Summertime in Miami has been enjoyable. Working at a flower distribution warehouse by day and writing music by night has been a blast (seriously!), and since the last time I wrote by brother got married to his wonderful wife in North Carolina. And though I could not see it, Seth Carlson premiered by work, Wend Your Way in Rockford, Illinois. He has two more Midwest performances of the piece over the summer.

For the upcoming Atlantic Music Festival, I have written a piece for Pierrot Ensemble (without percussion) and for a chamber orchestra with a full brass section. My summertime music for the past two years has tended to be a bit more laid back and, for a lack of a better term, entertaining. My Pierrot Piece strengthen the body/enliven the soul takes its inspiration from a beautiful Latter-day Saint scripture:

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul."- Doctrine and Covenants 59:18-19

This scripture, to me, also refers to sounds, and I use my music to celebrate the earth and creation.

My orchestral piece, Four Miniatures for a Somewhat Large Orchestra, takes a four-note theme and presents it in different ways over each miniature. The first movement focuses on intense, dynamic shifts. The second movement is a scherzo created by pure juxtaposition of four-note iterations and long chains of repeated interval cycles derived from the theme. The third movement, entitled "For Louis (Andriessen, Armstrong, XIV, etc.)" is influenced by boogie woogie and swing. The final movement takes the four-note theme in a Feldman-esque reflection.

I leave to the Atlantic Music Festival on June 27th and will not return until the end of July. I am looking forward to this opportunity to study with great composers, meet great people, and hopefully hear my music performed along with many other excellent pieces. Though I probably will miss NIcaraguan cuisine and Cuban accents, it will be nice to explore Maine for the first time. Until next time.