late summer newsletter

[Nissim Schaul]

The last time I wrote, I was about to leave for Croatia to workshop my
choral piece, Rising (http://www.nissimmusic.org/music/rising.shtml).
I'm pleased to report that the workshop, as well as partial
performances in both Groznjan, Croatia and Izola, Slovenia were quite
a success. The piece was written as something of an experiment in
vocal textures, and it worked out very well. You can read more about
the experience at http://nissimmusic.org/writings/?p=68. I'm also
expecting a full premiere of the piece in New York City sometime this
fall or winter with Vocalmuse, an ensemble run by the same woman who
ran the workshop in Croatia, Jane MacMahan.

I'm also looking ahead to a number of projects over the coming year.
I'm working on a solo piano piece as choose-your-own-adventure right
now, and hope to finish by the end of the month. Then, I'll be taking
up a project for saxophone ensemble and electronics that will be
premiered in mid-February, and even better, in France! (specifically,
the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers) I'll also be working on a piece
that will involve amplifying and processing the sounds coming from the
Baroque duo, Flying Forms, to be premiered at the end of March in St.
Paul, Minnesota. And, after years of putting it off, I've finally
gotten started on the orchestral piece I've been planning for the
Triangle Youth Philharmonic (my hometown youth orchestra), which I
hope to complete by next summer.

Besides Groznjan, I've been writing about claques (http://
nissimmusic.org/writings/?p=69), movie soundtracks (http://
nissimmusic.org/writings/?p=72), and, inexplicably, vacuum cleaners
(http://nissimmusic.org/writings/?p=74).

I should also mention that, upon submitting my recorder quartet,
Everybody's Going There (http://nissimmusic.org/music/
everybodys_going_there.shtml), I was named a finalist for the Utah
Arts Festival National Commissioning Program for chamber music.

Finally, American Purgatory (http://www.nissimmusic.org/music/
ampurg.shtml) continues to air on US radio
stations. It recently popped up on WBEZ, Chicago's main NPR station
(the one that produces This American Life), and will be on KQED in San
Francisco this weekend. Check http://www.americanpurgatory.org/air.html
for more. American Purgatory is a radio documentary about the process
of applying for political asylum in the United States, and was
produced by Sarah Elzas (http://www.toucanradio.com) and Olivia
Bueno. I wrote the music.

Best wishes for the end of the summer!

Nissim