Well everyone, It’s been a long and interesting summer. I posted some of my reflections about my own travels and activities over on my blog. And there’s been quite a lot going on in the Avant Media world as well. In a few weeks we’ll be releasing Voices + Sine Waves (an announcement about the release date is coming very soon) – a collection of my short works as a digital download album. And in November we will be presenting Doleo Æternus in New York City in the Just Intonation World Premiere.
I’m going to do my best to be a little bit more active on the blog and to share with you all the rehearsal and creation process leading up to this major premiere. In the mean time, after the jump, a little bit of Billie. Jump »
I’m on my way to Europe for the month of July. I’ll be visiting London, Berlin, and Calvi dell’Umbria where I will be in residency at the Art Monastery and creating a new piece as a part of their Labirinto festival on July 25th.
It’s become a bit of a summer tradition for me to escape New York for a month or so, and it’s one I always look forward to.
There are a lot of exciting things coming in the next few months for Avant Media and for myself. I’m really excited for a few big announcements and projects that we have in the works.
The first time I ever saw a work by Pina Bausch was back in 2004, Ana, Oscar, Laine and I went to see Für die Kinder von gestern, heute und morgen at BAM. I had, of course, heard of this remarkable choreographer who was the giant of inspiration for pretty much every dancer I had worked with. I wasn’t prepared for such beauty, such humor, and such overwhelming brilliance.
I was deeply saddened to hear of her sudden and tragic passing, as my friend Jen put it: “I guess heaven needed an amazing choreographer.”
Two of my friends recently posted delightfully long, interesting, and quirky Facebook statuses – I thought I’d share them with you here:
Gerard had a dream:
Gerard Forde dreamed that he was trying on a Walter Van Beirendonck coat, sort of a combination Burberry mac and a Parker. The front and back were the same (a bit like Margiela) and it had numerous layers of lining from vintage ballgowns, including two printed silk linings taken from early 1990s Westwood dresses. It was reduced to €1300 in the sale. Does this mean I might be gay?
And Michael had an extraterrestrial encounter
Michael Theodore so weird–an alien spacecraft landed just now on the lawn, and out popped seven little green men, each playing a nose flute in a flamboyant, triumphal style, and as they built to a cadence of joyous paroxysms, Sarah Palin emerged from the ship and asked if I was cool with a pipeline cutting through the property. I told her it wasn’t my place, so I couldn’t really say…
Beautiful.
I feel like I’ve seen more of these longer-form / more existential status updates recently. Maybe it’s because of the new Facebook layout, maybe it’s because I’m getting too used to a 140 character limit. Regardless, it’s a trend I welcome heartily.
oh… and hey … speaking of Facebook, you can become a fan of Avant Media on Facebook now too… it’s all very exciting.
I always love Bloomsday, and tend to forget that it’s coming. But each year that it does come around and I remember how profoundly and deeply I love this book.
It is truly the ultimate novel, something for everyone – brilliantly complex, engaging and gorgeous. Joyce had a profound influence on my work, mostly through the early (in my life) lens of John Cage’s utter devotion to Finnegan’s Wake.
And secondly for a little bit of shameless self-promotion, I’ve recently taken up photography with the delightfully lo-fi Holga camera, and I’m positing the results to my Flickr.
While we’re at it, Avant Media is now on Twitter – the account is still set to private while we work out some of the specifics, (we will go public with the launch of the new website) but if you’re interested in following the behind the scenes life here at Avant Media, we welcome you.
I learned to mix drinks about 9 years ago or so. I’ve been cooking as long as I can remember. I have just ordered a large quantity of esoteric herbs and barks to make this bitters recipe from a bar in San Francisco.
I’ve always loved food and cooking, and mixing drinks is a natural extension of this. I think that a lot of composers are like this. There is a strong similarity between what we do as composers, and what a chef does, or a mixologist. It’s all about finding that perfect balance of flavors or notes that creates something special. (more…)
