Rather than one large post I have several brief updates to share today.

• First, I’m happy to report that my Koetsier recording is now available for purchase on CD Baby, in either digital download or physical format. The price is significantly lower than what Amazon is asking. It has been interesting to explore the various marketing possibilities for this recording, and I’ve learned quite a bit along the way. Without getting into too many details, in my situation it is  preferable to sell physical copies of the recording, although I realize that digital format is probably what will sell the best. In any case, I would be delighted if you checked out the recording, regardless of the format! Visit this page if you want to read some recent reviews of the CD.
• My faculty recital last week went well, and we had a full house (nearly 300 people!) in attendance. Many of the students were there to fulfill concert credit for music appreciation classes, and they were very respectful and well behaved (sadly this is not always the case). I received several positive comments from both music majors and music appreciation students after the recital, and they seemed especially surprised by the variety of sound colors and styles that the horn/percussion combination was capable of producing.  Here are a couple of videos from the recital. First is the final movement from Hornvibes by Verne Reynolds. NB: I set the microphone levels pretty low for the entire recital because the final work had some extreme dynamics, so you may have to bump up the volume or use headphones to hear the Reynolds.

• Next is  Mark Schultz’s Dragons in the Sky, a piece I last performed as a doctoral student several years ago. It was definitely the big piece on this program, and the audience really seemed to enjoy it (as did the performers!) One note about this recording is that there is a large percussion hit at 1:45, which must have scared and/or woken up some members of the audience – it takes them a few seconds to settle back down. The synchronization between horn, percussion, and tape was quite good, thanks to the use of headphones. There were a couple of places where things weren’t 100% lined up, but on the whole I am very satisfied with this performance. For more information on the unique performing demands of this piece, see this post.

• Now that the dust has settled from last week’s recital, I’m looking forward to some exciting orchestral programs this week and next. Up first is a concert with the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, which includes Fanfare for the Common Man by Copland and the First Symphony of Sibelius, followed by an all movie music concert with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. As always, I am grateful to be teaching and performing!