Reflections from VCCA, Day 1

Drove to VCCA through multiple torrential downpours, but managed to hydroplane only minimally and stay on the road.

My room is simple, clean, and more than adequate, with private bath and a nice view of the outside through glass doors.

My studio is a little standalone building that is part of a larger complex made from a converted barn.  Isn't it amazing how many wonderful performing, exhibit, and working spaces for the arts are made from converted barns?  This one has livestock only feet away.  Having four walls of my own is wonderful not because I'm anti-social, but because I was concerned about making noise and disturbing the person on the other side of the wall.

The piano is a lovely white Kawai, in tune, with a pleasing tone.  There are two big desks.  With everything set up, I think I have the most effective workspace I've ever had!  I started feeling the excitement once I realized the space was really mine to use as I needed and that I actually had plenty of that precious commodity--time--to set it up and use it.

I got right to work on the opera.  The librettist, Meredith Bean McMath, gave me last week a draft of a good part of the story.  We're planning on lots of collaborative, two-way communication, something we both value very much.  I started seeing what the text said to me, and looking at songs from some Civil War songbooks she lent me.  More to come on the content of the opera.

I've got things set up so I can easily record to audio my handheld recorder (Zoom H4n) or into Apple Logic on my laptop through my mic/audio-interface or as MIDI through the keyboard I brought (Yamaha MOX8).  The office manager, Beatrice, was very prompt and helpful in setting aside a printer for me.  That, along with a few accessories and some portable monitor speakers comprise a capable setup.  Oh, and I've got my electric and acoustic guitars, which may be especially important as guitar is likely to be part of the miniature pit "orchestra."

Did some work planning for the church, unpacking, getting situated, and headed to dinner.  I was nervous about meeting people, but right away easily struck up a conversation with a sculptor, who then helped me meet a table of people including a novelist, a non-fiction essayist, a poet, and a writer of short stories.  It turns out the poet had also written a libretto for an opera... she is Gardner McFall (The Pilot's Daughter) and the opera with music by Daron Hagen is Amelia, recently premiered by Seattle Opera starring the likes of Nathan Gunn.  Too cool!  We had a great conversation about writing opera libretti, and what she learned.

After dinner, I visited the beautiful Steinway grand piano in the common area of the fellow's residence and improvised on the tune of "Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy."  The tune (RESTORATION, from Southern Harmony, 1835) is one that I think will fit somewhere in this opera I'm working on.  Not surprisingly, what came out as I was improvising was probably better than most of what I came up with in my studio.  Luckily (for once) I actually had a little recorder running so I've got it.  Now, off to listen to what I've got and see where it goes...

What's new?

This past summer, Dave and Melissa traveled to Italy to perform in the Assisi Performing Arts festival.  Performances included art song, opera, broadway-style song, and the premiere of my new "Ubi Caritas" for choir during Sunday Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis!

In September, I began work at Front Royal United Methodist Church in Front Royal, VA as the Minister of Music and Worship Arts.  I've had the privilege of joining a strong tradition of music and arts and continuing to foster innovation and creativity in this vibrant congregation and community.

The Christmas season saw multiple performances by Melissa and Dave, including a standing-room-only Christmas Concert at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, VA.

Breath for solo trumpet and live electronics at Shenandoah University

Trumpet player Alexandria Smith will be perfomring my solo-trumpet-with-live-digital-delay-processing work Breath on her joint recital with clarinetist Eric Taylor tonight (Sunday, April 3) at 7:00pm in Goodson Chapel and Recital Hall on the main campus of Shenandoah University.

The premiere of It Starts with One for clarinets and live electronics

Click here for HD

featuring Elisabeth Stimpert on clarinet and bass clarinet.

Join the email list

For updates on new music releases and upcoming performances, visit www.reverbnation.com/davidechavez and join my email list.  Enter your email address under "Join the Mailing List" and click "Join."

It's a busy week for premieres!  Tonight (Nov 11), two songs I wrote are on a concert of new works at SU's Goodson Chapel/Recital Hall; one will be sung by Melissa Chavez and the other by Steven Murray, both with Eric Waggoner, piano.  On Sunday (Nov 14), I'm collaborating with Alarm Will Sound clarinetist Elisabeth Stimpert, doing live electronics for her clarinet-and-electronics recital Clarinexus at Goodson Recital Hall.  The performance, which is part of SU's Ear Candy series, includes a new piece I wrote for solo clarinet and electronics, It Starts with One.  The musical sound is generated on the spot by the clarinetist, but is combined in up to eight simultaneous layers of live looping using Ableton Live.

The Wolf and the Lamb - Winchester premiere

The first performance of my children's opera The Wolf and the Lamb is this Sunday in Winchester, VA on the campus of Shenandoah University. For details, click here to visit The Wolf and the Lamb event page on Facebook. Bring your kids or bring your self (the comedy is funny for all ages). It's short! It will make you laugh! It has people dressed up as animals singing the blues, dancing the conga line, and parodying well-known opera!