January through early March, 2012 are proving to be a busy time for me. The year began with the official kickoff of the Atlas New Music series and kicks into overdrive on Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21, 2012 with two concerts conducting Great Noise Ensemble at the 2012 New Voices Festival at the Catholic University of America.

Sunday, January 29 see the premiere of a brief setting of Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” by Words and Music and the Boston-based Wordsong project at the Lyseum in Alexandria, Virginia.

On February 12 I will be in Eugene, Oregon for the first preview performance of my third symphony, Symphony: Savage Howls with the University of Oregon Wind Ensemble and its director, Robert Ponto. Savage Howls was commissioned by a consortium of bands led by the University of Oregon and this will be the first of several performances of the work during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. Stay tuned for details on future performances of this piece.

On March 2, 2012, I will be conducting Great Noise Ensemble at the 2012 Intersections New American Art festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington. The program includes works by Rob Paterson, D.J. Sparr and Marc Mellits as well as my first symphony, Chamber Symphony: Illusory Airs. The program will be recorded for GNE’s upcoming debut CD.