I’m really excited to announce that I won a DownBeat Outstanding Performance Award in the Original Composition, Orchestrated Work/ Graduate College category for my composition Midnight Swim (2013) for big band that was premiered by the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dave Rivello, featuring Colin Gordon on soprano saxophone. Here is a link to the recording:
I’m also thrilled to announce that I will be graduating this month with a Ph.D. in music composition. Following Commencement, I will be composing a 20-minute opera, commissioned by the Washington National Opera American Opera Initiative, for a fall premiere at the Kennedy Center. In June, I will also be participating in the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute readings in New York City, where my new orchestra piece “Crystal Skies” will be played by the American Composers Orchestra.
And, I just found out that I will be an Assistant Professor in Music theory in the fall at Nazareth College! I look forward to continuing my teaching there, and working with such an amazing team of professors, administrators, and students.