George Buckbee recently informed me that he’ll be conducting a concert during the St. John’s Chamber Orchestra Festival in Stockton, Ca, in January, 2011.  George is now resident in Finland, but has maintained ties with the festival ever since serving as the founding conductor about ten years ago.

I automatically assumed that his email was meant to solicit a new piece (presumptuous of me, I know!).  I was partially right…he was looking for a work for solo flute and string orchestra, though not necessarily from me.  After some questions and answers by email, we decided that I should make an arrangement of some incidental music I wrote for PVCC’s production of The Laramie Project.  My working title is, simply, A Laramie Suite, and the work will be about ten minutes or so in length.  Luckily, I don’t think I’ll have to produce a huge amount of new music, as the main ideas are already extant.  I will, however, probably have to punch up the solo line so that it offers plenty of spotlight moments for the soloist!