Today is my 41st birthday and I can’t believe it’s the end of December! It’s been a mostly fabulous year, which I think is a win. Here are some highlights:

The year opened with Dr. Nora Wilson’s incredible premiere of Arcadia Trombonica at Brandon University in January. We worked so hard at bringing this project to life and, while we didn’t have every visual or game aspect locked in, the music and backing track were ready and it she just knocked it right out of the park. She crushed it again in June at the International Trombone Festival in Fort Worth, TX in June. What a brilliant collaborator.

During the first three months, I finished four level one pieces and two of them are going to print in 2025-26 — To The Skies! With MakeMusic/Alfred and Warriors of the Air with C. L. Barnhouse. By the end of this year, seven pieces have been approved for publication in the next 18 months – seven!

In March, my jazz bands performed really well at the Family of Festivals and Brandon Jazz Festivals. Some really incredible learning there.

Also in March, I started Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth on PS5 and it felt so great to go back in that world. I know that’s not musical, but it filled my bucket a lot this year.

In April, my friend and colleague from Guelph, Ontario, Dan Austin, premiered my work called We Are Stars and did such an amazing job. I also got to connect with Lauren Helmer, Dan Horner, Eric McMillan (and so many more) for the first time. It was the beginning of a new relationship with some great Ontario folks.

Also in April, we did the official pro recording of Arcadia with Nora and again, holy heck. What a musician!

And throughout all of this, I was making all of the pixel art for the Arcadia Trombonica game, which took a long time. I finished it at the beginning of Spring, then it went to Adrian (the programmer) to make the game.

We had a band trip to Moosejaw in May and, though the kids played great, it was a fine experience. The best part of it was the kids and the music they brought, plus the terrific clinic afterward. A few weeks later we ended the year in celebration with a dynamite band and jazz concert.

Shortly after, Nora and I went on the road with Arcadia Trombonica to the International Trombone Festival in Fort Worth, TX. Again, she crushed it. I got back and a later that week, four of my jazz students got to play at all levels in the Jazz Winnipeg Honour Jazz Band.

Then a much needed week off at the beginning of summer break, before teaching the Mountie band at the International Music Camp at the International Peace Gardens at the Canada/US border. It was fast and furious, but the kids did so well (and we had a blast making music together). I also got to hang with some of my favourite musical people.

When I got back, I had some amazing summer hangs with my wife and kids—they’re the very best people. My daughter also dances in our community’s cultural festival in August called Folklorama and it’s around 30 shows in a week and she did so well. What a champ. We lived at the pavilion that week volunteering and had a great time.

After summer, I geared up for teaching and got our kids started. The year is still going strong!

In November, I conducted the Saskatchewan Senior Honour Band and, holy, that was a whirlwind. I’ll write a separate post about it, but after prepping it for months and months, it went incredibly well. Over and over again this year, kids reminded me how amazing they could be and what a high level of art they can make.

A few weeks later, I was a guest on the Culture Before Content podcast from Music For All and hosted by David Duarte and it was so great to talk about something so important to me in outrageous detail. Intentional strategies for fostering positive band room culture was my graduate research more-than-a-few years back and it’s super near and dear to my heart and, clearly, it is to David’s too.

The next week we rocked out Christmas Spectacular at school—four shows, band/choir/jazz band, a traditional Christmas show in our rural Manitoba community. Again, kids are amazing.

And lastly, the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Between my two colleagues, Matt Neufeld and Dylan Fitzhenry (our new composer!), we shared the band music of the Canadian Prairies with quite a lot of folks from all over North America. I got to hear some incredible music, had my first publisher’s dinner (with Alfred Music), and got to hang out with some dynamite musicians. There are also going to be three premieres of the band version of Arcadia in the next six months now, which is AWESOME. I can’t wait to share more about that.

But now, it’s Christmas in our house and I’ve got some family time on the books. Time to recharge with my favourite people and power down and rest for a while because, hey, it’s been quite a year.

Cheers to 2024, everyone, and here’s to wishing all the best things for everyone in 2025!