I recently composed a piece, Mandala, to celebrate the retirement of my undergraduate saxophone professor. Read about it, listen to a recording, and download the score for free!
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Considering domains outside one’s focus can easily seem like a waste of time or irrelevant, but often it’s precisely this kind of consideration that offers novel and effective solutions. This is why I suggest that composers listen to as broad of an array of music as possible…
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This month my composition Crescent City Postcards turns eight years old. I have been reflecting on that piece and its importance in my development as a composer lately, perhaps owing to the fact that I now live in the Crescent City itself - New Orleans. Read more and listen to a great recording!
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Soprano Laura Strickling recently launched her 40@40 Project - a mission to commission forty new songs by forty composers as a fortieth birthday present to herself. Read up about this incredible undertaking - and my own compositional contribution!
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In this issue, I link a memorable exchange in David Mamet’s 2004 film Spartan with music education.
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A couple of years ago, I was talking with a distraught friend. He informed me that he had sent advance copies of his latest album to former mentors and they had responded with upsetting critiques. “Ah,” I said. “You must kill your teacher.” In this issue of The Theisen Journal, I will explain what I meant - and still mean - by that purposefully provocative statement.
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In this issue I am going to discuss a sensitive topic, an attitude that I believe plagues those of us in creative fields. I call it Perpetual Underdog Syndrome and it can have long-term negative effects on one’s mental health, creative work, and career. Read on!
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Entering 2021, I have spent a lot of time recalibrating my creative energies and in doing so have refined certain mindsets that work positively for me. In this issue of The Theisen Journal I would like to share some interrelated musings on creativity that you may find empowering, useful, or intriguing.
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I have a deep admiration for artists who seem inexhaustible in their creative energies, vision, and ambition. Stephanie Lamprea is such an artist. Imagine my delight when Stephanie solicited composers to write brief unaccompanied pieces for her that she would record for a multi-volume set of self-produced albums. I jumped at the chance and, thankfully, she agreed to collaborate with me! Read about the result…
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This past week was a joyous one. My sister got married on Saturday and two compositions of mine were performed on opposite ends of the United States: Sleep Now O Sleep Now for clarinet/piano and Planetesimal Bump for jazz ensemble. If you want to listen to the streamed recordings and discover a little about these pieces, read on!
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