Horn player musings of creation - from the second performance. Warm-Up Warm-up is a strange place. Nothing officially counts, yet everything matters. Notes are tested, breath is measured, confidence negotiated quietly with physics. It is preparation, but also possibility. Looking down between my feet during warm-up, I saw it again. New universes. Not fully formed. Not confident. Small clusters and scattered points, practice universes. Places where physics was still flexible, where civilizations … [Read more...]
The Accidental Genesis – Horn player musings of creation
Program notes for a universe formed during intermission - Performance night one. Observed shortly before intermission. Note the presence of the creator’s feet for scale, accountability, and mild judgment. At first glance, skeptics will say the image above is just a spill.Condensation. Gravity doing what gravity does. A little gross, maybe inconvenient, but ultimately meaningless. That theory collapses under even casual scrutiny. What you are actually looking at is creation mid-process. These … [Read more...]
What If? – Gig Edition
Crazy thoughts? We all have them from time to time. But this weekend, I had a doozy. Sitting in rehearsal with The Symphony of the Mountains for our side-by-side concert of Movie Music with area high schoolers, I was playing along when—like all brass players must—I needed to empty my slides. (“spittious-accumulatious” for the uninitiated.) I looked down at the fresh pattern on the floor left by my most recent…ejection…and a thought struck me. (Naturally, I had to share it with the second … [Read more...]
Snow-pocalypse… and Cold
January 19, 2025 – 9:45 AMDiary of a Snowbound Visionary, Volume II: The Cold Strikes Back Dear readers of frostbitten chronicles, The week since Snow-pocalypse 2025: January Edition has been one of reflection and stubborn snow. Despite temperatures attempting a feeble rebellion midweek (a balmy 50 degrees on Thursday, practically tropical), stubborn patches of icy defiance clung to shaded corners, taunting anyone who dared dream of dry pavement. A little rain on Saturday tried to help. It … [Read more...]
A few pics from the Road
My last gig with the Symphony of The Mountains was a doosie! We were quite busy! Three outdoor Concerts, in three days, in three states! Although it required quite a bit of driving, it was still pretty fun. The concert was long and made more difficult by the fact that each outdoor venue was majorly different. It was worth it none the less. I was able to get some work done for my day job. You remember, slaving away for the man?! But, I was also able to get some time to take a few … [Read more...]
The Show
A year or so ago, I was playing a recording session and the engineer hired a Quintet of us to record an extra piece. At the time, he said it was for a singer's new album. This past summer, I was playing a session with the same recording engineer and he gave me and my comrades each a copy of the DVD and then showed us the video. I thought it was pretty cool and have since found it on the "YouTubes". So, check it out and see what you think. You'll have to listen hard for me, I'm the Horn in … [Read more...]
Brahms – Bier und Bratwurst
Here's a little incentive for all you Symphony and Beer lovers out there. I'll be there but, that's because I'll be in the Orchestra. But, if I weren't playing, I would definitely make the trip! I mean, what's better than Brahms, Beer and Brats? ... Right, bacon. But these are really pretty good also! :-) For Immediate Release March 4, 2011 Contact: Anna Leaño (423) 392-8426 Symphony of the Mountains to host post-concert “Brahms, Bier and Bratwurst” party at The Bus Pit, in … [Read more...]