I’m still thinking about the electryfying premiere of “Music for Aliens” with Talea Ensemble at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music on April 6th.
It was a pure pleasure to work with everyone in Talea and their excellent conductor, James Baker, throughout the week leading to the concert.
For this piece, apart from the usual ensemble playing, I asked the performers to learn to play ocarina. They did a fantastic job, and, anecdotally, also enjoyed it. I’m grateful to my colleagues at Columbia Composerss for making this event happen. Thank you to Professor Seth Cluett for letting me 3D print some of the ocarinas at the Columbia university Computer Music Center. Also, congratulations to my colleagues Anna-Louise Walton, Jessie Cox, and Uri Kochavi whose works were also premiered.