjoying.

Special Guests

It has been an exciting couple of weeks for this composer, and the end of March is even more filled with fun, with the Pittsburgh Symphony reading my piece, Carnegie-Mellon performing it, and then a student chamber recital the very next day. But for now, I've had the pleasure of seeing and meeting some really great musicians that I've admired, which for some reason I felt I never had the same experience at my undergrad. We certainly had our share of special guests there, but perhaps Pittsburgh's pull for celebrities is stronger, or I've been less shy to go up to someone and shake hands. A while ago I got to meet the composer in residence of the Symphony this year, John Corigliano. He chose my piece for the symphony reading, and he flies in from NYC from time to time for premiers and performances. He turned 70 this year, but doesn't look it. Sally and I got a picture with him, and we're all wearing our thick-rimmed glasses. Bummer that mine aren't red, or we'd be triplets.

Then, I got to see Evelyn Glennie up close and personal, at the autograph signing after her performance at the symphony (John Corigliano wrote a percussion concerto for her which she premiered in Pittsburgh.) I should have known that we weren't going to have a conversation, as she is deaf. And a superstar. The line for autographs was really long. Still, she signed a CD I had of her playing the Macmillan 'Veni, Veni Emmanuel' and she is completely glamorous, and every move she makes is fluid and graceful. Her performance was unbelievable- she improvised cadenzas that I wished would go on and on, using everything from pieces of wood to marimba, timpani, gongs, and drums.


Two nights ago, I got to meet and chat with the composer Ricky Ian Gordon! First I started off as the doorman, but luckily I got to join the party after all the guests arrived. We chatted briefly about a song I used to listen to while I was an undergrad and it really moved me- it was one of those songs you stumble upon at the end of a CD (actually, the AIDS Quilt Songbook), which I was listening to as it also featured a Vassar professor. Ricky's song was last and I copied the music so I could play it myself. I've played that song for years, and he seemed very appreciative to hear that. We also compared striped suit jackets and devoured some delicious petit fours together. The evening was made complete by seeing admired faculty members relax for once and enjoy a glass (or three) of wine, and then everyone gave hugs goodbye. If only we drank wine and then hugged at the end of every harmonic analysis. Hugs would make a Schenkerian "Zug" so much sweeter. Hugs for Zugs!!

There are still more musical guests to come!

Ostrich legs

Did you know that ostrich legs bend backwards?
Well, they do. They don't have this many joints, but I bet bending down from the other direction feels like this, and probably sounds like a squeezed accordion.

Hillary Ping Pong

I had a fantastic trip to Washington D.C. this past weekend! The trip included seeing much-missed friends, catching the Museum of the American Indian (which far surpassed my expectations of it), and seeing Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters, where my friend Ryan works. I call it Hill HQ for short. My posse and I got a personal tour (not from the lady herself, sadly, I think she was in Wisconsin, but I'm sure she'd take time out just for us to show where the staff does yoga if she could) from Ryan. We stopped on one of the floors, where there's a ping-pong table, a podium (practice debates!), and not much else. To amuse ourselves for a few minutes, how about a game of ping-pong? To which I proceeded to swiftly whack the only ping-pong ball up into the ceiling through an open panel where the tile had been removed. I eventually found the ball with the help of a Hillary Flashlight and teamwork, but thank goodness no one important saw us, or the scene might have looked like this.
On a side note, Mark wondered if the ping-pong paddles had Hillary's face on them. Sadly, no, (though Photoshop could make that happen) but we did decide that "ping-ponging" would be the "flip-flopping" of the 2008 election.

Study in Shapes and Colors

Random colorful strips of paper with overlaid squares, and in the squares, circles.

HVD2008?

As my good friend Peter pointed out, Valentine's Day shares an acronym with another nagging part of love, venereal disease. All the more reason to celebrate being single. To the right: my Valentine's Day card for this year.

Copy Mayhem

Today was the day that I finally turned in all the instrument parts and the score for the reading of my orchestra piece! The Pittsburgh Symphony now owes me 1.5 hours for time spent in four different buildings, searching for a copy machine that functioned. That's right, not one, not two, but four copy machines I tried to use had some defect, including:
1. totally broken and parts were on order
2. weird red lines of waxy substance on glass made stray marks on every copy
3. toner lines across every page
4. paper jam, and yet no paper in the machine

In addition, there were other copy machines that worked, but I couldn't use cash. I could, however, put money on a card which I could swipe on the copier. The catch is that the cards can only be purchased with five dollar bills. And I only had ones. Curse you, George Washington!

In any case, an angel descended upon me in the form of Amy and her architecture office, who let me do all the copying, which went smoothly from there on! It's a huge relief for me to be done with the prep work, but now I'm just nervous that there are mistakes that went unnoticed. Such is life- I'm not overly anal about meticulous details, but I certainly don't want a page from the harp part in the saxophone folder. How does one play pres de la table on the sax?

Photo: not related, but putting papers together nonetheless. Photo credit: Sally Bozzuto.

Chili

And God said, "Let there be no more eating of thine delicious chili,
for I will make thy jejunum very angry."

Mama's Pizza

That last post was a little serious. To return to something lighter (and doughier?), let's take a look at what I think the ideal pizza parlor would be called. Mmmm?
The byline is the kicker, but an added bonus is the bright ad I'd put in the window.
The next comic is missing this fabulous ad in the window, but the signage is the obvious natural progression:

Virtues and Vices

It's difficult to talk about one's vices without 1. sounding complainy, or 2. inviting a pity party, where your friends feel obligated to say something nice to you. That being said, I think of all the vices or 'deadly sins' I could be held accountable for, jealousy (also categorized as envy) is at the top of my list.

As much as I try to live my life without comparing myself to others, it's pretty much impossible for me. (Sloth, on the other hand, would be on the bottom of the list of vices, but sloths are on the top of my list of 'Thank God These Animals Exist!!'). Jealousy is a clingy bitch I just can't seem to shake. I admire people for their expertise in their field, but because I often lack mastery at one particular area, and I'm still 'young', I somehow find myself coming up short, and being too self-critical. I can write music pretty well, but there's so many musical things I haven't learned which I feel that I should know by now. I can talk about art history a bit, but I can't draw a figure that doesn't look like a comic. I love design, but I'm only beginning to learn what it actually takes to choose a good font.
I can be very organized, but I can forget small details, and I envy those who have excellent retention of facts. I'm also really jealous that other people have money. Not just disposable income, sure, but things like, oh, steady jobs, and careers. Retirement account? Pshaw. I would probably shoot myself if I had to work as an investment banker, though.

Things that I am also jealous about, to a lesser degree:

-muscles
-boyfriends, girlfriends, and the men/women who love them (more of a disgust+envy mix)
-people who buy clothes at regular price, thus, finding the right size, clothes fit properly!
-CD collections
-kids who have no college debt
-boys with lots of hair (and not lots of shoulder hair, like I have)
-classical piano skills

Things I don't have, but I'm not jealous about:
-expensive cars
-quality of housing
-big television
-breasts

But there is good news! I read an article by a Vassar grad (Dawn Deisbach, '90) who called herself a 'Generalist': she wasn't interested in any one field in her lifetime, but instead, drew the different parts of her life together, from writing a play to playing the violin, acting, and writing feminist papers. She writes that "there's never enough time to do all we're capable of...and burnout is often one rehearsal or revision away...yet [I] can remain ridiculously busy and feel energized." I think the key to overcoming my jealous vice is to recognize that I have talents which are diverse, and where some areas of my knowledge might seem incomplete, I am also interested in pulling together many other areas where many people focus in just one field. Many people I know don't care about contemporary art, but that shouldn't make my interest in art any less valid.

Like the Vassar grad, I'm optimistic that I too will be able to pull my interests together to pay the rent and not end up a crack whore. I don't expect it to happen overnight, so until then, I work as much as I can at random jobs (excluding crack and prostitution).

Second on the list of vices would have to be lust. But I'm down with lust.


Above: green-eyed monster, with black eyebrows.
What is your deadliest sin, viciest vice?

Teeshirt Necklace

This necklace made its debut for the Wungsten concert performance, but in case you weren't there (heaven forbid) and seeing how it's about the only new piece of jewelry/sculptural design/tumor-like protrusion/recycled material homage to Louis Bourgeois that I've made in a while, I thought I might highlight it. It's made of one whole teeshirt! I cut it up and tied it, and wound with string and a few black glass beads. Here the strap is also doubled- it can hang low as well. Perfect for those star-studded red carpet events I know all my readers are attending this year. Nothing says 'Glamour, Now!' more than knobby black fingers poking out of your neck (+ Balenciaga gown, and you're good to go).

Sick, Classes, Vitamin C

Classes started again this week and I of course got sick, with all the new germs having arrived back in town and stopping into the tiny closet where I work. Sadly I couldn't skip class, as it's the first class of the semester and I didn't want to lose my spot. Thankfully I feel better and I'm now ready to start many new exciting classes, like Choral Arranging, Communication Design, and an Architecture+Art course. I'm also excited about hearing a saxophone octet I wrote premiered in a couple months (8 saxes! Adolph would be proud), and I'm getting down to business in editing parts for the orchestra performance/reading. But I think for safety's sake I'm going to start the next few days off with some extra Vitamin C.

Beading/Beating

Oh, how easily we can miscommunicate in our clumsy English language. It's like that old saying. "Women are from Venus; Men are from the Ren Fair."
Or something like that.

Material Goods

The more things I acquire, the less I am able to say 'I don't have a lot of things', but the more I want to say it.











(right: a collage grid of slide library index cards c. 2003, a tribute to Agnes Martin.)

Ways I Am Like My Father

I looked in the reflection of a car the other day and I realized that my face looks a lot more like my father than it used to. When I was younger, I looked more like my mom, and my sister looked like my father; now the tides have turned. It's a good thing my dad's a pretty good-lookin' guy.

Ways I am also like my father:
Constantly present forms of facial hair
Receding hairline
Enjoys fruit snacks
Bass-baritone
Even temperament
Likes making lists (see this list)
Discusses poop
Dislikes small children
Reads up on travel destinations

Ways I am not like my father:
Unmarried
Rent an apartment
I sleep with dudes
Quieter vocal formants (soft-spoken)
Career path
Enjoys lasagna and cheese pizza
Taut abdomen

Ways I am still like my mother:
Tears easily with reminiscence

New Handmade Cards

This one is nature-themed. Perfect for sending to grandmas. Which I proceeded to do.
Sewed some thread on vellum and layered some graphic ad underneath. What a bright idea. Har-Har.
This card uses vintage photos of historic architecture taken out of an old dusty book (thanks Amy!) The front is a Swiss castle. But the inside of the card is a cathedral with bright stickers that look like explosions!! Religion was never so exciting!!
Lots of dots on which I wired buttons. I liked the swoopy black and white font art at the bottom.
This one's great: a family of admirers looking at a giant fashionable Kirsten Dunst!

Sensitive to the Chilly

This is a really old image but I feel for this timid bird in weather like this. Do birds' feet get cold in icy water? Should we be dressing our winter waterfowl in webbed booties? Luckily both this duck (?) and I wear scarves. And I don't have to swim to work.

Stay Away, Sweeney Todd

A first for the follicles: After hundreds (thousands even?) of electric razor shaves since my teenage years, I shaved my face for the first time with a safety razor. Not the straight-edge barber kind, but just the kind of razor that the rest of the world has used for decades. I suppose I belong to a generation which has never needed to use regular razors if they don't want to. How perfectly Gen Y. But not yet Generation Entitlement, in which I would have to feel like I deserve a new electric razor every month and I'd just throw a perfectly good one away. Why? 'Cause my parents are off in Bora Bora and I have the McMansion to myself, and I can do what I want.

Jesus with the Rockettes

Here's a wintry scene I made a couple years ago made up of collaged papers including that old advertisement for some liquor involving random Rockettes or Vegas-style ladies dressed as snowflakes, falling down from the sky. Lovely. I kind of like the pictorial aspect of this, though- it is so much more difficult to rip up papers in the shape of something, rather than just going for abstraction.
There's also a star in the night sky, probably a photo that I painted on. Maybe it's pointing out Bethlehem over there beyond those construction paper hills of snow. If I were a King-slash-Wise Man, I wouldn't have any problem following falling Rockettes from the sky toward a giant star made out of twigs and paint. After all, I am a king and a wise man, so what I say goes. And I say we are going to go over this hill whether you like it or not. All in a day's work, I'd say. Well, we've come this far searching for Rockettes that we might as well rest our chunks of gold, frankincense and myrrh here in this ol' barn. Oh look! A baby.

lolcats christmas

Sally and I updated a tacky holiday card. It's so much better now.

Mahler on the Subway

Alex Ross, writer of the fantastic book The Rest is Noise tells that when Mahler was appointed the conductor for the NY Philharmonic in 1909, he'd take the subway system to work. At that time, the NYC metro was only a couple years old, and I can imagine the novel excitement of commuting underground to your destination. Which I'm sure was, for Mahler, more glamorous than some of the stops I've had to get off at. (Why can't all the stops be designed by Squire Vickers?) However, Mahler being Mahler, I can only imagine the thoughts running through his nervous, energetic head while he's riding the subway. Naturally this image came to mind- even in the middle of the day, Mahler rides alone on a train. He thinks to himself, "This train is a machine of death. Don't die don't die don't die. It's taking me to Hell. I have to conduct my symphony tonight. My children are dead. WAGNER!! Oh, here's my stop."
It also begs the thought that perhaps he might have one day gotten around to writing Transitodenlieder. Songs on the death of transit. Or maybe Das Lied von der Metro? Song of the Subway? Luckily Mahler survived his commute, and Mahler's symphonies are preserved in even better condition than those hundred-year-old tunnels beneath this beautiful earth.

46 Menorahmobiles Led the Big Parade

Last Sunday I witnessed a parade down a busy shopping street of 46 vehicles with PVC-pipe Menorahs strapped to the roofs. 46. Some were gold, some silver, but almost all had working lights which I assume are powered by God. Or cigarette lighters. The parade was accompanied by police cars, who kept other traffic from getting in the way of Hanukkah. The picture to the right is copyright URBANPHOTO and shows a nice wooden menorah, which has not yet migrated to Pittsburgh. Being behind the times in fashion, we still have plastic and metal rooftop accoutrements.
Those light-up menorahs, by the way, are on full candlepower today Hanukkah ends tonight at sundown.

Hidden Giraffe

This is a collage in the vein of Highlights magazine, the children's magazine of choice for all doctors' and dentists' offices. On the last page there was often a pen and ink drawing, with a bunch of things hidden within a face, or a woodland scene. As in, 'Can you find these 10 kitchen appliances hidden in this picture of a bear?' and sure enough, there was a blender, tucked away in the bear's paw!
The differences between Highlights and my collage are that this collage is totally obvious and there's only one thing to find. Can you spot the giraffe hidden in this sahara tree? I bet you can't!!

Bodies and Souls

It's eleven o'clock. Do you know where your spleen is?
I went to see the traveling exhibit 'Bodies' this past weekend with Jess and Bobby. Not only did I discover what my spleen looked like, but I discovered several items inside my body that I did not know I had. One, the jejunum, which is apparently part of my intestine. Two, a tissue-papery wall covering my stomach and internal organ area. There were some squeamish moments for me, especially in seeing an entire human skin spread out on a table, and then seeing diseased organs (this is your lung after smoking for years...this is your kidney on crack!) but overall, I was more inquisitive than grossed out. I thought I would be affected by seeing fetuses in various weeks of development (all were miscarried) but I was curious as to the growth of a baby inside of a person as the weeks progress. But overall, the exhibit was thoughtful and many things were even quite beautiful, like the circulatory displays of arteries, which were dramatically lit and bright red, down to the tiniest gossamer capillaries.
There was a lot of controversy surrounding this exhibit, especially in the lack of documentation of exactly who these people are. All of the organs and bodies are real people, preserved through a polymer process called 'plastination', developed in the 1970's. I kept having to remind myself that was I was seeing was not fake: it's a real spinal chord and ribs in which everything else on the body has been removed, and a real baby, and a real brain. This leads me to unanswered questions about huge issues: being healthy, self-awareness, sexuality, death, and the necessity for the preservation of our bodies if we do not need them when we're done with them. It also speaks of the resilience of our bodies, and how dynamic our insides are! I also thought, 'this is going to make me a hypochondriac'. One little bruise and I'll start to feel bad for my capillaries having to do so much work. It also reminds me of the Renaissance, when 'science' and 'religion' were less separate- my brain conjures images of dark mysterious findings in secret basement meetings, where little was known about how our bodies looked on the inside. If only da Vinci could see this show.
I seriously didn't plan this on purpose, but after we went to check out or bodies, we checked into our souls with a Service of Lessons and Carols. What an appropriate combo! It wasn't the most spectacular-filled event, but it got us into the Christmas spirit with candlelit readings and choir hymns, and afterward, there was a huge candlelit reception with loads of baked goods (naturally, I think the key to a good church is in its baked goods). I try and attend a Lessons and Carols service every year; not only does the event have good music, and great ambiance, it gives me a sense of community, no matter what faith I belong to. It's also refreshing to hear non-tacky 'holiday' music after listening to so much Christmas Crap on the radio. Added bonuses: 1. seeing two organists switch off mid-phrase, as one just scooted off the bench and began to conduct, while the other didn't even miss a note; 2. the choir director there is letting me write a piece for his bell choir. And 3. the crumb cake was heavenly, as were several other pieces of cake which I sampled from the baked goods. My stomach certainly had no complaints.


Cake courtesy of http://products.proflowers.com/cherrymoonfarms-cmf/cakes/classiccrumbcake-12721.

America is Listening

This is too strange- I was listening to an a capella version of Paul Simon's song America (sung by the Vassar Devils, if you were curious) and it was the last song on the CD. As I was about to get up and put in another CD, a car zoomed by outside with its windows down and it was blasting the original of the same song. And it was just ending as well. Now, am I crazy, or is this a weird coincidence? They're popular songs, sure, but certainly there's more common things to be playing. Right? Like 'Toxic'. Or 'Hey Ya'. Or everyone's favorite, 'Beer Barrel Polka'.

Dawn Upshaw

The world-renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw gave a Master Class to voice students (and others) at CMU this afternoon. Along with insightful comments for the vocalists, like thoughts about diction, phrasing, emotion, and motivation, she also let it be known that she was frustrated with the recital hall's lighting, so we all moved to the recital hall across the hall.
I also really appreciated the fact that Ms. Upshaw stressed the importance of the composer's intentions, that 'we' (being composers) write music for a reason, down to each little slur and hairpin crescendo. She also joked that she just doesn't choose to work with anyone anymore who doesn't have good reasons for the way they write their music. She mentioned in a Q & A that when she prepares for a performance, she'll research the history of the piece (even if it's a tiny art song, let alone her premiers of 4-hour operas), learn about the composer, study the basic harmonic structure of the song, listen to recordings, and translate every word of the text, or write it all out to internalize it, and then ponder how to communicate this work's meaning to the audience. This all happens before she begins to sing one single note.
But most importantly, Ms. Upshaw brought a surprising amount of energy to the room, to the audience, and to the singers baring their all (only to be criticized, and then built back up again). She didn't have to move much, but her voice was eloquent and thoughtful, well-spoken (well, I would hope so), and her body had a certain energy to it when she would illustrate a point that I think only comes from years of loving music and knowing it inside and out. I don't ever want to be in a German diction contest with this woman, either.
On a visual note, I think Ms. U was wearing this same necklace this afternoon as this picture, courtesy of wikipedia. Cue the fashionista voice: Girl, I could make you some jewelry that would pop the eyes out of those grey-haired Met Opera grannies. You jus' gimme a call, mmkay? This one's a little too quiet for you. I'm thinking lots of feathers and baubles as big as your operatic fists. The diva must have the perfect necklace to boot.

Monochrome Triangles

Beige and gray triangles for a rainy day.

Happy Thanksgiving Hand Turkeys

Happy Thanksgiving holiday to those American readers out there. (Happy Thanksgiving wishes to all those who don't have the holiday too! I know it seems like you're missing out but I'm sure Guy Fawkes day and Boxing Day are fun for you too, and I don't do anything special on your holidays.) I'm looking forward to time with my family, friends, and a real piano. Now go trace your hand on a piece of paper as if it were a turkey, or perhaps make it all abstract, with just a hint of beak. Also, be sure to stuff your face full of canned cranberry sauce- those ridges make it taste better somehow.

These Things, They Are All But(t) Words

I debated whether this would be appropriate for my dear readers. I'm not usually a terrible vulgar person, and I try to keep my posts somewhat educational (a music review here, a collage there) but this idea was too good to pass up, so if you're easily offended, move on.
We all know of the pants with 'PRINCESS' on the butts, or even 'bitch', 'sexy', and others. But I think we could really pump up the volume on this cliched fashion. I just know the corporations could make some big bucks on these ideas for sweatpants/gym shorts letterings, so these are so totally copyright moi. If I see 'The Fact That I Have Words Here is a Feminist Discourse Which Empowers Me' as sewed-on letters to the next Abercrombie pants I'm gonna be furious. (That one's a little hard to read in this image, it's a lot of letters to sew on.) Here are a few ideas for re-envisioned words on the behinds of all the sorority girls you know and love.

All the New News and Pittsburgh Symphony Reading!

There's been so much new news that has come to be in November, it's almost hard to remember it all. But luckily it's all been good news, and all exciting adventures.
The biggest news is that I finished my orchestra piece, Lake Myvatn. It's about 8 minutes and 20 seconds long (one movement) and 144 measures. A gross of measures, if you will. Not very many, compared to most orchestral pieces, but it does more more slowly. I'm excited to hear all the celeste and crotale sounds, and the intense brass and string sections. The Carnegie-Mellon Philharmonic will be playing it in the Spring.
But in reality, that's not really the biggest news. I thought it was, but then I heard something two days ago. The biggest biggest news is that John Corigliano, the Composer of the Year for the Pittsburgh Symphony's Composer, chose my piece (and 3 other local grad students from surrounding colleges) to be read by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The PSO is top-notch. And I am so delighted. There won't be a formal concert, but the Symphony will rehearse my piece and ask me questions, and I'll be able to ask them questions, and get feedback about what worked, and what I can do more effectively. I am bummed that my friend Matt didn't get picked- I think he has great ideas and I would have been happy to see him get a reading as well...but it's still good to win. The reading will happen sometime in March. I was expecting the decision sometime around Spring as well, so this came so suddenly. Hooray!

Other news in brief: Pre-Halloween festivities caused Sally and me to dress up and Sally wore My Little Ponies in her hair. I wore teeny tiny shorts and a clip-on tie from 5th grade. I can't believe I hadn't posted this picture yet.It's also an explosion of yellow outside my treehouse door, and more colors of strange neon translucence await me on my walk every day.






Such a shame that the photos don't even do the colors justice, as the remainder of the bright leaves here are quite electrifying, practically enveloping one in a bath of color.

I'm also designing things! The School of Music let me design an invitation for a fancypants piano concert they're giving for the CMU elite, and I also designed three different (and fabulous) graphic posters for the Student Composer's Concert tomorrow night.
I'm taking a Communication Design Fundamentals course next semester, and I'm really excited about learning about design for realz, and not just faking it. Then again, some good ideas come from working with what you've got...
Like taking a spool of wire and some beads from a Claire's bracelet that you found on the ground and combining it with some gaudy chandelier drops and you can have a really fantastic sculptural necklace. I also reclaimed a wool sweater by spray-painting on fleur-de-lis stencils and adding a vintage patch to cover a hole. It sadly did not get accepted into the craft book I entered it into, but I did get it back so I can wear it around. And sew up the holes that I missed the first time. Which makes me wonder why Goodwill missed this one (or a memo to Goodwill: there is a mouse in your building.)

And last but certainly not to be the least, is that I now have a real website!

Check out nathan-hall.net and listen to some music samples, check out a couple collages, read about me (just not too carefully, the texts still need some editing), and then commission me to write you some music, of course. I do it all! And by all, I just mean some of the artsy fartsy stuff, and no sports at all, and certainly nothing having to do with any real business skills, which hasn't made me any money yet but it does get me all the ladies. And by all the ladies I mean the friends I already had, and we talk about graphic design, the periodic table of elements, and why no one wants to wear my sculptural necklace made of chandelier pendants out in public. In fact, though I've been exceedingly happy about all my design endeavors, I've been steadily losing money. But soon enough, my friends.
Soon enough.

Freaky Friday Marine Life

Oh, to be krill! Says the plankton. Oh, to be plankton! Says the krill. They look pretty despondent. But one day the planets were aligned, and ZAP!
Still no match for that baleen whale!!!
(This was an excuse for me to draw happy cartoon sea organisms. I care not what they look like in real life, so long as they're happy.)

Furnace men

It is a prerequisite if you are a furnace repairman to have a mullet, and to smoke inside other people's apartments. You must also be able to describe the quality of the titties on all the girls who live in the building.

Concert for Peace

Last night I was invited to play a few of my art songs for the opening concert in a World Peace Conference in Pittsburgh. I was nervous at first as I only knew the organizer, Emily Pinkerton and her husband Patrick. And technically I know them through a friend, so I'm more like a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. But I was put at ease by the warm applause from the audience. I played a few art songs which normally don't have much of a venue- they're text settings of poems (usually short) and some are pretty melancholic. I also played my recomposition of Fleetwood Mac's 'Don't Stop' and ended with an appropriate Jane Tyson Clement art song. Later at the reception, a man told me that he met Jane Clement 30 years ago! His son now lives at the community where Clement lived. It can be a very small world.
The opening songs were by the folk orchestra from the UU Church in Shadyside, where Emily directs the group in their monthly concert. Highlights included a real live autoharp player, and a guy blowing into a jug. He was really serious about it, so it was effective. Especially in a folk orchestra.
After my set, I had the pleasure of hearing Heather Kropf. She's a singer-songwriter and I listened to her latest album, which is phenomenal! There are a couple stand-out soul and jazz tracks with muted trumpet, which can compete with any major-label artist today. The quality of that recording blows me away. Her piano style is simple yet effective, with hints of jazz and Kate Bush, and she mentioned the Joni Mitchell streak through her poetic lyrics. She even asked me if she could learn two of my songs! How could I say no? Also, how can I get better at writing songs with lyrics that don't blow.
Emily concluded the evening with a few solo nylon-strung guitar songs in Spanish, and a folk music set of banjo, guitar, and bass, all songs she composed. The banjo was so mellow and warm, though, and not the plinkety-plunk banjo I'm used to hearing in bluegrass (which I love in its own right, of course). It smoothed out the songs, which perfectly incorporated Emily's light, Alison-Krauss-y voice into one solid instrument. The pieces in Spanish were a particular highlight for me; I never get to hear nylon-strung guitars, which are incredibly beautiful, and Emily's songs for them brought out her South American influences (and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology) while still keeping her own voice, which sings about 'landscapes as metaphor for human emotion'.
I think that this concert was one of the most memorable things I've heard in Pittsburgh, and I've heard quite a bit so far. Hearing folk music live reminds me that while I'm usually in classical music world all day, there's a huge world out there, full of talent and genuine appreciation for music in all its genres. There are classical musicians who love to get down with their fiddles. Pop musicians who are smart enough to sing about Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. I don't know what I do. Take words and textures and melodies and give them a new life? And how can I not thank an appreciative audience? Perhaps that appreciation for all kinds of musical expression is a small particle of help for world peace. I'm thankful to be a part of that.

Simple Elegant Halloween with Drunken Sluts

Part of the joy this holiday season is being able to make oneself sick to one's stomach seeing all of the scantily-clad sluts in Halloween costumes. As Mean Girls proves all too well, you can take any costume and turn it sexy by removing a few of the non-essential items and adding more cleavage, and most essentially, the shortest skirt/shirt/shorts possible. Sexy nurse, coming right up. Sexy firefighter girl, I saw one of those too. Sexy cannibal, well, that's a little trickier, but I saw it done. And it was frightening.
Costumes this season include horny devils, an audio tour of famous artworks, and I was Wikipedia, complete with printed-out entries that would be stuck to my body throughout the night. I found some interesting articles, including the only known photograph of Frederic Chopin, and a 'list' of the two hockey teams in Alberta, Canada (thanks to the 'random article' function). I was surprised to find out that a lot of people don't know what Wikipedia is (or perhaps my costume wasn't clear enough?) but even after I explained that it's a user-editable encyclopedia they don't really get it.
Of course, the best costumes involve the most intricate details, and the winner of intricate details goes to Sally, who was Bjork.
Now there are two people in the world who can pull off wearing a swan dress with glamorous nonchalance.

Sexy bongo-bassoon grooves

Fall is abuzz with chamber music. I have at least two pieces being premiered in upcoming concerts, which is something exceptional, and one piece is programmed for two recitals- this is definitely the most performances of my works in one season. Not to mention the Saxophone Quartet which is being played a gazillion times for high school students in New York. So, if you're in Pittsburgh, and would like to attend, you can hear:

Nov. 2- possible art songs, TBA, Shadyside Presbyterian Church (this will be pretty last-minute in a Concert for Peace, but it could be lovely.)
Nov. 11- Four Lovers (bassoon and one percussionist)- This one is the percussionist's recital.
5pm, Alumni Concert Hall
Nov. 15- Songs for Pittsburgh (flute, harp, and viola trio) at the Student Composer's Concert
7pm, Kresge Recital Hall.
Dec. 1- Four Lovers- This recital is for the bassoonist, for whom the piece was written.
5pm Kresge Recital Hall.

Pufferfish

Idea for a youth 'subliminal values' book: antismoking theme meets aquatic adventures.
The little fishie says: "when I grow up, I want to puff just like him!"
That pufferfish is pretty cool, but man, is it hard to keep that cigarette lit underwater.

Recipe for Fall

It looks like Fall is finally here! Get out your beakers and stir up a recipe for a season of crunchy leaves, cool evenings, and appley everything. I can finally wear a blazer, and perhaps a scarf, and real pants. This makes Midnight a happy man, and out of place, 'cause everyone else is cranky that seems so dreary out.

Geaglemania

It took me no less than twenty-seven minutes today from the moment I pulled a number at the deli to the time I was handed my TWO items: a pound of turkey and a half-pound of salami. Normally I wouldn't stand for such madness, but I've been craving turkey sandwiches for lunch, and I had to buy groceries sometime, and well, I'm at the grocery store now and I won't come back just to go to the meat section. With scant help, and ten people waiting ahead of me, there was little I could do but be lucky number 37.
On a side note, thoughts about the Shadyside Giant Eagle Market District Fancy Pants Grocer Bistro and Part-Time Massage Therapist.
1. Lots of gay boys like this grocery store. Why didn't I dress up?
2. The man ahead of me at the deli is super-fashionable. I wonder if he's gay. Well, that confirms it- he's ordering prosciutto.
3. No spousal arguments allowed in the aisles.
4. There are shanks of cactus for sale in the produce section. Have I ever in my life seen a cactus on a menu?

There's lots to think about when you have 27 minutes to wait by the roast beef.

Girl Hit By Bicycle Hit By Bus

I was witness to a traffic accident the other day which surprised me that no one else seemed shocked (or even amused) at the situation. The bus I was riding on clipped the mirror of a bicyclist, who was attempting to swerve around a pedestrian on the sidewalk. The bicyclist then crashed into the girl, who was sent, arms flying (you know those sitcom choreographed motions of people who trip over things? That kind of arm-flailing), onto the grass of someone's lawn. Thankfully no one looked too hurt, and I lost my view as the bus sped away from the scene. I drew this Richard Scarry-esque cartoon to help illustrate.

Stolen Identity Irony

In what can only be described as a case of stolen identity irony, Banana Republic sent me a letter today saying that my social security number (from a job application last year) may have been taken, inside of a laptop that was stolen from some corporate whore's office. However, it's not serious, and the computer was probably only used to look at porn anyway (I'm assuming that's what stolen computers are used for; Banana can't comment at this time). The irony of the story is that in the envelope which my letter was mailed, someone else's form was stuck in accidentally. Name and address and everything. Isn't the point of this letter to inform you about keeping one's personal information private? And now I know that this person lives down the street from me, by the grocery store.
So...you can call me Ms. Kendra Jenkins from now on. After all, I did get her mail, and I can be anybody I want to nowadays.

Kings of Convenience and Erlend Oye

The Kings of Convenience are a band that I've known about for a few years, thanks in part to my friend Ryan, a baron of indie credibility. They've got two albums out, and one 'remix' album. Norwegian in origin, their music is usually composed of two nylon-strung guitars (or soft instruments) and duetting baritone vocals, which are conveniently in my own range for once! And being Scandinavian adds an extra cool element. Not to mention all of their incredibly thoughtful lyrics, which are full of stories and verbal puns (their first album is titled Quiet Is The New Loud), and that the volume never rises above mezzoforte, even with drums and cello and piano involved. I'm a big fan of their 'hit' song I'd Rather Dance With You, which has a cute video and dance moves like I do in my living room. Their latest album 'Riot on an Empty Street' also has two songs featuring Feist.
Well, lately, I've been discovering the offshoot projects of the solo Kings of Convenience, and it's so exciting to find new music that you love and never knew existed! Erlend Oye is the more prolific of the two singers (he's pictured at right with his trademark retro-thick glasses) and Eirik Glambek Boe (slashes through all the O's) is the other, who has a solo band on MySpace but no album that I know of. Erlend has a solo electronic music album out, called Unrest, a DJ Kicks remix album (of other people's songs) and he also has a live 'band' under the band name 'The Whitest Boy Alive'. The electronica album is especially good- I prefer warm sounds and soft beats with keyboardy noises for my electronic music, rather than industrial sounds. Every piece is definitely a 'song' rather continuous 'unsuh unsuh unsuh'.
Encompassing several different genres, Oye's wittiness and clever songwriting stays strong. The melodies are catchy but not fluffy ; the instrumentation is clever and sometimes funny, but spare. I'd also like to point out the music video for the Unrest album includes slow motion, sexual innuendo with roosters, egg-smashing, and baton-twirling. Check it out.
I saw Kings of Convenience once in Boston, and the music was so wonderfully quiet that the cash register at the event was making too much noise for the performance. It was difficult to hear the major-seventh chords quietly plucked out of a guitar over the 'ch-ch-ching! Zip zip zip zip' of the receipt printer. Now that's my kind of pop music. Perhaps in a future album tour they'll be passing my way again. Or I may just have to fly to Bergen, Norway for my fix.