Performances in Cincinnati
I am working to find more opportunities to present my music locally, here in Cincinnati. Here are a couple of examples……
My dear friend Dave Kirkendall at the piano presented a wonderful recital with Xavier University faculty member Stacy Smith, clarinet, on Saturday evening, April 6th. Midway through the program, Dave presented a set of three inventions for piano, two by J.S. Bach and one by yours truly. I was honored to be a part of this program!
Invention: The title says it all Invention is a light-hearted, two-part exercise for piano, modeled after J.S. Bach, but with the sensibilities of more contemporary composers such as Webern and Cage. Expect to hear silence as a compositional element, not to mention more extreme octave registers. German Lutheran hymn fragments abound, most notably Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word.
Listen! You can hear Invention on this website! Go to the Performances tab and scroll down to the Keyboard section, featuring works for solo organ and piano.
My thanks also to Dr. Kevin Seal and the Chancel Choir at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kenwood for their stunning performance of my new choral piece, Christ Be With Me on May 5. This was a very challenging work for the choir, and they responded so very well under Kevin’s superb guidance!
Composed for unaccompanied voices, Christ Be With Me is based on portions of a well-known text (The “Breastplate”), attributed to St. Francis. The repetition of Christ’s name throughout the text presents a challenge as well as an anchor for this contemplative work. An opening phrase, presented by the alto section, contains a motive that becomes the central core for the composition. Three major sections are presented in the piece, roughly equivalent to an exposition, development and recapitulation. The final coda allows the piece's opening statement to be heard in alternation between the male and female voices, growing softer with each repetition. The ending is warm but open-ended, suggesting that Christ’s ability to comfort and restore is timeless.
Stay tuned; I hope to have a performance of this work on the website in the near future….
And finally…..I am “accordionist-in-residence” at Fine Wine O’Clock, a local wine bar here in Pleasant Ridge! On selected Sunday afternoons each month, I play for several hours. I enjoy presenting an international repertoire of café tunes, polkas, Macedonian folk music (Fine Wine O’ Clock features fine wine from Macedonia and the Balkans region), and the occasional show tune. Here and there, I also sneak in a couple of my own compositions for the accordion, including Waltz for Pablo and The Toccata and Polka in D Minor. You can hear both pieces on this website! (Recordings: Accordion).
Fine Wine O’ Clock:
6223 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45213
Website: https://finewineoclock.com
