I’m excited to be in residence at the beautiful Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA for two weeks. While here I will be working on my forthcoming dissertation piece that sets the poetry of Nathaniel Mackey to music for soprano, narrator, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, percussion, and bass. View the press release at the Duke Music Department’s website.

Heading to Chicago for the annual Electronic Music Midwest festival October 13-15 at Lewis University. Grateful to Sarah Plum for learning my piece “LUNE” for violin and playback, which will be performed on the 15th at 10am.

Today I have the good fortune of interviewing the outstanding French composer Pascal Dusapin about his music. This marks the culmination of a year of research, including the past week spent abroad in France, which has been graciously funded by a grant from the Duke University Graduate School.

My work LUNE for violin and electronics was chosen for performance at this year’s Electronic Music Midwest Festival to be held October 13-15 at Lewis University. Violinist Sarah Plum will perform the piece, more info on her exciting recent activities and the festival at http://www.emmfestival.org/

Excited to have been awarded a Dissertation Travel Award: International from the Duke University Graduate School to fund my research trip to Paris this summer. My dissertation article is on the music of Pascal Dusapin, whom I will be researching and meeting with on my voyage.

I had a fabulous recording session today with Conrad Tao who gave a sympathetic and colorful reading of my piano piece there is no sleep so deep. His artistry was truly wonderful to behold and to hear.

My duties as artistic director of the Duke New Music Ensemble and as an organizer of the Experimental Music Study Group intersected today at the Ackland Art Gallery at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. [dnme] performed works by Feldman, Brown, and our own Ken Stewart, and we were joined by members of EMSG Meg Orita (pictured below) and Joanna Helms, as well as by Valerie Kuehne and the Wasps Nests. The real highlight though was playing in the midst of painter Hans Hofmann’s colorful mural studies.

I had a great meeting with violinist Jennifer Koh today about my new substantial violin solo Tide Tiding Time. She really helped me to tighten up my notation to best fit my expressive ideas, which was an amazing learning experience.

Big thanks to the Heimat Quartet for another performance of my string quartet Défilé de Féeries at Kent State University in Ohio on Friday, December 4th. The work was programmed by composer Frank Wiley, director of the Kent State University New Music Ensemble, and was performed on the second concert of the KSU New Music Series 2015-2016 season.

I had a fantastic workshop today with Ensemble Amarcord on my new piece “On the Sea” for five male voices. The group provided many insights into the craft of vocal writing and demonstrated great exuberance for new music.