It’s official— within the next few days, I start sketching the concerto.
I’m currently working on a solo trumpet piece for Scott Smith as well as a song cycle. The month of February (lest I forever live in denial) is filled with conducting (two wind ensemble pieces for Roger Zare, two smaller pieces for Erik Ohlson, two large pieces for Paul Dooley, a CME rehearsal, etc.). I’m excited. One of the pieces on Erik’s recital is a reprise performance of The Matador Flies. The CME work focuses on Donald Crockett’s Whistling in the Dark; ironically, I had checked the score out two years ago. I’m looking forward to seeing Crockett in the next few weeks (he’s guest conducting the NMO concert) as he’s been out on his Guggenheim.
My Wozzeck thesis has yet to be completed. Right now I’m working through a number of early analyses by Berg’s contemporaries. One is in German; I’m not sure how to approach that text.
On the whole, the upcoming months feel promising, and I’m enjoying the prospect of collaborating with more individuals and groups, as this business, even at my tender age, can almost be lonely.
Many blessings.
I’m very much considering changing the format of this website… not drastically.
The new year has already arrived for the Jewish— I’ve decided to follow their exodus and assert my own need for renewal at this time.
2007 looks to be promising— I’m looking forward to finishing a variety of projects (including several large chamber pieces, a string orchestra commission, some lieder, and my Wozzeck thesis— published, I hope).
I am returning to northern California for several weeks, where I pray it will sturm und dräng. (Stephen Hartke is known to prefer dark and wet environments— perhaps I follow suit.) Speaking of which, I hear Don Crockett is having an incredible year of Guggenheim-dom.
I have decided, upon recent reflection, to rework my string orchestra commission to such a level that it will be an essentially new piece. I’m considering using a similar pitch set, however the structure of the piece will be quite different. I’m now conceiving it as full-orchestra piece due to an change of perception, and will start re-drafting immediately.
It is now, sealed by handshake, official that I am cover conductor for the USC Thornton Contemporary Music Ensemble this spring. We will be performing William Bolcom’s megawork “Orphée-Serenade” this April. I look forward to working with the eleven (!) incredible musicians playing the piece, and am thrilled and honored to be in this position— I’m grateful to the faculty for demonstrating such faith in me. CME was recently awarded as the top classical ensemble by the Los Angeles Times, so I am aware of the gravity of this appointment. I know I will grow immensely with this opportunity.
Spring projects include several art songs (probably no cycles), as well as a large project— that of writing the aforementioned Chamber Concerto for Two Violins for virtuoso sisters Sakura and Aki Tsai. A few more chamber pieces will be written, I am sure.
I look forward to returning to northern California in weeks to come. Please let me know if you are in the area.
Had an excellent premiere of “The Matador Flies”— was fortunate to work with extraordinary musicians (and people). The recording will be available soon; I will post it on this website. If you missed it, it will be played at least once more this academic year (most likely in late January).
Next Friday (November 3) holds the performance of another new piece— essentially a piccolo sonata in three movements. It’s called “Prope Silvam” (”Near the Wood”) and is for picc, perc, pno, and vlc.
A new chamber work of mine, “The Matador Flies,” written for percussionist Erik Ohlson, will premiere on October 22 at the composition department recital in Newman Hall. The piece closes the 4:00pm program.
Now that the semester has begun, I’ve taken some time to assess my summer progress. While I didn’t finish everything on my “to-do” list, I completed the most immediate projects (2 chamber pieces) and wrote 2/3 of a large string orchestra piece. I’ve been asked to write a piece for piccolo (w/ pno, vlc, std perc) for a friend’s recital, so I am about to dive into that, whilst revising “The Stone House” in hopes for a CalArts production in the spring. It is fabulous to be back in session, although sometimes I miss having more time to write/ponder. I’ve undertaken this semester a directed research project; I’ll be analyzing and expostulating about Berg’s opera “Wozzeck” as a sort of undergraduate thesis! Having been obsessed with the piece (and having perpetrated atrocities in its name, such as renewing the piano reduction for almost a solid year) it will be wonderful to write about it in a more formal setting. David Fick, an absolute genius, is my faculty advisor.
Some goals I have for this semester include sketching a version of the double violin concerto, which I’m thinking of turning into a sonata with chamber ensemble for practicality’s sake (so I can get it performed sometime this year), reorchestrating some of my chamber opera, and continuing to work on chamber music— particularly emphasizing piano techniques. My score sight-reduction at the keyboard is not quite where I’d like it to be, so that’s an ongoing effort as well. (I’ve lately taken to analyzing Stravinsky while running at the gym, so there’s definitely a time and place for everything!)
As usual, although I don’t say it enough, I am especially thankful for my family being so supportive and encouraging, and to Angela and other creative partners for inspiring me.
A number of people have asked about my current projects. Ordered by deadline, they are:
1. Finish quintet for Erik Ohlson’s recital
2. Finish solo-line viola piece for Ellen Lewis’ production
3. Complete “Stone House” opera piano reduction/piano-vocal edition to be sent to CalArts
4. Sketch string orchestra piece for Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra
5. Set Rita Perl texts for Timur Bekbosunov’s fall recital
6. Set Kipling text for Peter Schueller’s recital
7. Write wind ensemble piece with text, soloists incl. Courtney Huffman
Beyond this, there are several music theatre collaborations in the works (not to be confused with musical theatre), as well as some vocal pieces and a double violin concerto.
One of my latest projects is writing a piece for Erik Ohlson’s senior percussion recital. I’m writing a quintet (cl, tbn, perc— vib, toms, snr, cymb— pno, cb). Sketching resulted in the generation of a “scale” and I’m building the piece around a motive derived from these pitches. It’s going slower than I would have liked; nevertheless, I’m determined to have a draft completed by Tuesday afternoon. It’s incredibly hot right now and my excuse for an AC unit is not quite up to snuff. Time to buy more fans to mount in precarious places.
Welcome to the new GeoffreyPopeMusic.com! I finally decided to change the site— a large part of which is the inclusion of this message board space— because I hadn’t updated in almost a year.
And what a year it has been!
The Starving Composers’ Ensemble has continued to prosper; in November, we played our most ambitious program (three pieces for different large ensemble configurations), and in March we managed to pull off a challenging aleatoric piece for winds and percussion in a single rehearsal.
For me, most notable, was the chamber opera experience. “The Stone House,” commissioned by the Chamber Opera of USC, was completed with weeks to spare, produced on a shoestring budget, sung by generous vocalists, and played by a fabulous chamber ensemble. Although the production was not fully-staged, our “concert staging” with projected visuals served its purpose. I have never worked so intensely on [so long] a piece with as many logistical obstacles involved and as challenging an academic course-load. I’m thankful for everyone who gave me the opportunity, and am making some revisions in preparation for publication and distribution!
I am looking forward to a productive summer of composing in Los Angeles. Please leave me messages, etc. I will post often!
Cheers,
Geoffrey
