r a n d o m   n o t e s

January 20, 2012

Hey folks. Waiting for my delayed flight to Philadelphia (no snow all winter until the morning I'm flying to an aca event? Thanks, cosmos...) seems like as good a time as any for a site update.

First off, my Catalog is updated with dozens of new songs. Some aren't yet available for purchase, but keep an eye out anyway, as I'll continue to update the catalog as I release more scores.

Once I do board, I'll be en route to the Winter Workshop, a conference/festival in the Philadelphia suburbs that features the usual tasty assortment of workshops, masterclasses, and concerts. I'm one of two clinicians; the other is the estimable Barry Carl, who I presume needs to introduction to anyone reading this. Really looking forward to working with both Barry's world-class talent and the eager young aca-minds in attendance. The day concludes with a concert by several of the participating groups. Thanks to Project Philly and Lower Merion A Cappella for putting together this great event!

No sooner will I be back from coolin' on South Street than it'll be time to pack for the Los Angeles A Cappella Festival. I touched on this annual SoCal extravaganza in my last update, but if you're not already up to speed via bombardment in recent weeks by every medium available for promoting a cappella events (which is as it should be), click the link above for all the info. I'm teaching arranging again, as well as moderating a panel featuring some of the best arrangers in the business, maybe some masterclassing, definitely some socializing of the first order - what SoJam is to the southeast, LAAF is to the West Coast. If you can, get there.

Then I'm home for a week. La de dah.

Then it's off to my beloved New England for a week of harassing Plaid/TVC/BitH/Overboard/Nate, culminating in TWO events in one day on Saturday, February 11: In the a.m., I'll be at Wilmington H.S. in Wilmington, Mass., teaching arranging at N.E. Voices; in the p.m., I'll be at Brown University in Providence, R.I., teaching - you guessed it - arranging at Amplify, the newest kid on the aca-fest block, brought to you by the folks at Liquid 5th. Both of these Friday-Saturday events will have outstanding opportunities to learn about improving your aca skills, and both will feature killer concerts - Redline, Firedrill!, and Pitch Slapped at N.E. Voices; Duwende and Transit at Amplify. If you're in the area, I definitely recommend checking out either event - or both, for that matter.

Besides all the frequent flyer miles, I'm neck deep in new projects for On the Rocks, Peter Hollens, Sled Dog Studios, Cartoon Johnny, The Staff, Cantus Youth Choirs, and this awesome new choir in Perth called Naya Chorale, among others. Also beefing up my studio accoutrement as I gear up (no pun intended) for recording a couple of groups from my alma mater: the Innocent Men (started by Vox One rock star Paul Stiller) and my own college group, Fifth Element.

That's all for now... if you're out on the road like me, safe travels, and to all, happy singing! :-)

What People Say

"Fun mixes that don't need a lot of extra ear candy .... Arrangements that practically mix themselves .... Definitely not the typical cookie-cutter fare so prevalent in today's a cappella."
~ Bill Hare, Owner, Bill Hare Productions

"[T]he arrangements are, across the board, awesomely fun and cool."
~ Daniel Herriges, Mixed Company (Stanford University)

“Absolutely the king of textures
and layers …. the best of the
syllable bunch.”
~Dave Brown, co-host of Mouth Off and Director of CASAcademy

"I'm a huuuuuge Tom Anderson fan."
~Jon Pilat, Hookslide

""He's an awesome arranger."
~ Dave Sperandio, Owner, diovoce