5 animals at the zoo eating grass

sucker punch

Unknown album (5/25/2020 1:07:25 PM)

The fragile grace of an open heart

This is the world premiere of the new work for double-bell horn, developed during the Virtual Brass Academy with Christine Chapman and Ensemble MusikFabrik, July 2020. This performance took place on July 30th, 2020 - in Cologne.
I am indebted to Ensemble MusikFabrik and the fantastic work they did with us in introducing us to the worlds of double-bell instruments, and to the ever-expanding repertoire of new music for these instruments they are bringing to the world.

The work explores a sense of dual forces that act and react upon each other, and how the relative mediator (the performer) indeed interacts with the score, the instrument and it's two bells, and finally how the theatre of the piece - both through actions and the position of the instrument - is transmitted to the audience. In the four sections of the piece that each explore a different facet of the manipulation of the horn - first through the use of a contra-bassoon reed to produce aggressive yet fulfilling multiphonics; then in the second and third exploring the two bells and their range of possibilities. The final section condenses the instrument down to only it's single-bell form and the mute and interacts briefly with it to express a settling within the performance. Gasping, grunting, growling and grandeur are all some of the ideas explored in this short miniature.

Image: LIGO/Caltech/MIT/Sonoma State (https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/6/1/15721268/gravitational-waves-ligo-future)

Understated Matter - for solo double-bell horn [premiere]

Disquiet Challenge 455: A moment in the day of a Jellyfish.
Equipment used:
Qu-Bit Electronix Chord V1, Nebulae v2, Prism.
Random Source DUSG
2HP Mix
Endorphins Milky Way (Ping Pong Echo)
ALM HPO

Recorded in a single take to Ableton 10. Vallhalla Supermassive Reverb added plus EQ and Compression

Scanning An Ocean Of Sound (disquiet0455)

Jet Pack

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! 🎅 This is a short Christmas original a cappella project I created by myself. I'm practicing layering vocals, and I recorded the jingle bells myself by shaking my Santa skirt in front of my computer's mic, lol. This isn't the best audio since I am still setting up my studio so I may re-upload a better quality at a later date, but I wanted to upload it right now since my EP is literally called "Secret Santa."

© Sierrallstar

Lyrics:
“Secret Santa”
By Sierrallstar

Have a look under the tree,
The one with a bow is from me.
(Don’t they all have bows?)
I wrapped it up specially,
So open it carefully.
I can’t wait to see what you think.

I’m so happy to be your Secret Santa.
I love wearing red,
And black knee-high boots.
I’m so jolly to be your Secret Santa.
I know what you like,
What I got for you is so cute.
Maybe one day, 
You can be my Secret Santa too.

Secret Santa (A cappella Project)

More on this 470th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Calendar View / The Assignment: Create a sonic diary of the past year with a dozen (or more) super-brief segments — at:

https://disquiet.com/0470/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0470-calendar-view/

There’s also a Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.

Image associated with this project is by Dan Allison, and used thanks to Flickr and a Creative Commons license allowing editing (cropped with text added) for non-commercial purposes:

https://flic.kr/p/3pXRU

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

handcar fella

halF calendaR [disquiet0470]

Interview with Voci guest director Mitchell Covington and founding member Terry Meyers by Open Air host David Latulippe (KALW 91.7 FM),  including a reading of "Qasida of Breath," a poem by Deema K. Shehabi, set to music by Covington. Voci's spring 2017 program features world premieres by local composers, including the seven-movement Siddhartha Fragments, that gives the concert its title and theme: Beautiful is the World.

On the air at Open Air: Voci Previews its "Beautiful is the World " Spring 2017  concert

An EP to listen to by the beach, or something to relax too with ocean sounds accompanied by warm lo-fi beats.

S H I M M E R

i wonder (abstraction)

I lived in Houston for 9 months in 1997.  Lived and worked on Westheimer Rd.  I worked near River Oaks at a tech startup.  My wife worked somewhat nearby on Greenway Plaza at what is now Invesco.

The food in Houston was excellent.  One time, Dusty Hill from ZZ Top was behind us in line at a BBQ joint and ordered "a quart of jambalaya".  Yes, he was dressed like he was on stage.  I thought it was the perfect Texas moment.  Although a close second was going out with Ann's co-workers to somebody's horse farm in the country and one her co-workers rode a horse backwards very fast.  Nice people.

There should be more cars on whatever road this is.  I remember the traffic was crazy.  And the air often smelled of gas, the result of being close to oil refineries.

This track is a combination of several pieces of mine:  Aleodeology's "Time Travel Destination in the Past", "Simulated Gravity", "Aleodeological Travel", and "Empty Interstate Due to Microaggressions", along with my side band Vibrating Wires' "The Long Drive Out", "The Path to REM Sleep", and "Southwestern Desert" - and some field recordings of rain that I recorded.

*

More on this 476th weekly Disquiet Junto project — IAH Forecast (The Assignment: Here’s your next single’s cover. Now record it.) — at:

https://disquiet.com/0476/

The image that is the source of this project is by Robert Boyd (www.thegreatgodpanisdead.com) and has been used with his permission.

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0476-iah-forecast/

Westheimer(disquiet0476)

Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble

Founded in 1991, Voci has won high praise from critics and choral musicians alike for its lush, ethereal quality. Voci champions music by women and for women, from all parts of the world and every century. The group's size of 20-24 voices allows for an unusual intimacy among chorus members and between chorus and audience. Voci singers are women who share a passionate love of music, fierce dedication to the ensemble, and deep commitment to the community.

Voci is dedicated to musical excellence in the performance of both new and innovative music as well as treasured repertoire within the classical choral tradition. Through commissions and premieres of new works by local composers, Voci seeks to encourage, foster and showcase new and rarely performed music in a diverse repertoire. Voci also seeks collaborations that challenge and expand its capacities and potential.