Last week I was in Toronto and Niagara Falls, getting to work with two amazing ensembles & their conductors on profoundly moving performances.
The world premiere of Lux Cantus, which was commissioned by Greg Colley in memory of his parents, was given a stunning performance by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School Grade 12 Band, conducted by Greg himself.
At the end of the week the Jack Long Honour Band, conducted by Mark Hopkins, gave an incredibly moving and poignant performance of Towards Peace.
It was such a joy to work with both wonderful ensembles and conductors ❤️❤️
Also pictured: some waterfalls & giant margaritas!
@colley_family@dawsonmlod@drmconductor@albinothunder83@jlhbcanada@musicfestcanada
Today, more than 700 Manitobans gathered at the Manitoba Legislative Building, and even the snow couldn’t keep them away 🫶
Over 600 students from 14 schools came together to play Wave of Light, standing in support of every Manitoban facing cancer. It was powerful, moving and deeply hopeful.
Every dollar raised will stay right here in Manitoba, helping ensure access to care, support and treatment close to home.
Thank you to everyone who taught and learned, organized and played, donated and supported — your care, your time and your heart will make a real difference in the lives of Manitobans affected by cancer.
#FundraiseYourWay
Thank you to Mike Mapp and all the faculty and students at New Mexico State University for having me as resident composer at NMSU Bands - it’s always such an amazing time in Las Cruces ❤️
The two concerts featured stunning performances of Towards Peace (particularly poignant given proximity of the Trinity test site to the New Mexico State campus) as well as performances of ISS Flyover (where the NMSU Wind Symphony were joined by Socorro High School Honor Band), and Song of Hope - featuring Jens Lindemann, who was joined by trumpet students Benjamin Posey and Diego Garcia.
Now heading home via a quick pit-stop in Denver 🙂
Was very cool to see the World Cup today (obviously not a patch on the Jules Rimet…). Hopefully not the closest someone in an England shirt gets to it this year.
Off to rename my dog Pickles…
Am really looking forward to getting to do this at The Midwest Clinic.
Great friends and colleagues James M. David, Nicole Piunno, Aaron Perrine, Joe Parisi and myself will be talking all things composing, developing a career as a composer, and the importance of having a compositional vision.
✨ Aún con la emoción a flor de piel ✨
He tenido el privilegio de interpretar como solista junto a la @bandamunicipaldemalaga , dentro de la IV edición@jornadasmusicacontemporanea@aytonerja@museodenerja en el Teatro Cultural Villa de #nerja
Os comparto un pequeño extracto de Shine, concierto para tuba y banda de @petemeechan .
#tuba #bandasdemusica #lowbrass #vientometal
Fue una experiencia increíble. Como podéis ver en el vídeo… ¡me lo estaba pasando como un niño chico! 😄
La emoción, la energía del público y el sonido de la banda hicieron de esta noche algo muy especial.
Gracias de corazón a todos los que lo hicisteis posible ❤️
🇪🇸 🎶 Nuevo proyecto musical en marcha 🎶
Estoy preparando una obra solista de @petemeechan y… sí:
🔥 es un desafío
🎯 exige concentración
😄 ¡pero me lo paso en grande estudiándola!
👉 La versión que estoy interpretando es para tuba y banda, pero la obra también está disponible en otros formatos, como tuba y brass band, entre otros.
Su música engancha desde la primera nota.
Si te interesa interpretarla, puedes contactar directamente con el compositor para adquirir la obra.
De verdad: no te arrepentirás.
🚀 Esto no es solo estudio.
Es el comienzo de algo grande.
💥 Tuba al límite.
🎶 Música que atrapa.
📍 Muy pronto, concierto en directo.
No parpadees… que te lo pierdes.
🇬🇧 🎶 New musical project in progress 🎶
I’m currently working on a solo piece by Pete Meechan, and I can honestly say:
🔥 it’s challenging
🎯 it demands focus
😄 and it’s incredibly fun to practise!
👉 The version I’m performing is for tuba and concert band, but the piece is also available in other formats, including tuba and brass band.
His music grabs you from the very first note.
If you’d like to perform it yourself, you can contact the composer directly to purchase the piece.
Trust me — you won’t regret it.
🚀 This is not just practice.
It’s the beginning of something big.
💥 Tuba pushed to the limit.
🎶 Music that pulls you in.
📍 Live concert coming very soon.
Blink and you’ll miss it. #tuba #tubaplayer #bandasdemusica #practicadiaria #lowbrass
A Short Blast
2023
Wind Band
When Joseph Resendes and I were first discussing the piece and the concert it was to be premiered in (a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the McMaster University Concert Band), I mentioned to him that it all sounded like it would “be a blast!”.
The word blast seemed perfect for a piece of music for wind band – the definitions of the word lend themselves to a work celebrating the anniversary of a concert band, as well as the impact that it has made in the community during its 50 years of existence: - A…wave of…air spreading outward from an explosion / a strong gust of wind or air - Be very loud; make a loud noise
A Short Blast takes ideas that are usually associated with more traditional repertoire (eg fanfares, hymns/chorales, and marches) and reframes them in a new setting full of energy, drive, and momentum – an explosive wave of air, making a loud noise!
A Short Blast was commissioned by Joseph Resendes and McMaster University Concert Band to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ensemble.
Peter Meechan 2024
Commissioned by Joseph Resendes and McMaster University Concert Band
And the following commissioning consortium members (organization/conductor):
Arizona State University – Jason Caslor
Fort Richmond Collegiate – Cheryl Ferguson
Mount Allison University Symphonic Band – James Kalyn
Rouge River Winds – Pratik Gandhi
Schulich School of Music – McGill University – Jonathan Dagenais
Sherwood Repertoire Band – Ryan Baker
Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra – Beryl Macleod/Colin Clarke
University of Saskatchewan – Darrin Oehlerking
University of Toronto – Gillian MacKay
Vincent Massey Collegiate – Matt Abraham
Westmount Secondary School Wind Orchestra – Chad Benning
Towards Peace
2025
Towards Peace begins in the Jornada del Muerto desert, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. Codenamed “Trinity”, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon by the United States was on US soil, and the first victims of the bomb were Americans. The highly secretive test left hundreds of thousands of people vulnerable to the effects of the blast and the fallout, including 12 girls on a dance retreat - 10 of which died before they reached the age of 40 - who danced in the "snow" falling from the skies. The skies were described as "... golden, purple, violet, gray, and blue. It lighted every peak, crevasse and ridge of the nearby mountain range with a clarity and beauty that cannot be described but must be seen to be imagined" and as the sky lit up the sand on the ground turned into green glass.
Only a few weeks later, these bombs were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with catastrophic consequences. Humanity had been plummeted into a chaotic hell.
The work concludes with the story of Akiko Kawamoto and her piano. She was born in the US but had moved with her family to Japan at the age of 6, living in the Hiroshima Prefecture. Akiko became an avid pianist and wrote about the enjoyment she took from playing the piano in a diary she kept. Akiko perished on August 7, 1945, the day after the atomic bomb destroyed the city.
Akiko’s piano survived and was restored to full working use in 2004/5. Since then, an annual performance is given, in peace, on the piano in front of Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome Peace Memorial, to which the end of the work pays homage.
#windband #concertband
My favourite night of the year is always New Year’s Eve. A chance to get together with friends that you love, and eat, drink, and be merry.
My contribution to the meal is always Yorkshire Puddings…I take this very seriously and get the batter ready 24 hours in advance to let the glutens do their thing (not to mention getting the pepper in there early for the perfect taste).
I also don’t mess around when it comes to ice prep…no one wants to let @toddler222 down when it comes to ice at a party!
Please note: when making Yorkshire puddings, leave those electric whisks on the side #handwhiskonly #withawhiskyinteotherhand
