You may have noticed that this site sits fairly idle … for now.
My primary focus for the last several years has been on establishing and growing Arizona Philharmonic. I am proud of where this orchestra is and where it is going. In just about any metric available, we have grown: in quality, in pay for musicians, in number of concerts offered, in size of audience, in volunteer engagement, in donations, in grants, in collaborations, …
And, in our area, we are a unique organization. We bring in professional musicians from around the state, and professional conductors from across the country. We seek to empower an increasingly vibrant local music scene, through grant writing for other organizations, introducing new musicians to the area, and being a leader in creating new stage spaces suitable for classical music. We provided start-up money and stage space to the area’s first professional and auditioned choir (Quartz Ensemble), and we are a strong partner with Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet. We pioneered the Art 4 All program, which partners with nonprofits to reach and offer pay-what-you-can tickets to audience members who cannot afford tickets. And we offer authentic outreach by bringing the orchestral composition process into the classroom so that our youth can experience the impact of writing for orchestra.
I do miss composing, and I have missed regularly performing with my wife, Maria. To make more time for that, I have adjusted my priorities. For instance, this past summer I retired from teaching private piano lessons. I miss every one of my students, yet I am comforted knowing that they are working with other local teachers that I highly respect. Maria and I are performing more, and even doing some joint composing. I’ve had time to revise my work Fragments, which is being performed this weekend by the Prescott Chorale (October 6 & 7). I’m ramping up my mini-concerto project with local funk-pianist Jonathan Best. And I joined an R&B band.
In the meantime, I plan to leave this site as is for the moment. If you’re new to the blog, you’ll find musings on music, teaching, and composing – even some composing hints in there. If you’re in the area, stop by one of the concerts that involve me: Arizona Philharmonic, Sticks and Tones, and Doc Garvey’s Remedy.
Cheers, Henry
PS Check out my former piano and composition student Mat Lanning on his YouTube Channel. He’s in the middle of his composition DMA at New England Conservatory and putting out some great music. You also can hear some of his compositions and arrangements on AZ Phil’s upcoming Christmas concert.