Category Archives: blog

Was reviewing Coppola’s The Conversation for tension music, or something DK had said about paranoia movies recently. Wanted to find sounds to underscore the party talk in Beautiful Creatures. I’d seen the film as a teen but couldn’t remember much … Continue reading →

I’m champing at the bit for Dom to send me the revisions as I have only 10 days from then to finish writing the music for workshop with Alden in June. There’s a bit more work than we’d expected, what … Continue reading →

The piece is coming together. We’ve been making some enormous changes at the last minute, but that makes it more fun for me.  It’s been a very collective effort–Patrick, Michael, Connie and I all brainstorming to make things work dramatically. … Continue reading →

I have finished getting through the libretto. And Eileen’s last scene reminds me in form of those Haydn English aria settings, a bit of the improvisational and the emotional dives and upsurges. The choral setting went fairly easily, and I’m … Continue reading →

It’s been almost a month of writing, revising text and music in the process of finishing a draft for the reading. Michael is negotiating with Edinburgh / Royal Academy in Glasgow to see if we’ll premiere there. This puts on … Continue reading →

MZ and I went over Hank’s aria, and worked it over, but basically it’s gonna work really well. Doing some revisions today and working out the octet where Hank goes into his anxious thing in the bridge again. Funny how … Continue reading →

It’s been difficult to get to the opera because of teaching and editing responsibilities, but managed to do many of the revisions. Dominic is writing new party-talk for partygoers. Maybe they should complain about the music, which is some hack … Continue reading →

Tim L said the other day that we should approach BP for funding the opera. They’ve been spending billions, he said, recovering their image. So what if we mock big oil, we’re also mocking (gently) the green movement. I tried … Continue reading →

My last day in F.H. and on the last aria for Eileen. Didn’t get to the finale, but that’s a reprise anyway. And the tense moments leading up to the bomb are only slightly sketched, but that’s only a minute … Continue reading →

I played thru what I’ve been working on these past few weeks, and oy, does it sound distorted and weird. Not sure that’s the worst thing, but it’s defnitely not my clearest writing. Maybe I’ll take it apart for strands … Continue reading →