Daniel Powers

Archive for December, 2009

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and that means it’s time to look back over the year. When I did this last year, I noted that I’d done a lot of arrangements, but not much composition. I had hoped to reverse that trend, and I did better this year, but not quite as well as I’d hoped.

So, looking back…

New compositions

• Cloudscapes for flute choir
• one movement of Trio for clarinet, bassoon, and piano
• two settings of poems from Joyce’s Chamber Music (I Would In That Sweet Bosom Be and Who Goes Among the Greenwood) for male chorus and piano
• various unfinished pieces

New arrangements

• Two Gershwin songs for organ and orchestra, for Cameron Carpenter and the Carmel Symphony.
• Three Sondheim songs and three songs from West Side Story (the last one still in progress, but nearly done) for soprano and orchestra, for Sylvia McNair and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic (also the Carmel Symphony).
• Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise for cello and orchestra, for Kurt Fowler and the Terre Haute Symphony.

Here’s hoping next year will be even better.

Trio for clarinet, bassoon, and piano. First movement is officially done, or at least is to the point where I’m tired of messing with it. It has been sent to TriofuS. Hopefully the premiere will take place in the Spring, but I have to finish the thing first!

Of the six arrangements I’m doing for Sylvia McNair, the three Sondheim songs are done. Next are three songs from West Side Story. I have to get them done soon for performances in February and March.

My transcription of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise for cello and string orchestra is done, and will be performed here in Terre Haute in March.

For several months I’ve had many commissioned projects to work on. As a result, many other things have ended up on the back burner. I’ve been thinking about my setting of Joyce’s Strings In The Earth And Air recently. It has been several months since I worked on it, and I’m anxious to get it finished. Actually it’s so close to being done right now that it shouldn’t take me very long to put the finishing touches on it. But I really have to get the rest of everything off the table and out the door first. Fortunately it looks like the end is in sight finally.