Tucker Music Works - Christopher Tucker - News

THIS PAGE IS GOING AWAY SOON!

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

I am currently moving these entries over to blog posts.

ALL NEW ENGLAND BAND FESTIVAL

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

What a wonderful trip to the New England area. Actually, I embraced New Hampshire for the first time. I was told back home in Texas that New Hampshire was like the Texas of the north. I didn't understand the significance of that comparison until I met some of its people. Well, my friends back home were right. Minus, the cold temperatures, I felt an "air" of Texas-sized hospitality - so welcoming and helpful. The hotel I stayed in was more of an old-style, outdoor inn, a part of the Common Man Inns of NH.

Dr. Gary Corcoran, the Director of Bands at Plymouth State University hosts the All New England Band Festival (of which he founded). The festival brings some of the best high school student musicians from all the original New England states. The musicians are placed into two equally matched ensembles, the Symphonic Band and Concert Band; the only difference the ensembles have are the size and that's based on the room they rehearse in.

I was invited to conduct the Concert Band and Robert Sheldon was brought in to conduct the Symphonic Band. Robert Sheldon and I have a past as my high school band director and him were good friends in college. I remember we used to mess around with Finale 2.0 on one of the earliest versions of the Macintosh. Here's a partial shot of the Concert Band.

PSU flew us up on Sunday and the festival was a one day event two days ago (Monday, November 23, 2009). We had seven hours to rehearse 20 minutes worth of music, and then perform a concert that night for a packed house of parents, band directors and college students. We also each conducted a piece with the Plymouth State University Symphonic Band. I choose my "Earth, the Gentlest Mother" for mezzo-soprano and symphonic band. The soloist, Alexa Beal, was phenomenal.

The concert went well (even though I caught a bug from a kid earlier in the day. There was a point during the concert, where I almost passed out. Good thing there was a conductor bar on the back of the podium). I was very proud of my Concert Band. We performed Alfred Reed's Crowning Glory, John Gibson's Sonora, my Cool Beans in Little Mexico and Twilight in the Wilderness. I'll be sure to post "Cool Beans" and "Earth" on YouTube, once I get the video from the performance.

After a long night of battling the flu bug, I made my way back to airport to go home the next day. I had just enough time to swing by Lake Winnipesaukee and enjoy the view.

DSO LEAGUE INNOVATORS

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A year ago, I had the honor of receiving an invitation from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League (DSOL) to be one of a few guest speakers at a "DSOL Innovators" function. Among their guest speaker lineup for the 2009-2010 season included Jaap van Zweden, conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The event took place yesterday in the gorgeous home of one of the DSOL Innovator's members. I knew it was a huge honor. My liaison to the "DSOL Innovators" was a charming and pleasant women, Aida Cortes. Here's a picture of Kim and I with Aida after the event:

Taken from their website (www.dsolinnovators.com), the Innovators, founded in 1973, is a volunteer auxiliary organization of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League. Fundraising efforts support the Young Strings, an educational program of the Dallas Symphony that provides music lessons, instruments and mentoring to minority children.

I spoke to them about life as a composer and WRR radio announcer. I spent some time discussing my musical studies and we heard a couple recordings of my chamber pieces. They asked additional questions about how I came about radio broadcasting in 2002.

To cap things off, the LSWO Tuba-Euphonium Quartet premiered a couple of new movements of my in-progress work, Chester Variants. They were a hit! It was a wonderful evening of great company, food and wine as well as well-performed music.

NEW RECORDINGS UPLOADED

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New recordings of recently premiered young band pieces have been uploaded to the website. Many thanks to Benny Davis and the Rockwall-Heath High School Wind Ensemble for recording Vinyl Grooves and to Todd Toney and the North Garland High School Wind Symphony for recording Cool Beans in Little Mexico. I am so fortunate to have colleagues who take the time out of busy school schedules to put together these read-through recordings, so others have an opportunity to hear them and program them on upcoming concerts.

Please check out the Music Gallery page under the section "ink still wet" to hear these new pieces:
Vinyl Grooves (grade 2) for young band
Cool Beans in Little Mexico (grade 3) for symphonic band

SOUTHERN MUSIC COMPANY RELEASESSERENADE AT PROSPECT POINT

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

To all the middle school band directors out there, I am proud to announce the release of my newest middle school band publication with Southern Music Company, Serenade at Prospect Point! The work is ready for purchase from your local music retailer.

Serenade at Prospect Point is my second middle school composition inspired by my journeys to Niagara Falls. The first, Journey down Niagara, was inspired by my trip with my wife Kimberly to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, celebrating our one-year wedding anniversary. I found myself in the Niagara Falls area about a year later. This time my wife and I visited the American side of the falls taking in the sights at the beautiful Prospect Point. The place evokes a spirit of romance and frivolity. These impressions became the basis for Serenade at Prospect Point. The work, based on the theme of Journey down Niagara, is broken up into two sections surrounded by introductory and concluding material — morning, serenade, waltz and evening.

Check out the Music Gallery page for a newly made recording of the piece by the Rockwall-Heath High School Symphonic Band under the director of Chris Kosterman.

SMITH MIDDLE SCHOOLPREMIERES VINYL GROOVES

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Composing a new work on commission is always a wonderful experience. But, when the commissioning party involves a dear friend, the process is more special. This was the case with a commission made by the Smith Middle School band program out of Cleburne, TX. The director of bands, Matthew Hiller, and I go way back to our undergraduate days at UNT. We performed in the North Texas Wind Symphony together and enjoyed many college experiences.

I titled the commissioned work Vinyl Grooves inspired by my fascination with vinyl records. I used to be an amateur collector and always found myself drawn to the sound of a LP. Matt wanted two works, one for his beginners and the other for his top band, that shared similar thematic material. So, when both pieces are performed on the same concert, the audience will be able to recognize the similarities thus enhancing the experience and enjoyment of two bands playing at different performance levels. I chose dance movements - the first titled "Slow Tango" and the second titled "Quickstep." (Future Note: On my next middle school band, I intend on composing two more pieces for this collection...possibly a jazz ballad and a rock song)

The premiere was superb, even under the circumstances of lack of rehearsal time due to swine flu school closings. The assistant director of bands Brock Feller programmed Journey down Niagara, so it truly became a Tucker experience. I was fortunate to have so many of my family in attendance for this concert.

Here's a couple of rehearsal shots:

The world premiere of Vinyl Grooves took place on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at the Cleburne High School Performance Hall.

LSWO SHORT DOCUMENTARYCHECK IT OUT!!!

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For a sneak peek behind the scenes, take a look at Dallas-based LONE STAR WIND ORCHESTRA’s short documentary film “Sharing Our Love Of Music.” Produced by LSWO and PHPR and filmed and edited by Riley Morris of Black Tie Films, the movie follows the audience and musicians before and during performances, capturing what is at the heart of the organization—creating community through music.

Lone Star Wind Orchestra Dallas, Texas from Riley Morris on Vimeo.

TAXES DONE!TWITTER BOUND!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A long day indeed - finished the majority of my taxes around 3 a.m. this morning, woke up early to scan more receipts and made the final push to e-file by the afternoon. Refund, baby!

I am also excited about starting a "twitter" account today. It's been hard finding time to keep up this journal (I am absolutely awful at blogging), but with twitter, it takes 2 seconds to type a short 160 word update.

Check me out at http://twitter.com/tuckerland. Become a follower and I will follow you!

Tweet you around!

NEW LOOK WEBSITE!

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

All new look, slick website design for you to enjoy and utilize. I hope you like it! Happy New Year!

"SPIRIT LEGENDS" BOUNDFOR GRAMMYS!

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

A major announcement came to my inbox today and I wanted to share it with all of my colleagues. I am very proud to inform you that the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has accepted my new CD "Spirit Legends" for an appearance on the entry list, for a Grammy Nomination!!!

This is the second step in the four-tiered Grammy process. The first was submission, this second step is the acceptance and eligibility to be voted on for a Grammy Nomination. The official nomination is third step and the fourth is the winning. From the Grammy Entry List, the voting members vote on their favorites. The top 5 vote-getters are then called "Nominees".

I am so excited to hear that "Spirit Legends" has garnered a Grammy Entry List Appearance under Category 99: Best Orchestral Performance of Field 30 - Classical.

If you are a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), vote #043 under Category 99!

Let's put a wind ensemble CD on the Grammy Nomination list!

To purchase a copy of "Spirit Legends", go to http://cdbaby.com/cd/ctucker2.