'Sacred Airs' is now ready!
If you buy it before Friday at midnight (mountain time), you can have it for 25% off.
You can download it here:
https://www.douglaspew.com/sacred-airs
Download 'Sacred Airs'
A whole lot of hot air
Tomorrow's the big day.
https://www.douglaspew.com/sacred-airs-vip
Today I'm putting the final touches on my new book, Sacred Airs: 9 Hymn Arrangements for Solo Woodwind or Brass Instrument and Piano.
Musical buddy system for the win
My favorite type of music making is collaborative music making.
To me there's nothing more fun than playing or singing music with others. Chamber music, art songs, barbershop quartet, singing in a choir, accompanying my kids at violin recitals, playing in an orchestra.
Maybe that's because I'm a composer and a pianist who spends a lot of time alone in the composer cave.
How my Polish Catholic teacher taught me to compose for church
The girl with the flaxen hair
In September 2002, I sat in a master class at BYU-Idaho waiting for my turn to accompany one of the class violinists.
I wasn't thrilled to be there because the new freshman violinists were all scheduled to perform and they were almost always out of tune and scratchy sounding. Not my favorite.
A beautiful freshman girl with flaxen hair had her turn and I was pleasantly surprised.
No More Transposing String Arrangements To Play In Church
I'm so excited to share these new hymn arrangements with you! I've been putting the finishing touches on them all week.
The new book is called Sacred Airs: 9 Hymn Arrangements for Solo Woodwind or Brass Instrument and Piano.
It will be available for purchase as a digital PDF download on Tuesday, August 1st.
Winds and Brass pieces appropriate for Sacrament Meeting
If you love playing beautiful, Spirit filled music in church, I've got great news.
Last week I put together a little questionnaire for LDS Winds and Brass players. I received many wonderful thoughts and heartfelt ideas about music in the church generally as well as insights into what you are looking for when it comes to playing your instrument in a church service.
For the past few months I have been testing out many new ideas for LDS hymn arrangements written specifically for Woodwind and Brass instruments.
Video Recording of "The Good Shepherd"
I had such a great time in Rexburg at the Idaho premiere of The Good Shepherd.
My nervousness at returning to Rexburg after 10 years quickly went away as we drove in and started scoping out our old stomping grounds.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was catching up with some great music friends and mentors.
Why am I so nervous?
We are packing up our kids and our bags and heading up to Idaho for 4 days.
The occasion? The Idaho premiere of my sacred cantata The Good Shepherd.
You can watch a live stream of the concert on Tuesday night, the 20th, at 7:30pm, mountain time. Use the link below to tune in.
An Easter Concert Review from a very opinionated music/composer/ conductor/singer/sacred-music nerd. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.
This is the first Easter season that I have lived in Utah. During the previous 9 years, I had been extremely spoiled as a classical musician living in Cincinnati. The Lenten and Easter season on the Cincinnati scene is always packed with fantastic concerts of sacred music, many of which I sang in, and for several of which I composed the Eastertide music as composer-in-residence at the beautiful St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Naturally, when I heard of this year’s Mormon Tabernacle Choir Easter Concert, which included a not too often performed, albeit beloved Beethoven sacred cantata, as well as a world premiere by Mack Wilberg, I was interested in attending.