Kevin Scott
Arthur Ashe (1943-1993)
Kevin Scott writes:
Good morning to all:
Those
of you who grace the Social Network media already know the news, but
for those that don't, it is better late than never, I always say, but
being busy these days in getting many things together has left me to
neglect this end of the spectrum, namely good ol' fashioned emailing!
In
a few hours, I will embark on another journey to Detroit, the first
time in twenty years. Back in 1992 I went to Detroit as one of four
finalists participating in the Unisys/Detroit Symphony
Orchestra African-American Composers' Forum, nervous and excited, to say
the least. Hearing the DSO was exciting in its own right, and hearing
them perform my work was quite exhilarating. Suffice it to say, I won
the competition and I was catapulted into the ranks of...well, let's
just say my prestige went up a few notches. Commissions, performances,
inquiries, lectures - you name it, and I received it.
Anyway,
as the years went on and the commissions dried up, I turned to
conducting and less composing. But when I read that the Detroit Symphony
was involved with a reading session sponsored by the American Composers
Orchestra, I could not resist the opportunity to enter. And, suffice it
to say, my composition was accepted as one of four for the reading
session!
Soooo...if any of you happen to be in Detroit tomorrow, my composition A point served...(In Remembrance Arthur Ashe) will receive a public reading by the Detroit Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin. The details are listed in the links:
Twenty-two years is a long time, but I am looking forward to this.
And that's not all...
On Sunday, March 30th, soprano Shannon Roberts will premiere my Four Songs on Haiku of Matsuo Basho
at Jan Hus Church on East 74th Street in Manhattan, as part of Vox
Novus' Fifteen Minutes of Fame concert series. The songs will be
repeated again on Sunday, April 6th at the Church of the Ascension in
Manhattan:
This
song cycle - all of sixty seconds - is one of a series of compositions I
have penned in recent months for this series. One other composition, Soliloquy for solo clarinet,
was accepted by Bruce Curlette and was supposed to have been premiered
on March 9th in New York, but he has postponed his portion of the
program for Vox Novus and it will be rescheduled. Other works are still
pending to be accepted by their respective performers, and I am still
writing more one-minute works! It's a challenge, that's for sure...
And
there's more coming on the way. So getting back to composing these last
few months has really been good. And new performers are now asking
about what I have written. Much, much more is coming...
But there are those who are asking - what about your conducting?
Trust me, it hasn't taken a back seat just yet, as I have two
performances with the SUNY Orange Symphonic Band this month - one
concert on March 21st in Newburgh, and two in Middletown on March 30th
and May 17th. Details are in the press releases from the college:
I look forward to seeing some of you at those concerts also.
But for now...time to do last-minute packing and preparing for my flight to Detroit!
I will let everyone know how it has been when I get back, whether you're on Facebook...or not.
Sincerely,
Kevin Scott
p.s. - if some of you get this twice, it's because the blessed address thing is crazy!
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