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The past month has been an exciting one; and, I have to say I’m not sure I’ve ever been so busy, or so it seems.

It started at the beginning of the month, when the Ateneo Chamber Singers finally arrived in San Francisco. They came to my school to perform for my students, which proved to be a great success. The following Saturday, they premiered my piece, “De profundis” from Sempiterna, in an evening performance at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. They were spectacular, and my piece was well-received by members of the choir and audience.

Then I dove more deeply into my orchestral work, The Long Valley, while simultaneously studying for the GRE. The week after, I rehearsed and performed with the brilliant California Bach Society in SF, Palo Alto, and Berkeley. As of this week, I put the orchestral piece on hold in order to free up some time to study for the GRE’s. My exam is at the end of the week.

All of this, of course, is coupled with my “day job” as a teacher/conductor.

So there you have it: busy, yet fulfilling.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that a recording of Sempiterna is now web-accessible. I conducted a reading session of the piece with 8 members of Schola Cantorum San Francisco. For a 90-minute session, the results are pretty impressive! You may access the tracks by listening to them below, or on the “Hear” page.

Sempiterna - i. De profundis

Sempiterna - ii. In manus tuas

Sempiterna - iii. In pace