Counterpoint within the Octatonic Scale

Counterpoint within the Octatonic Scale

Whenever I ask choral conductors about the lack of the octatonic’s representation in the choral repertoire, I seem to receive many eye-rolls, but no convincing answers beyond its difficulty to sing. What we broadly label as the octatonic has a rich and organic tradition within the Russian instrumental music tradition. It is hard to imagine that there is not already a body of vocal works that at least slip into large sections of “octatonic”. But I’ve yet to meet someone who can point me to such works.

A Retrospective Concert of Henry Flurry’s Music

A Retrospective Concert of Henry Flurry’s Music

On August 26, 2018, Arizona Philharmonic opened its inaugural season with a concert of my orchestral music. It was an amazing experience and a success by all measures:

  • 910 folks attended within an 1100 seat hall;
  • both the musicians and the audience overwhelmingly enjoyed the music; and
  • AZ Event Video did a bang-up job of recording and producing a video of the concert.

The concert included five of my orchestra works, including two premieres: my piano concert Currents and a new composition Canyon Reflections, inspired by the Grand Canyon National Park’s 100th anniversary and written in honor of Yavapai College’s 50th anniversary.

AZ Event Video’s production of the concert video can be found on YouTube:

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs Opera

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs Opera

My wife Maria and I saw Mason Bates’ new opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs this past weekend at the Santa Fe Opera. The audience went crazy for it, and all future shows are sold out. The opera is innovative, engaging, and fun with a handful of flaws. I give it a Net Positive, and I encourage folks to go see it in future productions.