Gregory Wanamaker

composer

Clarikinetics features my Sonata for clarinet and piano, clarikinetics, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking

“...cutting edge music by Gregory Wanamaker...” – – The Tallahassee Democrat, 22 September 2003 referring to Duo Sonata.

11.10.06

The thing about New York City is that they have this thing there called food. I don't know if you have this stuff in your neck of the woods, but everytime I return to the City, I find a new favorite place to eat. The food in this Afghan restaurant on 9th Avenue and 52nd is phenomenal (Sadly, I forget the name of the restaurant.) and the Owner (his name, too) is one of the most friendly folks I have ever met, promising me that the place will fill up soon. He also gave me some excellent advice as we were finishing up - “My friends,” he said to Tracy, James and me, “This is a wonderful day. I want to give you something. I tell you that if you see something you want, like a car that you like, you must just buy it for this is the day that is yours." Thanking him, I asked him that if I had to go an buy a car, did I have to pay for my dinner? He laughed despite the fact that I was sincerely trying to convince him that I was serious. So James paid. Anyway, while I was in the city last week, Doug Rubio performed Sacred Profanity at Columbia Teachers College and gave a wonderful masterclass to a few of the guitarists there. Doug will be performing Sacred Profanity at a couple of venues in California in February. See his website for details.

October 27-29 was the Single Reed Summit at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Some of the best names in the saxophone and clarinet world including Claude Delangle and Jon Menasse performed. Maestro Delangle's performance of the Glazunov Concerto with the Orchestra of Northern New York was one of the most beautiful performances I have ever heard. The West Point Saxophone Quartet gave an energetic performance of my Saxophone Quartet and speed metal organum blues, with great response and Patrick Murphy and Julianne Kirk gave a very beautiful reading of the Elegy from my Duo Sonata.

Deborh Bish’s new disc titled Clarikinetics is now part of the new releases catalog at Mark Custom Records. See the Discography page for details. The performances of Clarikinetics, Duo Sonata, my Sonata for clarinet and piano and Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking are wonderful. Other performers on the disc include Valerie Trujillo, Patrick Meighan, and Wanda Brister.

Back to my NYC trip, many copies of Tim McAllister’s In Transit featuring Sonata deus sax machina are available at a significant discount at Tower Records (both of 'em) during their Going Out Of Business sale. Buy some! It’s awfully depressing to think that they will be the only things left in the store...

09.03.06

I had to hit the ground running after returning from a fantastic trip to Peru. A bit of work, a bit of play, and lots of Alpacas. I heard the premieres of two works while Composer in Residence at the 13th International Bach Festival in Trujillo. Motet for orchestra and ¡Yo no tengo soledad! for mezzo-soprano, soprano saxophone and orchestra were premiered on August 11 by the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jose-Luis Maurtua. Maya Hoover sang my setting of the Gabriela Mistral poem superbly, with haunting saxophone interjections by Patrick Murphy. It was great to be back. Thank you to all of the students and faculty at the Conservatorio Trujillo who made my masterclass so much fun!

Saxophonist Amy Griffiths and clarinetist Lisa Oberlander performed the Duo Sonata at the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Ljublijana, Slovenia on July 5, 2006 and again at the ClarinetFest in Atlanta on August 9. The day after, Deborah Bish played Clarikinetics to rave reviews, as I have heard from folks who have contacted me asking for the scores. Thanks everyone! Debbie will be performing both works, by the way, at the Shanghai Conservatory in September - the Duo Sonata with Patrick Meighan. Debbie’s new disc titled Clarikinetics is now available via phone and fax from Mark Custom Records. See the Discography page for details. The performances are wonderful; I am glad to have been present during the recording.

October 27-29 is the Single Reed Summit at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Some of the best names in the saxophone and clarinet world including Claude Delangle and Jon Menasse will be there. The West Point Saxophone Quartet will play my Saxophone Quartet and speed metal organum blues, and Patrick Murphy and Julianne Kirk will play the Duo Sonata. It’s a great weekend to put on your calendar!

Tim McAllister’s In Transit featuring Sonata deus sax machina is available everywhere, by the way. Check it out!

That’s just about all for now. I should mention, though, that the return flight from Peru wasn’t so bad - we couldn’t bring liquids on board, so we were grateful for the bags of sand the flight attendants presented to us three hours into the overnight flight.

07.01.06

I have just completed Motet for orchestra which, along with ¡Yo no tengo soledad! for mezzo-soprano, soprano saxophone and orchestra will be premiered on August 11 at the 13th Annual International Bach Festival in Trujillo, Peru by the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jose-Luis Maurtua. Maya Hoover will sing my setting of the Gabriela Mistral poem. We are looking forward to returning to Trujillo for another great festival!

Saxophonist Amy Griffiths and clarinetist Lisa Oberlander will perform the Duo Sonata at the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Ljublijana, Slovenia on July 5, 2006. This performance will mark the work's European premiere.

I received some great news from clarinetist Deborah Bish just the other day. She will be performing Clarikinetics at the International Clarinet Association Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA on August 10 and again in September at the Shanghai Conservatory where she will also be performing the Duo Sonata with Patrick Meighan. Debbie also told me that her upcoming cd release for Mark Records should finally be out within the next month or so. This exciting new recording will feature Clarikinetics, Sonata for clarinet and piano, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking. Other performers on the disc include Patrick Meighan, Valerie Trujillo, and Wanda Brister.

Tim McAllister’s new release In Transit, which features Sonata deus sax machina is available for sale on the Innova Records website as well as vendors like Amazon, CDBaby, and stores near you!

That’s about it for now. Twenty six days until we leave for Peru. We’re going to check out Lake Titcaca and Copacabana, Bolivia this year for a change of pace, although another stop at Machu Picchu is always necessary!

04.14.06

Greetings! It’s been a while since my last update, so I have a small backlog of new nuggets of joy to report. First, I am excited to hear that the MAVerick Ensemble will be performing my Duo Sonata on the 23rd at the Ukranian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago. The performance will feature saxophonist Jan Berry Baker and clarinetist Andrea DiOrio. Saxophonist Amy Griffiths and clarinetist Lisa Oberlander will also perform the Duo Sonata at the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Ljublijana, Slovenia July 5-9, 2006. This performance will mark the work's European premiere.

We enjoyed a brief residency at Crane from the Ara Saxophone Quartet who performed the World Premiere of my new Saxophone Quartet on March 21, 2006. They later performed the work on a short tour throughout the Northeast at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, NY. I was saddened to learn that these were their last performances as an ensemble. Best of luck to them - It was great to be a part of their history.

I have just completed ¡Yo no tengo soledad! for mezzo-soprano, soprano saxophone and orchestra. The new work will be premiered at the 13th Annual International Bach Festival in Trujillo, Peru by Maya Hoover, Tim McAllister and the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jose-Luis Maurtua.

Tim McAllister and Kathryn Goodson will also perform a recital in Trujillo that will include my Sonata deus sax machina. Tim and Kathryn's new release In Transit, which features the Sonata, is already available for sale on the Innova Records website. The “street” release date was April 11, 2006, so look for it in stores near you!

Deborah Bish’s upcoming cd release for Mark Records will hopefully be released soon. This recording will feature Clarikinetics, Sonata for clarinet and piano, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking. Other performers on the disc include Patrick Meighan, Valerie Trujillo, and Wanda Brister.

02.20.06

San Juan is great in February - especially when you live in Potsdam, NY! I enjoyed a fine performance of Triaria featuring oboist Aaron Hilbun, flutist Stephanie Rea, and pianist Mathew Mazzoni at the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society's Conference. I was really blown away by the San Juan Conservatory and the quality of their large ensembles, especially their orchestra who read through a couple of very difficult new works by Nick Demos and Doug Bristol, the latter featuring the great Demondrae Thurmann on the euphonium.

I am looking forward to the arrival of the Ara Saxophone Quartet who will will present the World Premiere of my new Saxophone Quartet on March 21, 2006 at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. Ara will follow the premiere with a tour throughout the Northeast at venues in cities including Pittsburgh, PA and Fredonia, NY. Stay tuned for more specific dates and venues as they solidify.

My three minute heavy metal solo for cello, Metallicellissimo, will be performed at the Southeastern Composers League 2006 Forum at Converse College sometime during March 16-18.

More exciting news! Saxophonist Amy Griffiths and clarinetist Lisa Oberlander will perform the Duo Sonata at the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Ljublijana, Slovenia July 5-9, 2006. This performance will mark the work's European premiere.

While in San Juan, by the way, I met with Maya Hoover, who will premiere a short work of mine for mezzo-soprano and orchestra at the 13th Annual Trujillo Bach Festival. So, I will be returning to Peru this summer also accompanied by Tim McAllister and Kathryn Goodson who will perform a recital in Trujillo that will include my Sonata deus sax machina. Tim and Kathryn's new release In Transit, which features Sonata deus sax machina, is already available for sale on the Innova Records website. Although the “street” release date is April 11, 2006, we are thrilled that Innova is making In Transit available exclusively through their website! Visit the Innova website for details!

01.01.06

Happy New Year! It was great waking up this morning and seeing that In Transit, featuring Sonata deus sax machina, is already available for sale on the Innova Records website. This long anticipated recording by Timothy McAllister and Kathryn Goodson also features works by William Albright and Milton Babbitt as well as world premiere recordings of works by Roshanne Etezady and Misha Zupko. Although the “street” release date is April 11, 2006, we are thrilled that Innova is making In Transit available exclusively through their website! Visit the Innova website for details!

San Juan in February is nice, especially if you live in Potsdam, NY! Oboist Aaron Hilbun and flutist Stephanie Rea, a couple of good friends whom I met in Trujillo last summer will perform Triaria with Matthew Mazzoni at the Southern Chapter of the College Music Society's Regional Conference this February. It goes without saying that I will be going, but removing me from the beach while I am there? Well I guess so, after all, I don't tan - I stroke. It'll be a great performance!

It was nice to hear from DC area saxophonist Noah Getz the other day. He and pianist Matthew Van Hoose performed deus sax machina on December 13 at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington DC as part of one of their midday recital series. Noah said that he is planning more performances of the piece this year. Stay tuned for more details as they arrive.

Goodbye Nocturne, Hello Metallicellissimo. My three minute heavy metal solo for cello will be performed at the Southeastern Composers League 2006 Forum at Converse College sometime during March 16-18.

I will be returning to Trujillo, Peru this summer with Tim McAllister and Kathryn Goodson who will perform a recital that will include my Sonata deus sax machina and Roshanne Etezady's streetlegal. This program will be presented as part of the Annual Trujillo Bach Festival. More details will follow!

Deborah Bish’s upcoming cd release for Mark Records will likely be released soon. This recording will feature Clarikinetics, Sonata for clarinet and piano, Duo Sonata, and Mid-Winter Waking. Other performers on the disc include Patrick Meighan, Valerie Trujillo, and Wanda Brister.