It has been a VERY long time since I made an entry to this blog. I didn't get swamped with tons of questions about where I was or why I wasn't blogging! lol!
I suppose what with Facebook and living a fairly active freelance life these past few months, I haven't given this blog much thought - either about what to put in it or whether or not to make the time to do so.
Simply put, what is the purpose of this blog when I've already got a website, a publisher and a Facebook page (I have not yet sunk to tweeting) which all trumpet my little life over the ether?
Well, with this post anyway, I will sum up may last few months and let you get on with your life once you've read it.
I've been conducting a lot with the Sydney Male Choir so far this year. I've actually stopped counting the number of concerts we've had since March. I think it's in the region of 10 or so, with about as many to come. The choir is undergoing a slow but steady transformation in repertoire and singing style, which is a little uncomfortable for some. However, they are sticking with it. They are brave men - and never more so at the 4:30 am service on Anzac Day!
I had a very quick trip to Bangkok to take part in Tubamania 2011, where my piece "Flying in Paradise" for four euphoniums and two tubas was premiered. It will be performed at a number of Festival around Asia this year, as well as at the 2011 Melbourne International Festival of Brass. As well as these other performance,s two new piece came out of that Festival - one for Matt van Emmerick for euphonium and piano, and one for Steve Rosse for tuba and piano They will be premiered in the USA and Portugal respectively. There are a lot of new piece happening for me in other areas too: a string quartet in Los Angeles, a solo piano piece in Newcastle, England, choral pieces in Newcastle and Syndey NSW and goodness know what else.
I've also become a CD reviewer for Music Forum magazine, which is the magazine of the Music Council of Australia. To read the mag either in paper or online, you simply become a member of the MCA (quite easy) go to http://www.mca.org.au/index.php and follow the prompts to obtain membership :)
I'm also doing some teaching at the Australian Institute of Music which is in Sydney. So there's a tough commute once a week (and whenever I'm needed to fill in for someone else - it's useful being an academic generalist :). It feels good to be teaching again - and very nice to be paid again, though I should point out that my gig with the Sydney Male Choir is paid as well!
Well, that's a start. It's a general picture of things in my life right now. It'll be time to get specific in the next blog post. :)
About Me
- Houston Dunleavy
- I was born in Northern Ireland, live in Australia, and am a composer, conductor and actor. I am Head of Composition and Production at The Australian Institute of Music and Musical Director of the Sydney Male Choir. I've been Visiting Composer at Universities and schools and my music has been performed in Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, China, Italy, Ireland, Taiwan, Argentina, Mexico and Puerto Rico by many international concert artists and ensembles. My compositional interests include music for orchestra, the theatre (including dance), the voice and the church, the combination of electro-acoustic and acoustic resources especially in real time, the exploration of virtuosity and indigenous Australian music. I've conducted in festivals and concerts all over the world, as well as acted in too many professional theatre works to list here.
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