February In Review

If you’ve ever been in marching band, you had to backwards march. When I first got on the platforms of my feet and marched backwards at the end of 8th grade, I kept turning my head around to see what was behind me. It’s not easy to prevent this involuntary action of self-preservation, but after a while, I learned that I needed to trust that the people behind me were doing the same as a cohesive unit.

This entire year has felt as if I’ve been learning to backwards march again. Perhaps it’s appropriate that this month, I’m going to trust that I won’t fall and thus send a 15 pound marching snare drum towards my face at 160 bpm. (No that didn’t happen to me, but I have seen that before. Ouch.)

Here are some notable things I did this month:

• I composed some of the last music for the upcoming Stolen Realm Survivors video game. After working on the Stolen Realm Original Soundtrack (Stream on Apple Music, Spotify) with composer Jenn(ifer) Jolley, I’m taking all of our original music, writing some entirely new tracks, and dressing it all up in a symphonic metal outfit. You can listen to a few two-minute previews of the OST here.

• I went to TMEA! I worked at the C. Alan Publications booth nearly the whole time, helping convention-goers find music for themselves and/or their students and making some quick social media posts to the C. Alan Instagram. (Please, go follow us!) Additionally, I had the pleasure of celebrating ten years of being together with Iris. We shared a lovely dinner out on the riverwalk, including the decadent dessert (shown above).

• I wrote a demo, titled Imminent, for the release of the new Triumph Audio “Arco Anomaly” Library, which you can hear here.

• On top of all this, I watched NBA All-Star Weekend (which was really just the Kevin Hart show - he was on screen more than the actual players) and continued watching season 2 of Severance. If you have any fan theories, please feel free to send them my way!

Performance and Concert Updates

• My piece, The Test of Time, will be performed by Guest Artist Eric Hines and the Fenton High School Symphonic Wind Ensemble in concert on Thursday, March 7, 2025 in Bensenville, IL.

• I’ll be performing as a percussionist with Austin Symphonic Band in our next concert, titled Celebration, on Sunday April 13, 2025. If you’re in the central Texas area, we’d love for you to join us!

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.

• In my time of working on the Stolen Realm Survivors OST, I’ve been listening to a ton of Animals as Leaders. My favorite track by them right now is Physical Education, played by Matt Garstka on the Drumeo YouTube Channel.

• I recently came across a track I first heard when Apple Music Beats 1 Radio first launched in 2015. Cha Cha, by D.R.A.M. (now known as Shelley), originally used the Star World Theme from Super Mario World as the background music but had to change it to another beat because Nintendo is, well, Nintendo. Listen to the original, much more fire version, here. (Pending takedowns, of course.)

• I received a $2.26 royalty check from an album I nearly forgot I was part of a few weeks ago. The album, named Piano Blooms, features my track Sonus (also known as Cirrus on my SoundCloud). This track was made entirely using the PostFelt sound library created by collaborator Jon Meyer. You can stream the entire album on Apple Music and Spotify.

• I just approved an impressive performance of my piece, Tour de Force, played by the prestigious Ju Percussion Group for public sharing on YouTube. This performance, given in May 2024, was part of Ju’s third installment of their “Percussion and Friends” concerts at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. You can watch their conductor-less (!!!) rendition here.

• And in case you’re in the mood for some brainrot bangers, I present you with this.

March Happenings

• Oklahoma friends, I’ll be in residence with the Oklahoma Baptist University Symphonic Winds between March 3-7! In addition to other selections on the program, the Symphonic Winds will be performing my The Test of Time (featuring Cameron Duncan as marimba soloist), Forerunner (which I’ll be conducting myself), and A Thousand Inner Voices. Thanks to Dr. Timothy Kaiser for the invitation to join him and his ensemble for a few rehearsals and the concert. I’m beyond excited to work with these musicians and collaborate with some awesome friends. Read more about the concert info here.

• In addition to my time at OBU, I’m really excited to share my time at the following engagements:

  • Southeast High School, Sentinel

  • Oklahoma City University Blue Star Steel Band, Infinity Mirror

  • OCU Wind Conducting Seminar, Composer Visit

  • Santa Fe South Schools, Composer Visit

• I’ll be streaming on Twitch on March 15th at 6 PM for a minimum of two hours. I’ll be composing a new piece in either Logic Pro, Finale, or Dorico, so we can hang out while I work. Feel free to ask questions, too!