Still struggling to catch up with lots of things, and this blog is falling way behind. First, a little mosaic of Jackson and his reading progression…

Very exciting news for us, to say the least.

The other news involves a move for Pattie and I. Lots of components to the story, but the bottom line is that we’ll relocate to Raleigh in early/mid-June, with Pattie’s mom to join us in the months following. Lots to do between now and then, of course, not the least of which is packing up this Greenville home and preparing it for a sale...

So very much to update, but today we’ll just go with the most important element.

First, our Jackson (and his folks) is loving the spring temps, enjoying lunch with his best buddies at the Bronx Zoo.

Then, a great way to make an announcement…

A day at the Bronx Zoo for this animal lover!

So nice to hear from friends, colleagues, and former students in response to posts about the recordings coming out. Chris Grymes doing a great job of getting the word out, largely using FaceBook and his OpenGRecords.com site, where he’s a beautiful design to attract the reader.

Perhaps one of the best treats was a phone call from a student from my first years here at ECU. Bill’s a bass player and just a guy who’s curious about lots of things. He’d taken some classes with me, then wanted more so signed up for an independent study in electronic music–to learn, but also to just hang and talk. He lost his dad while in school, and it was very difficult for him; I was able to easily relate...

It’s been a bit of a long stretch, and a very busy Feb-March bringing this project to the finish line, but new recordings of my music are now available on Open G Records.   “Addressing Wonder” is the title of the collection (and one of the pieces), with fabulous performances by wonderful friends and incredible artists: Sharon Harms (soprano), Steven Beck (piano), Hannah Levinson (viola), Chris Gross (cello), and Amanda Gregory (soprano), recorded by Adam Abeshouse, produced by Chris Grymes.  The artwork is by Chris Glass—I’d not realized how much the ‘look’ sets the scene for a listening, and I just love Chris’s imagery and design.  The four pieces included span from 1996 to 2017, and I’ve found this entire process an interesting means to learn about my own development and growth...

A podcast with Chris Grymes from 2014, just after he began doing lots of interviews.

And another from a week ago.

The pleasant relief of being back in Surf City for a few days.

So much has been going on my little corner, lots to digest. All good, just feeling a need to rest and process a bit. TGIF.

Always getting the day off to a great start with Jackson

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Yesterday I gave a presentation on some of my music to the young composers at UMass/Amherst. A few undergrads, a few grad students, and two faculty. One of those faculty was Sal Macchia, my first composition teacher, and someone who was an enormous influence. As I came to realize while speaking to these folks, UMass was really a huge influence for me, with many kind, supportive, and gifted faculty and colleagues there to nurture, encourage, and teach me important lessons of all types.

The session went fine, I think...

Yesterday was just beautiful; sparkling and crisp. Gerald, my neighbor here in Greenville, has a new bike and, as a rider for many decades, now wants to use this bike as much as weather permits. So I get lots of invitations to join him and his School of Arts compadres for rides. Yesterday there were six of us, and we rode out to “little” Washington, NC, strolled the waterfront, and returned. A great afternoon ride and social spell.

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The balance to this afternoon of sunshine was the arrival of news that a dear teacher/mentor has passed. Marty Boykan was a long time prof at Brandeis, and a visiting prof at Columbia during my second year there. I worked with him that year, and he was a truly unique person/musician/influence...