Greetings, CBC listeners!

O Canada!

I recently sent a link to this blog to Tom Allen, who hosts the morning show Music and Company on CBC Radio 2. McDoc and I really enjoy his witty, off-the-wall commentary and funny stories he tells in between classical pieces. In fact, my clock radio is tuned to CBC 2, so I wake [...]

Theremin Concerto Sneak Preview!

The première of my Concerto for Theremin and Chamber Orchestra (”Theremin Concerto” for short) by Theremin player Scott Paulson and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra is exactly 2 weeks from today! So I thought this would be a good time to post a little excerpt from my not-quite-bona-fide, deep-fried, naugahyde, MIDI-fied version (with apologies) …which [...]

The Fascinating Life of a Music Copyist, Part 4

Thus far we’ve concerned ourselves with the preparation of a pretty score, a thing of beauty that will be a joy forever, suitable for publication as a coffee-table book, not to mention indispensable to the conductor. Now, what about the people who really matter, the lifeblood, heart and soul, and worker bees of the orchestra [...]

The Fascinating Life of a Music Copyist, Part 3

Trouble in Paradise…
Even for a perfectionist/OCD type like me, the extent of the tinkering involved in moving a score toward the desired ideal of music-visual beauty can be daunting. (Funny to think that there really is a visual aspect to music, innit?) Fasten your seatbelts — here are some examples from my adventures in music [...]

Your Questions Answered, vol. 1

Alto2 asks:
Um, Lucy, can you please ’splain what is a THEREMIN??? Why is it being featured on this program?
How remiss of me not to explain that important detail! I’m gonna answer these questions in reverse order, though, because the answer to #2 is short and sweet:
Why Theremin? Why not?
More seriously, though [...]

Clefs of Speed

We interrupt this informative series about the production of a purty music score for the following fight-to-the-death pay-per-view event!
Okay, you smart alecks out there. It’s a treble clef throw down!
Well, not exactly. I’m not actually challenging anyone to a clef-drawing competition, but since two of you commented on my comment about my treble-clef short-cut method, [...]

The Fascinating Life of a Music Copyist, Part 2

In case you missed it, here’s Part 1!
I was actually pretty far ahead of the game when it came time to prepare my score, because I had been composing more or less straight into Finale all along. I used to compose on paper 100% and enter the music into the computer when I was [...]

The Fascinating Life of a Music Copyist, Part 1

I’m back! I’ve sent off my score to the San Diego Chamber Orchestra! And in a few weeks I fly out to California to attend the rehearsals and première. Onward and upward, woo hoo!
By popular request (the populace consisting of McDoc), I’m going to write about how a piece goes from being finished, composing-wise, to [...]