Spring 2022 events
This spring brought many new opportunities and creative projects. In January 2022, I was in Tampa, FL to conduct the Florida Music Educators Association All-State Guitar Ensemble. I chose an all-Texas composers program, featuring works by Mark Cruz, Eddie Healy, Joe Williams, and myself. We concluded the program with my work Strong Stand We At Last for three guitar parts and cello (its original instrumentation).
A few weeks later, I was honored to conduct the All-National Honor Guitar Ensemble for the National Association for Music Education. This year’s convention was virtual. I worked with students from all around the country, from Hawaii to California to New Jersey! With the help of the excellent Virtual Guitar Orchestra, we created this virtual performance of my work Strong Stand We At Last, which I arranged for advanced guitar ensemble especially for this event.
In late January, I got to go to Tucson, AZ to introduce my work Sea Song in concert. Written in 2007 for soprano, mezzo-soprano, and guitar, this work has recently found new champions among such performers as Rene Izquierdo, guitar; Michelle Areyzaga, soprano, and Diana Peralta, mezzo-soprano. They performed it on a program of art song for voice and guitar, presented by the Tucson Guitar Society in the context of the Tucson Desert Song festival.
February brought the release of my new album of original works for guitar, Ka Ao, for the Frameworks records. The album features a star-studded line-up of artists playing my music for solo guitar, guitar duo, quartet, and even guitar and clarinet. It is now available on all streaming and online platforms. You can listen to it on this Spotify on playlist:
Russia’s horrific attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24 made it difficult for me to proceed as usual with creative activities. Daily news of atrocities committed by russian war criminals against Ukrainian civilians is hard to bear. Despite my struggles with the weight of the news, I have continued to try to do my best to keep it together, have sought help, and tried to be as helpful as possible myself.
Early March was a special time for me as a much-anticipated premiere by the Grammy winner David Russell of my new solo guitar work Western Vista took place at the University of Texas at Dallas on March 3. I gave a lecture-presentation on the work on March 2 to provide background information and inspirations behind the piece. David’s playing was exquisite, and the work was enthusiastically received by the audience, receiving a standing ovation. I am eagerly awaiting the release of David’s video of this piece this month!
In April, Kithara Duo were invited as guest artists to the Hill Country Classical Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition at Texas State University in San Marcos, where we performed an all-Amelkina-Vera program and taught masterclasses. I also participated in the Texas Composers Forum along with Mark Anthony Cruz, host of the festival.
In early April, it was so special to bring our music to a vibrant new audience, the congregation of Cathedral of Hope in Dallas! It was an honor to introduce my work Étoiles Par Grand Vent in its guitar duo version and talk about the inspiration behind the work—the life and legacy of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry—and then perform the piece for these great folks. The New Texas Symphony Orchestra and Kithara Duo presented the world premiere of the orchestra+guitar duo arrangement of the piece, which I had created for NTSO, on May 22 at the Moody Performance Hall in Dallas.
Also in early April, I was proud to participate in a concert in Frisco, TX benefiting orphan Ukranian refugees living in Poland. I performed my solo guitar work Ka Ao, Ka Ao, Ka Awatea, and Fernand and I performed my Étoiles Par Grand Vent.
In late April, I was honored to be one of the three judges for the Marlowe Guitar International Myrna Sislen Youth Guitar Competition in Washington, D.C., along with renowned Grammy-nominated Paraguayan guitarist Berta Rojas and ProfessorThomas Kikta of Duquesne University.
And finally, to conclude this spring’s dash of creative projects, on May 22, 2022 at the Moody Performance Hall in Dallas New Texas Symphony Orchestra and Kithara Duo presented the world premiere of the orchestra+guitar duo arrangement of my work Étoiles Par Grand Vent (Homage to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) . This project was at least a year in the making! NTSO commissioned me to create the orchestral version of this piece (originally scored for either guitar and piano or guitar duo). I worked on orchestrating it last winter; rehearsals began this spring; and finally we got to present it to the public last weekend. I introduced the piece to the audience and then performed with the orchestra in Kithara Duo. It was a great experience, and fitting end to this semester! I can’t wait to start on the new projects scheduled for the summer.
Excerpt from live performance with NTSO and Kithara Duo, May 22, 2022