Summer is Over Already?!

It doesn't seem possible, but as I write this post I am less than a week away from starting my second year of grad school! The summer has been full of ups and downs. Anya and I traveled quite a bit, trying to spend time with families who live far away, while also staying productive at home in Louisville. When I wasn't traveling or exploring Louisville (the picture below shows our venture to Louisville Slugger Field, home of the Louisville Bats), I stayed busy working on a couple of different projects. First of all, I wrapped up my work on my piece for piano and live electronics that I started for my computer music class in the fall. While I have a lot of testing and editing to do within Max/MSP and the score, I hope to perform/record this sometime this fall. My next project was a chamber work for mezzo Soprano, percussion, and Pierrot ensemble (flute, clarinet, piano, viola instead of violin, and cello). This will (hopefully) be premiered in November as a part of the New Music Festival at U of L, performed by the NouLou Chamber Players-- a local group who will be in residence this fall. I am also frantically trying to find a text for my upcoming thesis! This will be a 20-25 minute work for soprano and a 15-piece ensemble. I am hoping to make a statement on loneliness and isolation in light of the experiences we have all had throughout this pandemic. More to come on that in future posts!

If you have made it this far in my post, I would be most grateful if you would take a moment to subscribe to my new YouTube page! You can find me at Isaac R. Smith Music (or just click the YouTube button at the bottom of my website). There you will see a couple of video recordings of a couple recent pieces and future videos of pieces to come. Wish me luck on the upcoming school year. It will most certainly be a whirlwind of a year, but I am optimistic that it will be the most educational and rewarding academic year yet!