July and August In Review

The month of July was a relatively low-key one, with a few highlights:

• Attending the Drum Corps International Southwestern Championships with Iris, seeing some of my favorite 2025 Bluecoats Fellows, and watching the home team throw down on their super amazing show, Gravity and Grace.

• I started a consistent work-out routine! That’s been pretty good for the last two months!

• I wrote some new pieces - more on that later!

The month of August was relatively the same with working out and writing new music with some careful additions:

• I ate quite a bit of HEB Sushiya Sushi (so good) and had saturday morning brunch with Iris at either Kerbey Lane Cafe or Phoebe’s Diner in Austin. Those are our go-to haunts!

• I also saw the Bluecoats win their third DCI championship! What a time for them. It was well deserved!

NEWMUSICNEWMUSICNEWMUSIC

Okay whew. Can you tell I’m excited? Over the last two months, I’ve written the following massive works. Attached are links for you to be some of the first people to listen to them. I mean it pays to be a subscriber to this newsletter sometimes, right?

• orbital dances, for double brass quintet and percussion, composed for my friend Amanda Manning and soon to be premiered as the finale of her MM recital at Colorado State University in October! Watch the score video here.

• Ari’s Repose, for solo marimba and symphony orchestra, composed for Marco Schirripa and the Central Michigan University Symphony Orchestra (Dr. Keith Dodson, director) and soon to be premiered in October, the final installment of my contribution to the PIXEL MASTERWORKS consortium.

• Doppelgänger, for clarinet and soprano saxophone

• Two Sides of the Same Coin: Double Concerto for Clarinet and Soprano Saxophone with Wind Ensemble, composed for soloists Dr. Lisa Kachouee (clarinet), Dr. Joshua Heaney (saxophone), and the Oklahoma City University Wind Ensemble (Dr. Matthew Mailman, director), to be premiered in the 2026-27 academic year. (Fun fact/humble brag: I wrote this piece in a WEEK. I haven’t felt this much like myself in a couple of years. If you listen to it, you’ll hear why I’m so excited to have finished it in a week. No, really please listen to it - I’m especially proud of this feat.)

New Published Releases for the
2026-27 School Year!

I’m so excited to share my new releases with C. Alan Publications for the upcoming year:

• Escape Room, Grade 1.5 Band (J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice)

• Escape Room, Grade 1.5 Flex Band (J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice)

• the simplest of gifts, Grade 2 String Orchestra (J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice)

• From a Higher Place, Grade 4.5 Band

• Alacrán, Duet for Alto Saxophone and Marimba

• Alacrán, Duet for Vibraphone and Marimba

• Descansos, Percussion Quartet

• Infinity Mirror, Melodic Percussion Quartet

• Ozymandias, or The Earth Won’t Remember Me, Solo Timpani with Percussion Quartet

Be sure to look out for a mid-year release of new works around January!

(Friendly Reminder):
uncommon altars

A few months ago, I had the premiere of my piece, uncommon altars with the Da Capo Choir (Patty Irwin, director) in New York City. I recently uploaded a score video of the back half of the piece over on my Instagram. You can watch that here.

Performance, Concert, and Masterclass Updates

• I will be giving a masterclass to Dr. Nathan Siegel’s Percussion Studio at Temple College on September 24th.

• I will be in residence with the Central Michigan University Symphony Orchestra as they play the world premiere of Ari’s Repose with Dr. Marco Schirripa as marimba soloist October 5-9.

• I will be in residence with Amanda Manning the musicians for her MM recital at Colorado State University October 21-25 for the world premiere of orbital dances.

If you’d like to have me out as a guest composer and/or conductor in the 2026-27 season, please contact me here.

If you’re programming my music, please let me know so I can give you a shoutout here in future newsletters and report these performances to my Performing Rights Organization, BMI! You can submit concert performances of my music here.

Now Playing

Welcome to “Now Playing,” where I share the things I’m listening to right now.

• I have had Eric Whitacre’s waterfall release of his new album, Eternity in an Hour, on repeat throughout the last few weeks. It’s equal parts choral, ambient, and quite reminiscent of his The Sacred Veil (at least from an instrumentation perspective). I can’t wait for the full release on October 23rd.

• I’ve also been listening to J Dilla’s 2006 (and final) album, Donuts, on repeat. The infectious hooks, driving technical prowess of sampling, and clever wordplay make for a timeless listen.

September Happenings and Beyond

Here are some upcoming events I’m excited about:

• I am so excited to get back to playing percussion with the Austin Symphonic Band this month!

• I’ll be traveling to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for Labor Day weekend to catch up with friends.

• I’m also super stoked to travel to Houston to watch The Complete Philip Glass Etudes on September 12th, performed by a plethora of my all-time favorite pianists!

• I’ll be watching the band Everything Yes’s show in Austin on September 18th.

• Additionally I’ll be having some new headshots taken in Austin by my looooong-time friend and my favorite photographer, Clayton Peliti.

• I’ll be attending the first University of Texas Wind Ensemble concert of the year! They’re performing Bob Reynold’s transcription of Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium, Benjamin Horne’s Spiritual Symphony, and more. They’re also performing a piece featuring friend Hila Plitmann, which is always a treat.

What a month! I’m very excited for it.

Oh, and happy birthday to me. Today I turn 34! After a very tumultuous 33rd year of life, I feel back and better than ever.

Thanks for being along for the ride.