Eggs, Puppets, & Boy Bandz (Jan-April 2016)

2016: The First Third, a re-cap

The first chunk of 2016 has been great. Here's a taste of what I was up to, by the month:
​
JANUARY
-Regular 3rd Relation Tuesday-night jazz continued.
-YouTube additions:

•  "Auld Lang Syne"
• "Hello" 
• ​First Movement of The Egg Suite
  & a companion blog post explaining (egg-splaining?) part of the composition process

    
FEBRUARY
-Began composing music for “Mop Dog,” a new children's puppet show slated to open in April.
-Towards the end of the month, began rehearsals for “Altar Boyz.”
-YouTube additions:

• "Just Friends" 
• A third “Electronic Impromptu”
• Fourth movement of The Egg Suite 
• Fifth movement of The Egg Suite

MARCH
-Continued “Mop Dog” work and “Altar Boyz rehearsals.”
-A successful series of church services for Holy Week, concluding with a great Easter celebration with choir, organ, and brass quintet.
-Accompanied for a senior musical theatre showcase.
-The Egg Suite has now been recorded and shared in its entirety! 

APRIL
-Finalized "Mop Dog" music and enjoyed seeing the show for the first time - its opening night was 4/15, and it was a joy to see the puppets come alive & interact with the music.
-“Altar Boyz” progress continued, with the addition of the rest of the band just before Tech Week. We then gave 3 great performances of the show, and it was a blast.
-Finished out the month playing piano for a wedding and relishing the vibrant music scene in La Crosse.

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What's Next?
-Looking into making "Mop Dog" music and "Egg Suite" more available in the digital music marketplace. I'm very proud of this music and am excited with the prospect of allowing it to reach more ears!
-Also looking into options for publication of a music book of The Egg Suite. (Stay tuned!)
-Polishing my favorite pieces from "Mop Dog" into clean, legible solo-piano arrangements.