News and Updates

Performance of Birds of Paradise at ClarinetFest 2022

The duo Synergy 78 (Carol Shansky, alto flute, and Michelle Kiec, bass clarinet) will perform Birds of Paradise in July at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2022 in Reno/Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Synergy 78 premiered the piece in October 2019.

Love Song for chorus premiered

A new work for mixed chorus, Love Song, was premiered by the University of Massachusetts Lowell Chamber Singers on April 21, 2022 at the Nancy Donahue Celebration of the Arts, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Richter. The piece is a setting of Love Song by poet Maggie Dietz, Associate Professor of English at UMass Lowell. The piece was performed by the same ensemble again on April 26, 2022 at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

EcoSonic Playground article published

An article I wrote with Elissa Johnson-Green (Assistant Professor of Music at UMass Lowell and EcoSonic project lead) and Michael Flannery (Head of the Department of Arts, Mathematics, Physical Education and Early Childhood at Marino Institute of Education, Trinity College Dublin), “A musical perspective on STEM: Evaluating the EcoSonic Playground Project from a co-equal STEAM integration perspective” has been published in the May 2020 issue of the International Journal of Education & the Arts.

Performance of Birds of Paradise in Philadelphia

The duo Synergy 78 (Carol Shansky, alto flute, and Michelle Kiec, bass clarinet) performed Birds of Paradise on March 7-8, 2020, at the College Music Society Northeast Regional Conference at Temple University in Philadelphia. Synergy 78 premiered the piece in October in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Performance of Akom at U. Mass Lowell

The University of Massachusetts Lowell Percussion Ensemble, directed by Jeffrey Fischer, performed Akom on December 2, 2019 in UML’s Durgin Hall. The ensemble first performed Akom in April 2017. The piece is based on ceremonial music of Ghana, used to invoke the spirit realm and for healing through trance. 

Premiere of Birds of Paradise for alto flute and bass clarinet

The duo Synergy 78 (Carol Shansky, alto flute, and Michelle Kiec, bass clarinet) premiered a new work, Birds of Paradise, on Saturday, October 12, 2019 at the conference of the National Association of Collegiate Wind and Percussion Instructors (NACWPI) at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

More performances of Three Elements for solo flute

Carol Shansky performed Three Elements for solo flute (which she also premiered in March 2019) at the National Flute Society Convention in Salt Lake City in August, with the Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble in New York City in May, and again with the Pocono Flute Society of Pennsylvania in July.

2019 Sustainable Sounds & Visions of Research in Music Education conferences

In May, I will be presenting the paper The EcoSonic Playground: Social action through music education, sustainability, and STEAM immersive learning at the Sustainable Sounds Conference (sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Popular Music) at the University of Edinburgh, and again with my colleague Dr. Elissa Johnson-Green at the Visions of Research in Music Education Conference at Ryder University.

Seven Six Records launched at the University of Massachusetts Lowell

Spring 2019 saw the launch of Seven Six Records, a new student record label at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, with a show at Lowell’s UnchARTed Gallery and the release of our first batch of recordings on Soundcloud. I developed the label with my colleague Dr. Brandon Vaccaro (coordinator of UML’s Sound Recording Technology program) as a way to showcase the creative talent of our students, as well as to provide artist development and a working laboratory project for our SRT, music business and performance majors. The label was named after the department’s home, Durgin Hall, built in 1976.

2018 College Music Society conference and premiere

I will be presenting a paper, The EcoSonic Playground: Social action through music education, sustainability, and STEAM immersive learning, at the College Music Society's Northeast regional conference at the University of Delaware on March 24, 2018. A new work for solo flute and digital sound processing, Three Elements, will be premiered there by flutist Carol Shansky.

 Performance and Recording of Akom at U. Mass Lowell

Akom was premiered in its revised version for large percussion ensemble by the University of Massachusetts Lowell Percussion Ensemble on April 10, 2017, under the direction of Jeffrey Fischer. The piece is based on ceremonial music of Ghana, used to invoke the spirit realm and for healing through trance. 

51XO World Premiere of The Loon... on April 8th

The FiveOne Experimental Orchestra, a "modern music chamber band" based in Cleveland, Ohio, will give the world premiere of The Loon In Winter's Solitude Sings To Cassiopeia, for flute and clarinet with digital sound processing, on April 8, 2017 at The Music Settlement in Cleveland. They'll perform Time and Tide at the same concert. They also performed Time and Tide on March 4. 

Nicolai Carrera's Start Anew Released on 10/21

Start Anew, the debut EP by Nicolai Carrera and The Celebrators, will be released on Friday, October 21. I co-produced, mixed, and mastered the album, and also played drums, percussion and organ on it. It will be available for download on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon MP3 and Deezer.