A few weeks ago, I visited the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. They brought me in for the annual honor band and conducting workshop, and also for a recording session. (More on that in a moment.) Upon arrival, I had a fun rehearsal with the honor band on “Undertow,” which was being conducted by Richard Floyd.

That night, the UNCG Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Kevin Geraldi, gave a beautiful performance of my new piece, “Hymn to a Blue Hour.” As I said on Facebook after the concert, it was among the best performances I’ve ever heard of any of my music in any medium. Kevin Geraldi is, as they say, the Real Deal. I couldn’t believe the amount of luscious rubato that Kevin accomplished. (I love for the piece to be incredibly free in tempo, almost like a Chopin Ballade.) It was gorgeous. Fortunately, we also made a recording. (More on that in a moment.)

But first, we had a tasty dinner, and wine.

Some people think it’s odd that I photograph my food. At UNCG, John Locke, the Director of Bands, does one better: he films people taking pictures of food.

Did I mention that we also had a recording session for “Hymn to a Blue Hour?” ‘Cause we did.

We spent about two hours recording the piece on Sunday night.

I received the master recording on Tuesday morning, edited it on Tuesday and Wednesday, submitted it to CD Baby on Wednesday evening, and on Friday afternoon, it was on iTunes. Less than a week from session-to-iTunes has got to be a record (pun intended).

I hope you’ll check out the recording. It’s a stunning performance.