Hurray for March

February is finally over, and I am very glad for it. Not because of the February blahs - it turned out to be a brutally busy month, giving me no time to get the blahs.
Work was incredibly busy and intense for all of February. The Boston Conservatory Dance Theater concert went very well. The students were amazing. Even on Sunday, after having seen the show four times already, I was still excited to see it one more time. This past Saturday was the lat audition day, so I now have my Saturdays back.
I am home today because of the snowstorm. I think this is the first real snow day I have had in 16 years, despite having lived in New England nearly all my life. Mostly because my longest-held job was for a company that never officially closed due to weather. The snow is very pretty, but I have no intention of going out in it. Instead, I spent the better part of the afternoon practicing piano. I hope this un-looked for bit of downtime is a sign of a more relaxed month to come.

Of music projects past, present, and future

On Friday, Anthology premiered the piece I had written for them, "No Matter How Small". They did a wonderful job - I couldn't have asked for a better first performance. The other pieces on the program, "Songs of Protest and Social Unrest", were all very interesting, and I felt honored to be on the same program with them all, and especially with sen_no_ongaku. Best of all, Anthology is doing multiple performances of the program, so my piece will be heard more than once. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to Sunday's performance in Andover due to the snowstorm and my being extremely tired. There is one more performance, in Cohassett in April.
I am currently working on a piece for solo cello, for destinysfuture. It's based on the amalgamation of two fish-themed Polish folk songs. The piece has also grown beyond my original assumptions to be a three-movement work, with some exploration of extended techniques. I've lately been feeling the need/desire to be more adventurous with my composition, to be more fearless, to get a little wild and step outside what seems safe. I'm going to try to let go a little more with this piece, to free up my imagination.
I'll also be writing another piece for vocal ensemble, this time for a_dodecahedron's group. Until I get a text, though, I have very little idea of what I'll be doing.
I have ideas kicking around for one or two other choral pieces, as well.
Rehearsals for my next recital with pantsie are going very well. We've started setting agendas for our practice time, which is really helping. It's an ambitious program, thus there is so much music to learn that pre-arranging what we're going to work on is crucial for efficient and productive rehearsals. It lets us focus our individual practicing such that when we get together, we're all set to get going.
I think I may be participating in a SWAN (support women artists now) day performance at the end of the month, playing one or more of my own piano pieces. I just have to remember to e-mail the woman in charge of the event.
And then there are the larger projects that are going to require a lot of long-term planning and work. I have ideas for two cantatas: one based on passages from Thoreau's Walden, the other on selections from the ancient Celtic poem Y Gododdin. I have a great idea for an opera based on the golem legend. And then there's the thought that Beowulf would make a terrific oratorio.