Solstice & a look back

2025: the year of re-arrangement

Dear Readers of the Shara Nova / My Brightest Diamond newsletter,

I greet you on the darkest day in the Northern Hemisphere. Happy winter solstice! May you have insight into where you have come from and a moment of rest today. May new dreams emerge from this darkness. May we not harden our hearts in these hardened times. If it’s your brightest day in the south, then I wish you joy in the sun!

A look back into a year of re-arranging: places of living, piccolo parts, & future plans.

January found me cram-arranging for the famed Eighth Blackbird for our Valentine’s show, Imaginary Lovers, in Chicago, with special guests Nois Saxophone Quartet. We loved our imaginary lovers indeed, and Chicago turned up. Even though we filmed and recorded that show, somehow my microphone didn’t get recorded. I’ve tried to find time to re-record my vocals, matching the timing of what I did live, but it’s a tedious task. We’ll see… maybe one day some of those recordings will come to light. In the meantime, here was one of our rehearsal promo videos:

March took me back to the desk, cramming new songs for the Missouri State Wind Ensemble. I was able to write a pile of new songs for chamber winds, and we recorded some of the old tunes with the big group. Brass is loud! That was fun! Those tracks are in hard drive purgatory, but Jenn Nulsen quickly mixed this for me a couple weeks ago. Here’s a snippet of an oldie, but goodie:

October held The Blue Hour performance with the most excellent string players of the Avignon orchestra at Cité de la Musique in Paris, and I was to be found on cloud 9. There will be more Blue Hour shows coming up in the States in 2026: Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (West Virginia) on March 20th and National Philharmonic at Strathmore (Maryland) May 9th.

November was the month percussion arrangements! Marimbas, oh my! My buddy Dr. Joel Garza invited me to come out for a residency with his percussion students at Western Oregon University, and we were able to perform “Shape” for the first time live. I, too, had to use sheet music! I made some new arrangements of “Fight the Real Terror” for the first time too. Here’s a rehearsal snippet of “Sublime” featuring piccolo- and yes, I added keytar because it was offered. Who says no to keytar? Not me. YES, please.

May the dark birth something new for you this day. May you find the sublime in the initiation of that new idea and may the wind lift your sail. Thank you for supporting my music. These days algorithm hungry, streaming monsters loom over the music landscape and the shifts are admittedly difficult. But I light my candle at the desk of discipline and dig into the work. I believe in collective music making. Let the band be loud. Let the sound of loving til the end of time resonate louder than all else. Love is worth the fight. And yes, even warriors need to rest. May we get that too.

If you can, consider giving this year is to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. I’ve also long been an advocate for Support Kind (Kids In Need of Defense) which works to protect the rights and well-being of unaccompanied children around the world.