Reflection: “Icelandic Folk Song Suite” live 8 years later.

I just had awesome night. Like, positively spell-binding. The University of Manitoba Concert Band just performed ALL FOUR movements of Icelandic Folk Song Suite at their concert on March 31st, 2023 at Centre-Culturel Franco Manitobain (or CCFM, for short), conducted by Dr. Jacquie Dawson. So, Dr. Dawson conducted the premiere of this piece eight years ago in my hometown of Gimli, MB; but even better, … Continue reading Reflection: “Icelandic Folk Song Suite” live 8 years later.

“We Are Stars” for Band with GCVI

I am so excited to share that my oldest published piece of music, We Are Stars, is being transcribed for band and will get a premiere from the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute Senior Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Dan Austin. Dan has been a champion of my music for some time now, particularly Filum Vitae, my first published band piece. He’s shared performances … Continue reading “We Are Stars” for Band with GCVI

Transcendent Light – US Premiere!

Wow, what a year… actually, it’s more like two years. I’ve been kind of neglecting my website duties (though, if you follow me on social media, I’ve still been pretty busy). That being said, I have a lot to share, but there’s something pretty special that I want to share today. In 2017, I had the incredible privilege to be selected by a consortium headed … Continue reading Transcendent Light – US Premiere!

Music Ed Monday – Lighthouse Music (Part 1)

Hey team, I love music – I really do. I think about it quite a lot, but when both my day and night jobs are music, sometimes I get so burned out that I can’t see the forest from the trees; or rather, the beauty in the sonic fabric from the succession of pitches in a unidirectional harmonic progression. Sometimes, we play music; sometimes, we … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – Lighthouse Music (Part 1)

Music Ed Monday – The Long Game

I’m writing this as my baby is fussing in the crib beside me — not crying or screaming, just kind of whining. We’re in the midst of sleep training our seven-month old and there are many days where I feel like what we’re doing just isn’t working.  Even a week into this, there is still a lot of fussing and particularly around nap time. It … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Long Game

Music Ed Monday – The Inspiration Board

We used to have this whiteboard at the front of our room, but then we got this incredible SMARTBoard.   It’s an enormous touchscreen monitor that’s rigged up to our iMac.  It’s like Star Trek, the future is now 🙂 … But then what were we going to do with this old whiteboard? Well, we just put it off to the side on, really, the only … Continue reading Music Ed Monday – The Inspiration Board

Music Ed Mondays – Listen Harder Than You Play

This is one of my favourite one-liners.  It just says so much in so little (the mark of a good one-liner, I say!): – It tells the musicians to ramp their awareness. – It encourages them to focus their attention on something. – It reinforces them to take a greater responsibility for the whole… And more! As musicians, it’s so easy to get lost in … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – Listen Harder Than You Play

Music Ed Mondays – Educating the Heart

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” – Aristotle It goes without saying, but sometimes we (not only as teachers, but as a culture) really get caught up in our day-to-day, be it curriculum, routine, meetings, or whatever.  It’s not necessarily our fault because that’s just the pace of our world, but when we get reminded about the why of … Continue reading Music Ed Mondays – Educating the Heart