Hey Newgrounds! It's been a while since I did a news post. I do check Newgrounds frequently though.
I've enjoyed seeing the community flourish this past year! There were community events and meetups, AI-content flagging, Takeover Tuesday, Pico Day, Madness Day, Robot Day etc., and more games available with Ruffle. It's been great. Every Tuesday (when I remember to do so), I've posted an old movie or game to the front page, like Seedling and Tarboy. @Aaron-Long just posted a great Christmas special, which I think is one of the best Sublo & Tangy Mustard episodes so far. Recently, I was blown away by Monday by @OtaKing77077.
Here's some of the stuff I've been up to in 2024.
Teaching
My teaching studio has grown a lot. This time last year, I had about thirty students. Now, I have about fifty students. That's because I started renting my office full-time, so I had a lot more time on my hands to work.
The recent student recital video is now on YouTube. I thought that was the best student recital so far. I saw improvement this year from all my students. That recital featured about half of my studio, since the other half are adults. They had some performance opportunities, too—informal “Music & Mingle” parties—but those events aren't filmed.
The Curses Concert
The first event this year was a concert called Curses. This was a collaboration between the poetry group Typewriter Rodeo and a group I'm a part of, Central Texas Composers. Curses was an eclectic mix of art songs inspired by the word "curses." For example, one song was about magical spells; another was about cursive writing; and another was about swearing.
The song I composed for that concert was called Ode To Cursive. The full concert is available on YouTube. Please be aware there's a lot of adult language.
Developing A Video Game With A Student
I helped one of my students compose music for an original video game. We began the project last year, and it was released this past spring. My student Vaibhav wrote all the music and we designed the game during the last ten minutes of our piano lessons. I programmed it in GameMaker and it came together nicely. You can play it at www.glitchmountain.net.
Music for Jani Putzker
I composed some music for an animation by my friend Janina Putzer. The film, which is called Hook In The Mouth, is still in production.
For Jani's stuff on Newgrounds, go here!
Not Yet by Ashten Falter
I arranged music for a music video by my friend Ashten Falter. Ashten is a local filmmaker, actress, musician, and dancer. The film is called Not Yet. It features the Debussy piece, Clair de lune, arranged for piano, flute, and cello. It was filmed at Mozart's Coffee Roasters in Austin, and featured Sheila Va and Caroline McGee.
One Ounce Opera: Valentine's Day
Early this year, I accompanied vocalists for a Valentine's Day concert organized by One Ounce Opera. The concert featured Carlee Abschneider, Katie Winchester, and Kevin Arratia-Diaz. I will release those videos later. (I want to add lyrics on the screen, but it's a slow process for me.)
Inversion Ensemble
I had the privilege of performing with the Inversion vocal ensemble this year. The first performance was at the Austin Public Library, called “Inversion at the Library”. The second was at the Here Be Monsters Festival this past summer. For that latter performance, I was on stage with an electric organ premiering an original oratorio by James Tecuatl-Lee called Godric And His Demons. Please be aware that this piece contains some graphic descriptions which are not child-friendly.
Sam Levreault's Doctoral Recital
I also had another opportunity to play with the flutist Sam Levreault. Sam is pursuing her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I flew up there to perform a couple pieces in her Doctoral Recital. We performed the Prokofiev Flute Sonata, a solo piece by the contemporary composer Amanda Harberg, and a virtuosic showpiece by Alfredo Casella.
Young Artist Competitions
Another highlight of the year was playing for several young artist competitions in the area. These were at Cedar Park, Cedar Ridge, and Vandegrift high schools. These are basically school-wide competitions where student musicians perform sonatas, concertos, and other showy solo pieces with piano accompaniment.
Orchestration Lessons
This year, I worked hard to improve my orchestration abilities. I took orchestration lessons with my friend Keith Allegretti. Keith has been providing a lot of helpful advice, but more than that, having a deadline every two weeks to produce something has been incredibly useful. Here are the pieces I produced this year, if you'd like to listen:
Aria in the Style of Mozart
A few people from Central Texas Composers were commissioned by One Ounce Opera to produce arias for the Here Be Monsters Festival. The lineup included Graham Yates, Carol Brown, and myself. We were given considerable freedom in what we could create.
I chose to write an aria in the style of Mozart. It was a parody of the Queen of the Night Aria, titled The Queen of the Morning After. It was beautifully performed by Elise Leung Kotara and Benjie Dia. That video will be released on YouTube.
The Riddles Recital
In September, I participated in The Riddles Recital. This was originally the brainchild of my friend, Amy Herman. Amy was seeking public domain text to set to music, and she happened on a set of medieval poems called The Exeter Riddles. In the end, she, Keith Allegretti, and I set a few of these poems to music.
This was my first time writing music in Old English. It was hard, but it was fun! The video will be released soon.
Personal Things
This was a busy year. To make my work schedule easier, I moved to an apartment near my office. This was a good call. It's right down the road, about a 3-5 minute drive.
I've been learning the guitar. This has been fun. I think it's making me a better teacher, too, because it's reminding me of what it's like to be a beginner on an instrument. Scarborough Fair was a recent project.
I’m still playing at Trinity Church every week. I’m grateful for that because it gives me an opportunity to perform regularly, which ensures I don't let my chops slip too far. (Thanks for putting up with me every week, Tim.)
Instead of New Year's resolutions, every year I pick a word or phrase to remind me of something I want to focus on.
This past year's phrase was “Netflix or Bust”. I wanted to participate in something on Netflix or another streaming platform—to be connected, in some small way, to show business. I sort of managed to fulfill this, since earlier this year I was an extra on the TV show 1923. It'll be on Paramount, not Netflix. That'll be coming out in February.
Someday, I'd like to snag a scoring job for a show, or something similar. That would be amazing. Being a film composer was a childhood dream of mine, and as an adult I still have a strong desire to tell stories with music.
I don’t know what my New Year’s theme 2025 will be yet, but things are looking up.
Musicians & Organizations
Thanks for reading! That's all for me, but before I go, here are all of the musicians and organizations I mentioned in this update. I've included links so you can find more information about their work if you're interested.
- Timbral Music Studios, my primary teaching location
- Central Texas Composers, a couple composers grabbing coffee, collaborating on concerts
- Typewriter Rodeo, a group of poets (what's the collective noun for this? A murder of poets?)
- Keith Allegretti, who's taught me a lot this year (about chess as well as orchestration)
- Graham Yates, who founded Timbral and in doing so greatly helped support my career these last few years (and has been an excellent friend and sane voice meanwhile)
- Carol Brown, one of the most creative people I've met, who first introduced me to the Inversion Ensemble and this year inspired some beautiful improvised music at the Curses concert
- Brittney Benavidez Smith, whose thoughtfulness and just-checking-in messages have taught me by example how to be a better friend generally
- Charissa Whillock, who introduced me to the fascinating art of music streaming.
- Mary Schani, who played clarinet on Curses
- Jordan Walsh, who played percussion on Curses and Inversion At The Library
- Barbara George, who played cello on Curses
- Armstrong Community Music School, a school where I teach, with a culture that nurtures creativity and musical growth
- Ashten Falter, director of Not Yet and a local talent with whom I'm always happy to collaborate
- Sheila VA, who played flute on Not Yet and who does a hundred other fascinating things ranging from modeling to producing a web series.
- Caroline Magee, who played cello on Not Yet and performs with Austin Civic Orchestra
- One Ounce Opera, an organization I collaborated with multiple times this year
- Katie Winchester, a soprano I performed with on the One Ounce Opera Valentine's Day concert
- Carlee Abschneider, a soprano I performed with on the One Ounce Opera Valentine's Day concert, and who also helped organize The Riddles Recital with Local Opera Local Artists
- Kevin Arratia-Diaz, a tenor with whom I collaborated multiple times this year, including for the One Ounce Opera concert and The Riddles Recital
- Inversion Ensemble, a choir I was honored to appear with this year, under the baton of Trevor Shaw
- James Tecuatl-Lee, whose raucous oratorio Godric And His Demons was performed by Inversion Ensemble to great effect at the Here Be Monsters Festival, which was organized by Tetractys
- Sam Levreault, a friend and flutist who I hope to collaborate with many times in the future
- Elise Leung Kotara and Benjie Dia, who performed my Mozartian aria at the Here Be Monsters Festival
- Amy Herman, who organized The Riddles Recital and had several of her pieces performed in it, and whose friendship (and pastries) I enjoy and appreciate
- Bethany Ammon, a mezzo-soprano and friend who performed my music in The Riddles Recital (see also our earlier collaboration on When Love Beckons To You)
- Monica Salas, a friend and flutist who performed my music in The Riddles Recital (see also our collaboration on Keys To Giving)
- Curtis Simmons and Lisa Lamb, who played horn and harp respectively on The Riddles Recital
- Local Opera Local Artists, which produced and organized The Riddles Recital and with whom I'm always excited to collaborate (special shout out to mezzo Liz Cass, who both founded LOLA and directs the Armstrong Community Music School)
Best wishes and happy holidays!
Ben