(This is a repost from my Prescott High School Wind Ensemble residency blog)

When I compose, I sometimes like to bounce ideas off of my wife, Maria. It has its risks, though. An idea that I have in my head may provoke a completely different reaction from her than what I envision. But one of the nice things about being married for almost 20 years is that I no longer need to tell her if I disagree with her. She can read that look in my face … the one that (unintentionally) says, “OK, I hear what you’re saying, but I disagree, and this conversation is no longer helping me.” And she politely backs off from her point and lets me take what ideas I did like from her.

I find it well worth bouncing ideas off of her, because sometimes, as a composer, I need a fresh perspective to throw in some new directions.

So, today I took a risk, and I learned what it was like to get fresh perspective from a high school band. Read More...

I've added a download area of some documents I use in my teaching. Feel free to use and modify these documents.

Congratulations to all of my students for one of the best recitals yet! Everybody played great, and the Beethoven Skit afterwards was hilarious. Congratulations, Group C class! A few pictures that came out can be found here. A copy of the recital program can be downloaded from here.