I’m down at the University of Maryland, conducting at the National Orchestral Institute, a very focused festival with very strong faculty and students. It’s all about orchestral playing, not one of those festivals that tries to do everything (solo, chamber music, master classes, etc). The program is one of the most ambitious I’ve ever attempted. It’s really too much music, don’t you think? Dutilleux - Métaboles, Bartók - Miraculous Mandarin Suite, Brahms - Symphony No. 4. I mean, come on! But that’s the way they do it here.

On the other hand, I keep remembering my senior year in high school when I played in the American Youth Symphony. The conductor, Mehli Mehta (Zubin’s dad), was celebrating his 80th birthday season by conducting the complete Strauss tone poems. The performances weren’t perfect, but they were memorable, and they pushed my bass technique way beyond where I was at the beginning of the season. It was a completely memorable and life-changing musical experience.

So this week at NOI is a reminder that music isn’t only about perfection, though we all try our very best. Freed of that burden and worry, I bet the music this weekend will sound very good indeed.

Last night Cedric and Omar from THE MARS VOLTA flew up to record string tracks for a song on their forthcoming album. I met the bass player, Juan, at one of their concerts a few years ago and got talking … and that’s how this session happened.

The string tracks were written by the amazing Nathaniel Stookey, and conducted by yours truly. It was a cool rock/classical intersection. The guys from the band were clearly amused by our liberal use of Italian during the session (fermata, diminuendo, etc.), but seemed to really appreciate our work. What really seemed to seal the deal is that we were all able to improvise, which is not something rockers expect classical folks to do. Omar, the music director of the band, has eclectic musical tastes. On the classical side, he’s really into Varése, and is digging a CD of Xenakis lent to him by John Frusciante, lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I wish this kind of stuff would happen more often — who knows, maybe it will.

And now a fun game … two of the people in the picture below are rock stars. Can you guess who they are?

NATHANIEL STOOKEY is spending the day recording JUNKESTRA, an amazing 3 movment piece for the San Francisco Dump. His next project will be to write some string parts for a dark and brooding rock and roll outfit you may recognize.

ANTOINE WILSON is beginning his book tour for his newly published novel, The Interloper. It’s really great — buy it, order it, read it!

In Los Angeles, HOON LEE is having a career making moment as the lead in the new David Henry Hwang play, YELLOW FACE. Well deserved I say! He is one talented dude. He even designed my website!

Working with New World Symphony is always such a blast. They know how to rock out during (and after) a concert.

Spent Saturday with my friend Sebastian Spreng, who is an amazing painter. Click the link to check out his work. I own two of his paintings and so should you! He showed me around the Miami arts district, where I saw some amazing Latin American art. Then we went to lunch at the famous dive sandwich shop Enriqueta’s, which is apparently where the elite meet to eat. I say this because at the next table was Gloria Estefan and her whole family. Sebastian knew her, so I got to meet the creator of …

comeonshakeyourbodybabyDOTHECONGA! somethingsomethingsomethingsomethingANYLONGA!

That was cool. I also caught one event at the Winter Music Conference … a 1am set by Paul Oakenfold.

Can you tell I like many things about Miami?

Now I must sleep.

Getting ready to conduct the New World Symphony tonight here in Miami Beach. The program features Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition, which is always fun, especially with an orchestra as spirited and virtuosic as this one. I’ve added some special effects, including an electornic church bell at the end that makes the piece even LOUDER, and creates the right musical picture, I think.

Speaking of electronic sounds, Miami Beach is bustling and exciting right now because of the Winter Music Conference, one of the most famous electornica/DJ festivals in the world. Everywhere I go, I hear electronica. It’s the soundtrack to South Beach life I guess. Even the most mundane tasks, such as buying dental floss, are accompanied by groovy beats. It’s kind of fun, but would it remain fun if I lived here? BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

Spending the week in SF studying, resting up and getting healthy, and preparing for a busy spring. A staggering amount of music seems to be floating in my head right now: Gluck, Walter Piston, Mussorgsky, Dutilleux, Shotakovich, Berlioz, Beethoven, Barber, and there’s more I need to pick up.

A little surfing can really calm all of that down, which is a good thing. The music of the ocean distracts me from the music in my head. Out in the waves, I’m reminded about something Buckaroo Banzai once said: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

Also, a little palate cleansing between composers is a must. Rock, Electronica, Dub.

Right now, I’ve been checking out the Bedroom Community website for some fresh sounds, and the new Arcade Fire album is giving me some major chills. Could they be the next great band?

headline from today’s San Francisco Chronicle:

“CHARGES IN YALE SINGERS’ BEATING
D.A. calls alleged attack cowardly — 2 S.F. men expected to surrender today”

Maybe we need an a cappella “safe house” in San Francisco, where college-age, close-harmony singers from the Ivy League can enjoy our city in peace.

I know all about a cappella violence. My college singing group, the Harvard Din & Tonics, somehow got in a bar fight in Taipei back in 1992.

We emerged slightly bruised, but didn’t press charges.

I had the good fortune to read an advance copy of my friend Antoine Wilson’s new novel, The Interloper. On the surface, it’s just another story of vengeful epistolary transvestitism, but it’s been whirling around in my brain for a long time since I read it. Its many layers are gradually becoming clear to me.

Right now, I think it’s all about the power of words. Should you believe what you read, or what you write? In a sense, it’s a celebration of writing itself. But it’s also very odd, twisted, and fun. A page-turner.

So if you like writing, or your stories nice ‘n’ creepy, give Antoine’s book a shot. You’ll be glad you did.

Been reading some blogs recently, and there’s a nice trend of people setting their iPods to random and writing about what comes up. Here’s my version.

1. Mum - “We have a map of the piano” This is a nice electronica band that I haven’t gotten sick of yet. Melodic, finely crafted stuff. A nice soundtrack to a cool everyday life.

2. Magnetic Fields - “Blue” (from 69 Love songs) Just getting to know these songs, haven’t heard this one till now. Stephen Merritt’s vocals get really Tom Waits like here … very depraved.

3. Current 93 - “Then Kill Caesar” I learned about this guy at a record store in Kitchener. Apocalyptic neo-folk. It’s weird and evocative, but for me ultimately annoying and unlistenable.

4. Palast Orchester mit seinem Sänger Max Raabe und H.K. Gruber - “Tango Ballade” This is a BRILLIANT re-creation of decadent German/Austrian party music by my friend H.K. Gruber. I love this disc — so fun. Get it now!

5. Lou Harrison - “Varied Trio (1st movement) I think Lou Harrison is one of the great melodists of the 20th Century.

The concert in Boca went well. I tried something new. After playing Carl Ruggles’s prophetic and dissonant work “Men and Mountians,” I encouraged the audience to applaud the piece if they liked it, and boo if they didn’t. There were defintiely some boos, but there were also a few bravos. I prefer either to tepid applause.

Meanwhile in Miami beach, I caught a concert at New World Symphony conducted by Benjamin Shwartz, with Yuja Wang as piano soloist. Before each piece, words ticked onto the screen behind the orchestra, describing the piece they were about to hear in a humorous and snarky manner. I felt like I was watching “Adult Swim” on the Cartoon Network. That’s not a bad thing. Also, there were free cocktails one and a half hours before the concert. Everyone had a fine time, and somehow the music was still at the center of everything. It was a cool way of refreshing the concert “format” without dumbing-down or overwhelming the music.

Today, in San Francisco, I caught rehearsals for the premiere of Robin Holloway’s Fourth Concerto for Orchestra. Massive, complex, tonal, and worth hearing. Aarron Jay Kernis, who just premiered a piece at the SF Conservatory, dropped by to listen as well.