Musical Inspirations Instrumentation and Thematics One of the longest-lasting quotes in my mind is one that's generally attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, though the idea it conveys is probably much older. (Quote Investigator credits Charles Stewart with the 3-category concept, found in a passage in his 1901 autobiography.) The quote -- "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people" -- is generally assumed to be a slap against idle gossip, but the first in the list is what gets my attention.

It's up! Thanks to David Hume (Audio) and Brice Jones (video), and a little editing, the live performance of my choral piece by the Lexington Chamber Chorale is now available to watch! The piece features soloists Virginia Berquist Bowles (Soprano -- the "voice teacher") and Scott Hiner (Tenor -- the "voice student") singing the words of Lexington vocal/choral legend Phyllis Jenness.

A "...maybe..." isn't uncommon for me, but the structure is fixed, for sure, and the thing is fun to listen to. We'll call finished for a bit. (I'll be offline and on vacation for three weeks, so its current status is all I have until after that.) As threatened, this piece joins "Rondo-B'out" as a member of a suite of piano solo pieces called…

...from Pianisms. Continuing in the humorous vein of the pieces in this suite, the title "Chak-onne" is a bit of silliness. A "chaconne" is a traditional musical form delivering a set of variations written over an ostinato or ground bass which is repeated throughout the piece. (See also "Passacaglia" -- historians have had difficulty making distinctions between the two.) Since my tradition in this suite of piano pieces is to include some musical quotation from elsewhere, I decided it would be fun to find something from the world of popular music for this one.

The following project pages for individual solo pieces are included in this suite: Rondo-B'out Errant Waltz Merrian-Webster defines "pianism" as "the art or technique of piano playing." By extension, one might infer that "pianisms" are a collection of items which celebrate/display things unique to the piano and its players. I started this suite of solo piano pieces with a 15-bar snippet, which sat and stared at me for almost a year, before I finally transformed it into "Rondo-B'out." I had so much fun with it that I decided to pursue the concept more fully, with, as always, an educational goal of learning the capabilities of the instrument and its better players.

The University of Kentucky New Music Ensemble, under the baton and coordination of Juan Trigos, performed my composition, "The Great Barrier Reef," on April 17, 2025. At long last, I've posted a video of the performance. Thanks to Daniela D'Ingiullo for the source video and audio recordings. The ensemble was mostly students (the flutist was an exception), who have massive academic and performance obligations elsewhere.

The Lexington Chamber Chorale has been in rehearsal since late August. The concert date is 5:00 PM Sunday, October 12 (click here for details and tickets). I feed a bit guilty -- the toughest piece of repertoire on the program is mine! Luckily, it's short (a bit over 4 minutes), but there are a few things that add to it's being difficult: high overall singing range, tonal centers that wander a bit (hey, it's a Jeff Jones original!), some rhythmic oddities (see above), and two demanding solo parts (a shoutout to Virginia Parker Bowles and Scott Hiner, who are fabulous!).

George Ella Lyon and I chatted, and she's OK with me posting her lyric set through a score video on YouTube. So here we are! The details.... Completed May 15, though I made small changes and improvements through June. Lyrics: George Ella supplied the lyrics from a work read for 2020's Lexington Chamber Chorale 30th Anniversary celebration. Read about that on the…

...from Pianisms (see below) This is my second attempt at writing for solo piano. I began this piece in the summer of 2025. "Errant Waltz" is, as one might suspect, in 3/4 time, with a main theme very much in the traditional waltz rhymical pattern -- but with, as you might have guessed, a twist. A traditional waltz puts its 3-beat measures in groups of 4.

Summer is coming, UK's semester has ended, but I'm still working furiously! Two things are coming.... The Voice Lesson: I just completed this work under commission from the Lexington Chamber Chorale, Dr. Gary Anderson, artistic directory. It uses a lyric set contributed by local author/poet George Ella Lyon. Although "complete," I'm still doing a few clean-up tasks, and I've not posted actual music content yet.

Short Composition for Chamber Chorale with Soprano and Tenor Soloists, and piano accompaniment. Lyrics based on the poem "Sing" by George Ella Lyon This work, my second collaboration with a local poet, was written under commission from the Lexington Chamber Chorale, Dr. Gary Anderson, musical director. The work will have its premiere on Sunday, October 12, 2025, the first concert of the Chorale's 2025-26 season.

There are a few things I might want to improve, but I can consider this work complete with all 5 sections represented. At the encouragement of my composition instructor, this work will be added to several others, making up a suite of solo piano pieces. Being as I have other works to which I need to attend (specifically a choral commission set for a fall performance), that's for another day...or, well, year!

My composition, completed this February, 2025, will get its world premiere by the University of Kentucky New Music Ensemble Thursday, April 17, 2025. Details below: What: UK New Music Ensemble Concert, under the baton of Professor Juan Trigos, School of Music, UK Where: Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. When: Thursday, April 17, 2025, 7:30 PM How much: this is a…

I started this piano composition last summer as I'd just finished something huge ("The Coast"), so wanted to focus small. As it turns out, my attention was pushed in another direction (more on that in a bit), but being as that project is now done, I decided to pay attention to it again. I now have most of 2 sections done.