Thursday, March 13, 2014

March: robin sightings and other news...

Well, once more I am starting the newsletter with a word about the weather.  I find it amazing how much it affects our everyday lives.  This winter has been pretty wild. We had lots of snow, an ice storm or two, and very cold temperatures.  I think it started snowing the first week of December, and there has been snow on the ground since.  An ice storm in January left us without power for 3 days, and I am still cleaning up limbs that I could not get to because they were buried in the snow.  But the one good thing about winter is, it allows me to be inside working on music and music related things without the distraction of a warm day. Of course spring is just around the corner, my wife and I found a green bud sticking its head out of the ground just this afternoon and robins have been sighted.  We were delighted to think of the warmer days and getting our hands in the dirt.  I bought Linda a new digging tool, she is ready for the onslaught of weeds, not to mention ripping out stone walkways, rebuilding them elsewhere, and re-purposing just about every garden space we have. Cabin fever will do this to a person.


Now, of course, on to music news.  There are a lot of things going on all fronts, so here they are....

Sheet music:I have finished the complete transcriptions of the CD "Wind Chimes".  I had the books printed with the spiral binding once again for ease of use when playing.  This seems to be my most popular song book, probably because it has the song "Breathe", my most requested, downloaded and streamed song.  I have also completed many more transcriptions of older songs, they are marked "new" on the sheet music page on my website.

Recordings:  We are sending the new CD "Coming Home" to the manufacturers first thing in the morning.  It has been a lot of work to complete the recording and mastering, and my wife has spent hours on the cover graphics.  We are going to try printing them in Eco Wallets this time, getting away from plastic jewel cases.  They will be more ecologically friendly, much easier to travel with and less expensive to mail.

Videos:  I have been making videos of each song in the new album, from an instructional point of view.  I am hoping they will help people learn the songs.  They are available on YouTube under my name.  Here is a link to one of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvSXAamAlVs

Performances:  I was privileged to perform in the Whisperings All Star and Awards Concert in LA in January.  What a fun night that was and there were some amazing pianists performing.  There is a video available of the concert with this as the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GE7VPQ_Hw4

We are thinking of having a house concert here at our home in early May, stay tuned for the date.  We live in Pennsylvania for those interested in coming.  A tour of Boston and New York is in the works for fall, as well as the southern states next fall or spring.

Pacific Northwest Concerts:

Michael Dulin and I will be traveling in Oregon and Washington this April for the following performances.

Apr 10, 2014 7:00 PM
Concerts at Kathy's, Florence, OR.
Address will be provided after your order is completed
Florence, OR 97439
$15.00 Tickets here

April 11th, 2014 7 pm
Classic Pianos Recital Hall, Portland, OR
3003 SE Milwaukie Ave (@ the corner of SE Powell Blvd.)
Portland, OR 97202
$15.00    Tickets here

April 12th 2014  7 pm
Carol's Concerts,  Spokane, Wa.
Address will be provided after your order is completed.
Deer Park, WA 99006
$15.00   Tickets here

April 13, 2014 3:00 PM
Stage 7 Pianos, Seattle, Wa
511 6th Street South
Kirkland, WA 98033
Free Concert    Tickets here

April 14, 2014
Private house concert
Portland, OR.

That is the main news from here.  Thank you for being a part of this musical process, and I hope to see you at one of the concerts.

~ Greg