Concerto for Soprano Saxophone and Wind Ensemble – John Mackey
In February 2020, the ASU Wind Ensemble and I accompanied Nathan Salazar, one of the 2019 ASU Concerto Competition winners. We prepared movements I, IV, and V of John Mackey’s Concerto for Soprano Sax and Wind Ensemble, and Nathan showcased his incredible skill. The live recording should be available later in the spring through Arizona PBS.
Handel in the Strand – Percy Grainger
As part of my doctoral recital I programmed one of Percy Grainger’s lesser known and performed works, Handel in the Strand. The piece has been transcribed for various ensembles, and this one for band is by Clare Grundman.
The rest of the program included Richard Strauss’ Wiener Philarmoniker Fanfare, a 1909 transcription of Richard Wagner’s “Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla” from Das Rheingold, and the world premiere of a work for wind band and electronics by Devin Arne called Solaris.
Producing/Recording Work
My first co-producing experience was with the University of Nevada Wind Ensemble and guest artist the Gaudete Brass. We released an album featuring works by Leonard Bernstein and Adolphus Hailstork, which is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major streaming services.
Virtual Mashup Project - “More Cowbell!” from Scott McAllister’s Popcopy
When schools and others shutdown amid the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19, Arizona State had to decide on a plan for the rest of the spring semester. Like others, one project took the form of a virtual mashup.
We decided to take one piece from our originally planned spring concert, have every musician record their part individually to a click track, then piece them all together to make an ensemble sound. Unlike some other virtual mashups, there was no base recording used to fill out the sound. This is just 30 or so musicians glued together and edited in post-production by me.
The video editing was performed by Jason Caslor.