News and Updates - July 2024

A New Work for Clarinet

Clarinetist Stacy Smith, a member of the instrumental faculty at Xavier University and I are embarking on a new project together, one that will result in a new work for his instrument that I will provide. Both of us live and work here in Cincinnati and are looking for more music-making opportunities in the area.

Stacy Smith holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied clarinet with Dr. David Etheridge and Hungarian virtuoso Jozsef Balogh. He has served on music faculties in university and liberal arts settings in Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio. Currently, he serves as adjunct professor of music at Xavier University, where he teaches clarinet and woodwind techniques. Dr. Smith's professional performance experience includes multiple performances as a substitute player with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Tulsa

Philharmonic, solo appearances with multiples orchestras and string quartets, faculty clarinet recitals, and many varied chamber music appearances. 

Our new collaboration has already resulted in a side project that allowed me to rework an earlier instrumental piece for his instrument. We hope to premiere this project later this year on a Faculty Artist Recital at Xavier. For more information: please consult The Ruminations section of this website! (Weill and Brecht on the Clarinet).

Christmas in July

Retirement offers the opportunity to revise and edit my life’s work. One of these recent projects has reached a stage of completion. With my wife Joan’s kind assistance, I have completed the editing of 8 works for solo organ, all based on well-known Christmas/Epiphany hymns. All of these were written for

Joan over the years as Christmas presents; now we hope that they will have a new life in print.

The selections: Joy to the World, I Wonder as I Wander, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, Good Christian

Friends Rejoice, Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine, Twas in the Moon of Wintertime, Silent Night, How

Brightly Shines the Morning Star.

The works are designed for service playing but could also be used on solo recitals. Now that the preludes

have been completed, they are off to a publisher for consideration. Until we know the decision of the

professionals, the preludes are available from the composer. Send an email inquiry through this website.

Let It Rip!

The title and cover art of these publications from Augsburg-Fortress Press are not my usual cup of tea, but

both volumes provide useful material for the church pianist who needs attractive hymn introductions and

alternate harmonizations designed for the piano. Volume 3 is set to be released sometime in 2025 and the

final selection of hymns and settings have been finalized. The publisher needed a couple more settings to

complete the new volume and asked if I would be willing to help.

Some church music composers consider this work to be not worth the time, but for me, it was just an

afternoon or two of exercise work, certainly good for keeping up my technique if nothing else! So, in this

next volume, pianists will be able to use my settings of two familiar hymn tunes: Puer Nobis (On Jordan’s

Banks the Baptist’s Cry) and Ratisbon (Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Sky). I was happy to help a good

cause.

Augsburg/Fortress is also publishing my choral anthem, Christ, Beloved of the Maker, for SATB Choir

and organ. It should be released in the spring of 2025.