.gif)
There now, that wasn’t so bad. It actually felt good to hit send at the end of that last post. The question now is what to write next? I could spend a bunch of time catching you up with what I have been doing over the past 6 months (not posting here, obviously), but my interest really lies more in the present and future than in the past, so I am going to concentrate on that instead.
My main focus right now is on making my first solo CD, and after two years of wrenching and wrangling, I have finally managed to put the big pieces of this puzzle into place. One of my big issues was deciding exactly what I should record. It probably doesn’t seem like that should have been such a difficult task, but believe me, I have spent a ton of time and energy agonizing over what to play. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but there was always something about it that never felt right no matter what I tried. Then one day a few weeks ago, while revisiting some music that I hadn’t played in a while, it hit me. Everything just kind of fell into place in my mind, like playing Tetris and having each new piece be exactly the one you were looking for. Ironically, the answer was in front of me all the time, but I just couldn’t see it. I think I needed one of those super hero decoder rings that you used to find in boxes of cereal (I must I eat the wrong kind of cereal), but barring that, I simply had to sit and wait for a “Beautiful Mind” moment.
Once the program was set in my mind I knew it was time to move forward, and almost as easily as the program came to me, the pieces just started falling into place. Now, I have funding secure — thanks to the support of the school where I am privileged to work (University of Miami, Frost school of Music in case you were wondering) — and I have the incredible pianist, Valentina Lisitsa, booked to perform with me on the recording. The pianist is extremely important for this project because I am delving into music that features the pianist as much as the soloist. It needs to be someone who has the chops of a concert pianist and the ears of a chamber musician. In Valentina, I have found someone of that rare breed, and I am eager to collaborate with her on this project.
So there you have it, a project that has been in the works for at least two years coming together in a matter of weeks. Amazing. If all goes well, we will be recording in August and getting the CD in production as soon as possible after that. It’s hard to believe that this will all be done in such a short amount of time, but after many false starts over the last few years, I am glad to see this project taking flight. I am sure there will be much to post about this CD as time goes by, but for now… I think I should go practice!
Good luck on your venture. I can’t wait to get a copy!!
Roy Griffin
What’s the Rep Craig?