On TV!

Check out the new episode of Art Beat featuring me talking about AUGUST with my friend, the show's host, Stacey Park!

AUGUST featured on St. Joe Live and Podcast

Check out the excellent article and listen here:&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.newspressnow.com/st-joe-live/29678077/detail.html#.TrPuQBBw3Oc.blogger">Listen local - St. Joe Live News Story - St. Joseph</a>&nbsp;.&nbsp;</span><br />
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For all flesh is as grass.

Becky and I finally got to go to the newly-opened Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in KC on Friday to see the KC Symphony do Brahms's A German Requiem. The building is stunning inside and out and, by itself, would be a great boon to arts in KC. I was pleasantly surprised by the forceful performance of the KC Symphony Chorus, and the two soloists were excellent. The Brahms is, of course epically, gorgeous, and it was led by Michael Stern with a stirring and soulful humility. A very good performance, though it could have perhaps used a bit more of the desperate, emotional heart-wrenching quality that sometimes gets toned down in favor of tastefulness and competence.

"One of the best albums of 2011."

So sayeth Dave Archibald, he of DaveArchie's Music Blog about mine August. Read the full story HERE.

Assembly Saxophone Quartet

I'm honored to have been commissioned by the Assembly Saxophone Quartet, a very fine ensemble based  around the east coast (more-or-less). They've asked me for a new piece to premiere at their performance this coming July at the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews Scotland. I'm hoping to get started soon!

Dock & Load

Dock and Load, my collaborative concert installation with my cousin Gideon, premiered last Wednesday at the Music in Architecture—Architecture in Music Symposium, and went amazingly well.  I can't thank enough our large and amazing crew and our extraordinary musicians led by trombonist, Steve Parker. Due in part to safety concerns, we had to do some serious reworking of the design and choreography in the days, nay hours, nay moments right before the performance, but the end result was a thrilling and magical presentation of sounds, lights, materials, and movement (bolstered by the infectious and enthusiastic energy of the unexpectedly huge crowd). I hope to get a video of up soon.

ART BEAT

Yesterday I taped a segment about AUGUST for Art Beat, the MWSU-produced show hosted by my friend Stacey Park. I showed her (and cinematographer Tara Stoll) my studio and we chatted about the process of making the album. It should air in a few weeks on a rotating basis. Watch for it in St. Joe and Kansas City on Channels 97 and 39, respectively, and on the website too!

New Piece Premiere at Electronic Music Midwest

As previously posted, I've been invited to premiere a new work at the KcEMA- curated concert this Friday evening at the Electronic Music Midwest Festival.

My new piece, Shuffle No. 1, is a short exploration of the Shuffle mode of listening to electronic tracks. Here are the program notes:

The Shuffle pieces take the sounds that surround us—music, landscape, noise—and use the randomizing shuffle mode, in both the construction and presentation of the pieces, to defamiliarize them and present them in new ways. The sounds are recorded and then divided into fragments as small as 1/8 of a second each. These segments are randomly sequenced back together and then shuffled in performance. The primary sounds in Shuffle No. 1 come from the gorgeous hymn, “O Salutaris Hostia” by Pierre de la Rue (1452—1518). The fragmenting and chance ordering of the normally fluid, continuous, and structured sounds creates a rich tapestry of its own. The use of the shuffle mode in playback makes each performance unique.

The concert begins at 8pm, this Friday (Sept. 30) at the Performing Arts Center at Kansas City Community College. It should be a fascinating show!

SLBM recommended to Krugman; interweb shakes with excitement

Nobel Prize-winning economist, NYTimes columnist, and Arcade Fire fan Paul Krugman recently solicited music recommendations from his readers. Apparently someone recommended yours truly and the recommendation was noted in this blog. Blogger Glenn Peoples of Billboard.biz writes:

The best recommendations - and there are many - offer some context to better explain why Krugman should listen to that band over the dozens of other bands suggested. Some contain a high degree of personalization. Describing The National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio" as a "good (loosely) economics themed song," or noting that Still Lost Bird Music is "a MacDowell fellow and a PhD in Composition from U Chicago" are probably good ways to get Krugman's attention. Other helpful suggestions included links to videos, which makes it easy to access the band's music.

Guest Appearance on Central Standard

I had a great time chatting with host Jabulani Leffall on this morning's Central Standard on KCUR 89.3 FM — Kansas City's NPR station. Hear it as a podcast HERE.

Monday on Central Standard

Monday morning (8/29) I'll be on Central Standard (KCUR 89.3 FM) playing a couple tunes from the new album (with my buddy Matt Corder) and chatting about love songs with host, Jabulani Leffall. Listen in!

Stream Still Lost Bird's August - album out today

AUGUST featured on PITCH, the KC independent culture magazine/blog.

Stream Still Lost Bird's August - album out today

And Keep St. Joe Weird!