Daniel Powers

Archive for May, 2008

Yes, I know, it’s a couple of days early, but I’m here now, and I might as well get this up.

Finished: The Air Corps Medley referenced a couple of posts earlier. It was performed at the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic’s Memorial Day concert last week, and I believe they’re planning on including it on their July 4th concert (which is actually June 27).

Current: There isn’t a lot going on right now, which is kind of nice. Recently, I was contacted by a clarinettist who was interested in commissioning a trio for clarinet, bassoon, and piano, but it looks like that isn’t going to be happening, at least not right away. A pity, since I had some good ideas for one, but I can save them for later. Anyway, I don’t have any major projects hanging over my head, so I can work at a somewhat less frantic pace for a while. Still, I have an iron or two in the fire.

1. New Film Score “Full Circle.” I had put it on hold to do the Air Corps Medley, but I’m now back to work on it. Currently, a draft score is nearly finished, and I plan to start recording it next week. The draft score mainly consists of a harmonic outline and some texture descriptions, and when I start the recording process, I think a lot of it will be improvised. I’m not used to working that way, but it seems like it will work. Deadline is June 30, so it may be done by the time of the next update.

2. Various small projects, mostly pertaining to editing and engraving some older pieces, and preparing them for publication. A Saxophone Quartet from 2005 is nearly ready, as is Concerto Piccolo. Also wanting to get to Euphoria and Links II, maybe more if there’s time.

Also working on two websites, and a few little projects that I’m keeping secret for now.

Oh, and I still haven’t gotten my copies of Masterworks 12. I’m about to break down and just order one so I can hear it, it’s driving me crazy!

Have a good summer, everyone!

www.danielpowers.info is finally up and running! Check it out!

It’s still pretty preliminary at this point. A lot of it is still just copied from my other website, Swan’s Wing Press. I think it will be a while before it finally settles in to what I want it to be.

I think, though, the next step will be to revamp and streamline the SWP site, and move it over to my new host. So that will be my main focus regarding my web presence for a while. My hope is that my “web presence” will be in a more final shape by the end of the summer. Meanwhile, I’ve made a decent start.

One last update on the Masterworks 12 situation, and then I’ll shut up about it for a while.

I have received an e-mail from ERM that Masterworks 12 is indeed released! Copies are currently on their way to various radio stations and retail outlets. It should show up on Amazon and various other places soon. I still have yet to receive my complimentary copies, but it should be only “a few more days,” according to them.

I can’t wait!

This morning I registered www.danielpowers.info as the domain name of my new, yet to be created, website. There’s nothing there yet except a dummy site that I slapped together from a boring web template. So don’t bother looking yet.

This isn’t much of a story, but it gave me a laugh so I though I’d share it.

On Friday, ISU held a farewell banquet for outgoing president Lloyd Benjamin. As part of the festivities, I was commissioned to write a short fanfare for the ISU faculty brass quintet, which they performed at the beginning of the entertainment portion of the evening. Later on, Samantha Wittinghouse, a sophomore voice student, sang “Ave Maria” (the Bach-Gounod one) and Frank Bridge’s “Love Went Riding,” accompanied by my wife Martha (hi, again!)

Last night, I was talking to Brian Kilp and Randy Mitchell, two members of the brass quintet. They passed along several nice comments that they got about my fanfare, including the following, which was nice and a little strange.

Apparently one person raved about the brass quintet’s performance, and wondered “Why didn’t your band play more numbers, instead of having that girl sing that weird stuff?”

So…I’m less weird than Bach, it seems. Good to know!

I’ve been enjoying a few weeks with no projects. I managed to get everything done by the middle of last month, and had nothing urgent waiting in the wings. Of course, that couldn’t last.

1. Army Air Corps Medley. A medley of “Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer” and the “Army Air Corps Song,” commissioned by the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. It’s kind of a last-minute thing, with a scheduled performance in about three weeks, so priority: urgent. Status: underway. This one is going to be fun, getting to arrange something in a 1940′s big band style, something I like doing, but rarely get to do.

2. New film score “Full Circle.” This is for another contest, again sponsored by SoundsOnline, again with an animated video by Zennor Alexander. Deadline isn’t till June 30, so priority: low for the moment. Status: begun, but just barely.

3. New web sites. My current website has pretty much outgrown its original purpose. For years, it’s served double duty as both my business and personal website, but the two functions seem to be battling each other, and it doesn’t look good. So I’m revamping the Swan’s Wing Press site as a strictly publishing venture, and creating a new site to focus on my creative activities and whatever else sounds interesting. Status: not really begun yet as I’m trying to figure out the new website designing program I got. Also I still need to register a new domain name for the new site.

Other stuff? I’m sure there will be. I can’t seem to sit around idle for long (even though I sometimes wish I could!)

If there was an official announcement about this, I completely missed it. But it looks like Masterworks Of The New Era Volume 12 is now available! At least, they’re taking orders for it.

I still haven’t received my complimentary CDs, so I haven’t heard their recording of my piece, The Starry Messenger. But an excerpt from it has been posted on the above mentioned website, and the brief passage I heard sounded stunning! (Listen to it now!)

I’ve been worried about this for so long, but it sounds like it will have been worth the wait. Still, I just hope I won’t have to wait much longer!