I would like you all to meet Benny the cat, who lives with his somewhat more warlike cousin Stella at my airbnb in Brooklyn (read: friend’s apt). Tomorrow, I am unfortunately leaving Benny to head tor Sō Percussion’s Summer Institute.
I am, however, elated that the members of Sō Percussion and esteemed students of the festival will each premiere a piece of mine! Sō is live-streaming all of the concerts events, so you can join us if you wish. On Thursday, July 18th, the students will premiere 12 new works at Small World Coffee in Princeton, 7pm EST. Friday, July 26th, Sō takes on 12 student works at the Lewis Center for the Arts, 7pm EST. Bottles will be hit, cans will be smashed, and yes, even a floor tom will be played. You could, I suppose, visit the concerts in person, but why bother with the power of the internet?! Full concert schedule (there are many) here.
On another joyous note, the Grand Valley State University won a grant from New Music USA (!!!) that will fund the mastering and release of a record that I mixed last summer–a collection of music inspired by the National Parks. The CD includes works by many of my idols and otherwise excellent composers, including David Biedenbender, Betsey Biggs, and Paula Matthusen, among others. It will also be my first composition on a label-released record, since my Canvas the Bear will anchor the innova recordings release in Spring 2020.
P.S. If you’ve invested the time to make it this far, you probably already know that my polka band just went on a weeklong tour through Denver. Just in case you didn’t, you can find our massive photo retrospective here.
Niko D. Schroeder 