NEWSFLASH
2/21/19. It's been over a week, and I'm
still in disbelief. Can't really process that Zealot
Canticles won the GRAMMY for Best Choral
Performance.
I struggle to put into words my gratitude to Donald Nally, The
Crossing, the amazing instrumental performers, the Barlow Endowment
for making the commission possible, Innova Records, and the anonymous
donor who made the recording possible.
1/30/19. Just heard that
Kammerkoret NOVA's CD including Dear World
is being released on TAWO Classics in February.
1/25/19. OK -- CRAZY couple of
months. First, absolutely stunned/thrilled/honored/humbled that Zealot
Canticles is a 2019 GRAMMY nominee, for Best Choral
Performance by The Crossing and Donald Nally! Putting on a tux and
attending the Grammys on February 10th! Regardless of what happens,
it's the greatest thrill and honor of my life. After all, even though
I/we don't do what we do for awards and prizes (!!),
nevertheless it's so incredibly rewarding when a work which
takes on social issues gets recognition and wider exposure.
Secondly:
Had an AMAZING premiere of the flute concerto by Trudy Kane and the
Frost Flute Ensemble in the fall. Could not have been happier!
Recorded it for my upcoming CD, too. :-)
Then a really great Guest Composer visit at USF. Great performance of
Rite, and lecture/presentation at the
composition seminar.
Thirdly:
Dear World was announced as the winner of
the 2019 Analog Chorale call-for-scores. They will be performing it
this spring and recording it for their debut CD, including works by
David Lang and Krishan Oberoi.
And
now I'm in the middle of a 5-week residency in Italy as a Bogliasco
Foundation Fellow. Words cannot describe the experience. Truly blessed
and lucky; I do not take it for granted.
Incredibly productive so far: In just two weeks I've composed a 15-16
minute choral cycle (on LGBT Mormon poetry!) called You
Have a Name and a Place for Boston Choral Ensemble,
as the winner of their 2018 commission competition, and a 9 minute
choral work (Sette grime pa natta) for
Kammerkoret NOVA in Oslo, Norway.
Now I'm immersed in the opera for Guerilla Opera for 2019/20, on the
fascinating and complicated story (stories) of Hannah Duston, on a
compelling, wonderful libretto by Glen Nelson.
Whew!
10/8/18. Just found out that This
Will Not Be Loud and Relentless will be
performed by the Chak Duo Piano
Percusión (Felipe González, Percusión; Marcela Lillo, Piano) at
the XV Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea Darwin Vargas in
Chile on Oct. 11th. Wish I could be there!!
10/1/18. Crazybusy time since my
last update! Eventful summer: Amazing residency at Copland House, culminating in a Bucket
List item: The premiere of Suite hypnagogique
at Carnegie Hall by pianist Scott Holden. Can't really put into words
my feelings at and following that concert.
Then spent a month preparing our house to rent, and moved across the
country for a year-long sabbatical in the Bay Area (Silicon Valley) of
California.
Several performances over the summer, including at two international
music festivals: Il Jornadas Musicales de Invierno 2018 (Winter Music
Days Festival) in Chile, and the International Clarinet Conference in
Ostend, Belgium.
Last week I was a Guest Composer at CSUN (Cal State Northridge) for a
performance of Specific Gravity: 2.72 by
TEMPO Ensemble (superb performance!) and a lecture/presentation at the
Composition Seminar.
Looking forward to going back to Miami for a week at the end of the month for the world premiere of my flute concerto by Trudy Kane, and visiting USF in Tampa as a Guest Composer for a performance of Rite and a masterclass!
6/16/18. I've been here at the Copland
House as a Fellow in residence for a month now. What an opportunity,
to live and work in Copland's own house; in his studio, at his desk,
on his piano... It's been incrediblyproductive: Started with the premiere of Mühlfeldtänze -
the
clarinet quintet commissioned by the Copland House and
theHoff-Barthelson Music School - at their annual contemporary music
festival. What a pleasure it was to work with the amazingly
talentedkids!
In one month I've written two works from scratch: Suite hypnagogique (a
piano suite commissioned by pianist Scott Holden and the Mormon
ArtsCenter, to be premiered at Carnegie Hall on June 29th), and ...que la tierra se
partió por su sonido, a flute concerto for Trudy Kane and the
Frost Flute Ensemble.
Now on to working on a commission for Boston Choral Ensemble, a new
work for Splinter Reeds (San Francisco), and the opera!
5/2/18. Happy to share that Kammerkoret
NOVA ("NOVA Chamber Choir") in Oslo, Norway, just recorded by choral
work Dear
World for their upcoming CD. Details on release TBA! 4/29/18. Just learned that my duo blur will be performed at
the annual New Music Gathering on May 19th in Boston, by Dinosaur Annex
(Katherine Matasy, clarinet; Diane Heffner, Basset horn). 4/16/18. Busy week+! At the USF New Music
Festival in Tampa for a performance of Agitprop,
then at the Frontwave Festival this weekend for another performance of Agitprop. 3/22/18. Absolutely ecstatic to announce
that I will be writing a new solo piano work for pianist Scott Holden,
who will premiere it at Carnegie Hall on June 29th, as part of the 2018
Mormon Arts Center Festival! 2/7/18. Found out that blur will be performed
this summer at ClarinetFest (the International Clarinet Conference) in
Ostend, Belgium, by George Weremchuk, sax, and Keith Koons,
clarinet. 12/7/17. THRILLED to announce that I've
been selected as an Aaron Copland House Fellow for 2018. I'll have the
extraordinary opportunity to live in Aaron Copland's house in Cortlandt,
NY for a month in May-June. I'm also honored to have been selected
as the recipient of their annual commission, for a chamber work to be
premiered at the Hoff-Barthelson Contemporary Music Festival in May,
2018. 12/1/17. Big
news: I've been
commissionied by Guerilla
Opera (Boston) for a full-length opera for their 2019/20 season. 11/26/17. Wow. Just wow.
Four days at The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in the UK.
Mind-blowing. 4-7 concerts per day (all sold-out or near-capacity!):
Ensemble Modern, Arditti Quartet, Red Note Ensemble, Polish National
Radio Choir, and so many others. 7/6/17. FANTASTIC
week last month as the Composer-in-Residence at the Alba Music
Festival in Italy. World premiere by Transient Canvas (incredible
musicians and incredible people!), and a performance of Moraine by the Romanian
National Philharmonic Orchestra. Most of all, it's always so rewarding
to work with talented young composers from around the country. 5/10/17. Always a thrill and honor to
work with the great Eric Hewitt and Triton Brass. Last week they
performed What
We Do Is Secret again with the Boston Conservatory
Wind Ensemble, and as expected they kicked serious butt. 3/22/17. Just learned that not only
am I the Winner of the 2016 American Prize for [...]Qumran Psa[lms...],
but Rite,
for two pianos & two percussionists, was also awarded Third Prize in
the Chamber Music division. 3/20/17. What a week. A week of
rehearsals, two-day recording session, and then the world premiere of Zealot
Canticles last night in Philadelphia. 85 minutes long,
without intermission. 3/10/17. Donald Nally, the conductor of
The Crossing, has been writing a series of essays about Zealot Canticles: An Oratorio for
Tolerance. He is an incredible writer. Each
essay is full of insights and profound commentaries. Read it here. 2/5/17. What a fantastic performance of What We
Do Is Secret by the FSU Wind Symphony under the
directrion of Richard Clary, and the Garnet & Brass Quintet! Just
blown away. 1/9/17. A student just emailed me to say
"Congratulartions!," to which I replied "For what?" I'm a Finalist
for the American Prize in two categories: Chamber Music and Choral. 11/4/16. Just learned that the Freon
Ensemble in Rome will be performing my Processione di lacrime (Pavan)
in three weeks at the Nuova Scuola di Musica Vassura Baroncini in Imola,
Italy (just outside of Bologna). Wish
I could be there! 10/16/16. Great to have ToniMarie
Marchioni and Jacob Coleman here for four days: Composition Forum, oboe
masterclass, concert, and recording session of Discipline for my next
monograph CD. 10/4/16. Today was a good day. First, I
was informed that What
We Do Is Secret was selected for performance on
the 2017 FSU Festival
of New Music in February (from a pool of nearly 500 submissions).
What an honor, and I'm thrilled to finally have the chance to work with
Richard Clary! 10/1/16. Looking forward to traveling to
my beloved Boston this week for three performances of Requiem,v.2.001 by
the wonderful What
Is Noise? ensemble, and a presentation at the Longy School of
Music. It will be nice to return to Longy after all these years (I took
classes there while working on my Ph.D. at Harvard, my wife got her
degree and Artist Diploma in Opera Performance there, and then I had the
pleasure of being a one-year Visiting Faculty there before moving to
Miami). Jeremy van Buskirk is now the Chair of Composition at Longy;
when I was there, he was doing his Masters; file under "Things Which
Make You Feel Old." 9/18/16. Was just nominated to apply for
The Rome Prize. No guarantees, of course, but nice to be approached by
the American Academy in Rome, formally asking me to toss my hat in the
ring. BUSY summer ahead! This summer (2016) I'll
be going to a festival at the University of Tennessee, the International
Double Reed Society National Conference in Columbus, GA, going to
Philadelphia for the world premiere of Dear World, commissioned
by The Crossing, spending two weeks in the Sierras hiking, boating,
trout fishing, and COMPOSING like a madman, trying to finish the
oratorio. Oh, also surfing and biking 5 days a week. ;-) 5/7/16. Happy to announce that I've been
commissioned to write a fanfare for the 10th anniversary of Axiom Brass in Chicago! Details TBA. 4/3/16. Just found out that OK-OK will be performed on
the Nordic
Saxophone Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, next month. Why don't
I find out about these things further in advance, so I could arrange to
be there!? 3/15/16. ALSO -- Super
excited about the upcoming two-concert "McLoskey Festival" at Spectrum
next month in NYC! The line-up is all finalized, and will feature some
of the elite new music players around: Miranda Cuckson will be
premiering Two,
the work for solo violin commissioned for her by the New Spectrum
Foundation; ToniMarie Marchioni will be premiering a big oboe sonata
called Discipline;
up-and-coming -- already a star -- virtuoso violinist Miclen Laipang
will be performing two works; violist Amelia Hollander will be playing
my massive viola sonata Wild
Bells; plus two works for sax and clarinet and several
multimedia works. 3/15/16. Wow! Had a great time working
with some supremely talented young composers as the
Composer-in-Residence at the Webster University Young Composers
Institute. Also the distinct pleasure of working with the What Is Noise?
ensemble. Cool peeps! 1/17/16. What a pleasure it is to
work with musicians of the caliber of the legendary Dale Underwood! He
and the Frost Sax Quartet gave a spectacular premiere of Sikurtawa at the 38th
International Saxophone Symposium at Shenandoah University. 7/1/15. Honored to announce that I
received a Barlow Commission to write a concert length (70-80 minutes)
oratorio for The Crossing, to be premiered in Philadelphia in March,
2017!! The libretto will be drawn from texts by Wole Soyinka, the Nobel
Prize winning poet and humanitarian. 7/10/15. Whirl was just premiered
at the World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France by The Silver Duo.
Wish I could be there! 5/12/15. What an amazing thrill it
was to be in Berlin again, for the premiere of Qumran Psalms by
ensemberlino vocale! Berlin is my new favorite city. 1/9/15. Well, What We Do Is Secret didn't
end
up being a final nominee for a Grammy, but I'm honored that it was
nominated by Albany Records. 12/16/14. What
a fantastic experience
in Berlin. Wonderful premiere of
Rite
by Ensemble Berlin PianoPercussion at Konzerthaus, and one of the most
intense, thought-provoking, and challenging lecture/forums with
composition students at the Universität der Künste Berlin (Berlin
University of the Arts). Plus I caught two other fantastic concerts: A
new music concert by student composers, and Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium
at Gethsemanekirche by Collegium Musicum Berlin. Cool side note: This
is the same church where ensemberlino vocale will premiere my new
choral work in May! 11/6/14. Specific Gravity: 2.27 was
selected for the FSU 2015 New Music Festival (from over 1,100
submissions). Also was informed that What We Do Is Secret was
submitted for a Grammy nomination by Albany Records for Best
Contemporary Classical Composition. It's a mega-long shot, but hey. 10/2/14. Just got word from American
Composers Alliance that TAK Ensemble
will be performing Yellow
next May, at Orchestra St. Luke's DiMenna Center for the Arts in NYC. I
don't know them personally, but I've heard good things about them, so
looking forward to it. 9/14/14. Just wrapped up a great week as
Composer-in-Residence at the 2014 Carolina Chamber Music Festival. Had
the pleasure of working with the world-class musicians of The Calyx
Trio, and gave two lectures (one on "Visual Music," one on my music) and
a Masterclass, at Eastern Carolina University's School of Art &
Design and School of Music. 3/19/14. Um...where did the last 7 months
go? Since last August: THREE CD releases of my music (Specific
Gravity: Chamber Music of Lansing McLoskey; featuring the
concerto What We Do Is Secret and
The Madding Crowd with the
amazing Triton Brass and The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble; Citizens
of Nowhere, including blur).
Also an Aaron Copland Recording Grant, First
Prize in the 2014 Red Note Festival Composition Competition,
and performances all over the place, including Colombia. 8/3/13. Just got word that I received a
Barlow Commission to write a new choral work for the wonderful
ensemberlino vocale in Berlin! They've invited me to be their 2014
Composer-in-Residence; excited and honored! Definitely shaping up to be
a crazy-busy year, with pieces for Berlin PianoPercussion, clarinetist
Gleb Kanacevic, and two wind ensemble works! 7/18/13. Just sent in the masters for two upcoming CDs: The wind
ensemble and brass CD (see below), and Specific Gravity, a
monograph CD of my chamber music, featuring recordings by The Stony
Brook Contemporary Chamber Players (Eduardo Leandro, Dir), the newEar
Ensemble, soprano Rebecca Duren, pianist Alan Johnson, saxophonist
Philipp Staudlin, and members of Chameleon Arts Ensemble. 6/16/13. Very happy and honored to have
received an Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant to release The Unheard Music: A disc
of works for wind ensemble and brass with Triton Brass and The Boston
Conservatory Wind Ensemble! CD features works by Nico Muhly, Keith
Kusterer, Justin Barish, and two of my works: What We Do Is Secret and The
Madding Crowd. 3/15/13. Finished up a fantastic week as
the Composer-in-Residence at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Lecture/presentation, masterclasses, school-wide convocation, and
wonderful performance of What
We Do Is Secret by the UNL Faculty Brass Quintet and
UNL Wind Ensemble, Carolyn Barber, Dir. 2/21/13. Lots happening. Just
notified this week that Hardwood
will be performed on the 35th Foro Internacional Música Nueva Mexico
City by the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, and I've been invited to give
a presentation and masterclass at Conservatorio Nacional de Música
de México (the National Conservatory of Music of Mexico) in May.
Possibly some lectures at other institutions in and around Mexico City,
too. 1/18/12. Just found out last night that the incredible
Spanish Brass Luur Metalls will be performing The Madding Crowd at
the XVIII Ciclo de Música Contemporánea, Málaga, Spain (the 18th
Festival of Contemporary Music in Málaga, Spain) next week! 1/11/12. Don't know where the last
four months went! Really productive. And happy to learn that my concerto
for brass quintet and wind ensemble was recently awarded The
International Music Prize™ for Excellence in Composition 2011. The
piece was premiered in Oct. by Triton Brass and The Boston Conservatory
Wind Ensemble (Eric Hewitt, Dir.), and it went smashingly well. http://www.lansingmcloskey.com/whatwedoissecret.html
9/15/21/11. Just arrived at the
MacDowell Colony. Staying in the same studio as Ruth Crawford
Seeger, Ned Rorem, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Michael Torke, Scott Wheeler,
Robert Beaser, and David Rakowski. 8/1/11. Wow...what a past couple of
months. Today I was informed that I won the Chatham Baroque
Commission Competition! 7/21/11. What a FANTASTIC time as
Composer-in-Residence at the soundSCAPE Festival in Maccagno, Italy.
Incredible students, awesome faculty, great performances; including the
world premiere of The Unreal City,
written for the festival. To top it off, I've been commissioned by
the festival to write a clarinet concertino for next year's festival! 7/7/11. Names as the
Composer-in-Residence at the Missouri Chamber Music Festival, June
21-24, 2012. Really looking forward to it. 6/21/11. Just found out today that I
won the Joint Wind Quintet Project Commission! 10-14 minute
woodwind quintet, to be performed at the national conferences of the
International Clarinet Association, International Horn Society,
International Double Reed Society, and National Flute Association, as
well as by Imani Winds and others next summer and beyond. Really
excited!! 5/10/11. Nice review of the Prex
Penitentialis CD in the Classical Music Sentinal.: http://www.classicalmusicsentinel.com/KEEP/keep-mcloskey.html 4/27/11.
Great performance of Gleam
yesterday by the Borup-Ernst Duo. Another performance tonight, then
off to New College for two more performances and a busy schedule
(masterclass, interactive lecture, demonstration, and concert).
Looking forward to it. 4/8/11.
Now
available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and a bunch of other online places. 3/23/11.
Box
arrived today - finally! Look for it on Amazon, iTunes,
eMusic, and the websites of Albany Records and NAXOS soon! (Official
release date isn't until April 1st, but my box of pre-release CD's
came today.)
2/16/11.
Big
news! I was awarded the prestigious Goddard Liebersen
Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, given to
a "mid-career composer of exceptional gifts." I am humbled and
thrilled! 2/14.
Had
a great time visiting USC - my old stomping grounds - last week.
I gave a presentation at the USC Composition Forum, and also
went to the CMS Conference at Pepperdine. 1/23/11.
Just
found out I'll be the Composer-in-Residence at the 2011 soundSCAPE
Festival in Maccagno, Italy for two weeks this summer! Daily
masterclasses and working with really talented young composers, a
concert of my chamber music, and a commission for a new work for
soprano, piano and percussion. REALLY excited! 8/15/10. Awarded a Barlow Endowment commission,
to compose a concerto for brass quintet (Triton Brass) and wind
ensemble, to be premiered by a consortium of wind ensembles in the
2011 season! 7/26/10.
Two
INCREDIBLE performances by The Crossing in Philadelphia: The world
premiere of The Memory of Rain (Pew
Charitable Trusts/Philadelphia Music Project commission), and a
wonderful performance of Burning
Chariots. I've had the good fortune to work with
several top-notch choral groups, but I believe The Crossing under
the direction of Donald Nally is at the top of the top. One of
the best choirs in the world. 6/21/10.
Great
performance of my song cycle Sudden
Music by Rebecca Duren and Alan Johnson at the Sudden Music
Festival in New York. Yes, the title of the festival was taken
from my piece... 5/12/10.
Just
finished judging the Meet The Composer commissions. A heck of
a lot of work (!), but actually a joy to listen to so much great
music by so many talented and devoted composers. Listened to 214
pieces (many in video format w/dance or multimedia) in two days. 5/2/10.
Wonderful
performance by newEar Ensemble last night. What pleasure to work
with them! Also had a great time giving an interactive presentation
to students at the Kansas City Art Institute on Friday (4/30). 3/22/10.
Received
a 'review' from a trusted source that the performance of Sudden
Music by soprano Marie Te Hapuku (who sings with The Met)
at the LDS Lincoln Center Building was absolutely stunning!
Wish I could have been there! Going to Boston next week
to hear pianist Biljana Milovanovic and soprano Rachelle Schmiege
perform it. 11/22/09. C4 did a great job performing Non avra ma pieta' in New York
last night. Marvelous choir, and a joy to work with.
Also just found out that I was a Finalist for the 2010 Look
& Listen Festival Prize...close, but no cigar. 11/20/09. Wrapped up a fantastic week as a
Guest Composer at the ISU Contemporary Music Festival. Gave a
lecture/presentation, a roundtable session with Steve Reich, and a
pre-concert talk with Kirk Trevor (conductor of the Indianapolis
Chamber Orchestra). Processione
di
lacrime went very well, and the ICO did a great job with
the world premiere of the orchestral version of the Requiem. 11/15/09.
My
Requiem was the Winner of the First Annual newEar Composition
Competition. newEar is a superb contemporary music ensemble in
Kansas City, and they'll be performing the piece in the spring. 10/2/09.
Found
out
I am a Co-Winner of the American Composers Forum-LA Composition
Competition for my piece Yellow. The piece will be performed
in LA on 11/12 by Ensemble Green. 9/1/09. Just
found
out that I won First Prize in the 2009 Indianapolis Chamber
Orchestra Composition Competition. The ICO will be premiering
my Requiem (finally!) at the 43rd Contemporary Music Festival on
November 19th, and I'll be a Guest Composer at the Festival along
with Steve Reich. They will also be performing Processione
di lacrime on the Festival, as it was a winner of the
"Music Now" Composition Competition. Both competitions are
blind juried (i.e. scores are submitted anonymously), and judged by
completely independent panels. There were something like 130
entries for the "Music Now" contest. They were very surprised,
and told me that in the 43 year history of the festival, nobody has
ever won both competitions! Needless to say I am very humbled
and honored. 7/31/09. My sax quartet OK-OK was one of six works
(out of hundreds of submissions) selected for submission to the ISCM
World Music Days in Australia next spring. Crossing fingers
it will be chosen. Also just heard from a marimbist in
Argentina that he will be performing Catherine's
Wheel soon.soo 7/16/09. It's
been
a good week: I just heard from Subito Music that they've picked me
up as a composer. More details pending. 7/14/09. Was
just
informed that I've been elected as a member of the American
Composers Alliance (which only accepts 1-2 new members per year). 7/11/09. I've been nominated
for the Pi Kappa Lambda National Commission, and advanced to the
next stage. 6/22/09.
Good
news, bad news (but mostly good!): The premiere
of my song cycle Sudden
Music was pushed from August back to sometime in
the fall (probably November), but the good news is that MAG is now
planning to use singers from The Met. How cool would that be? 6/19/09.
I'll
be going to Aspen this summer! I'm a Guest Composer at the Aspen
Music School, a presenter at the Aspen Composers' Conference, and
will have the Dinosaur Annex commissioned piece (blur) for clarinet
& basset horn performed at the Aspen Institute, with the premiere of a video by renowned
artist Rita Blitt. SUPER excited. 1/1/09. Star Chamber for solo
violin was released on a CD of contemporary chamber music called Metamorphosis
on
the Beauport Classical label. 11/20/08.
Catherine's
Wheel and B(ee) Movie were just
picked up for publication by Marimba Productions, the premier
publisher for marimba repertoire. 11/18/08.
Received
notice today that I was awarded Honorable Mention in the Boston
Choral Ensemble's 2009 Composition Competition.
10/20/08.
Just
got a pretty fab 3/4-page featured review in Gramophone Magazine
(annual Awards Issue, Oct. 2008). Read it here. 9/27/08. Sixth
Species is now available for digital download on
iTunes and eMusic.com. 8/16/08.
My
CD Sixth Species is finally released on
Albany (TROY1044). It is available direct from Albany,
or from Amazon, CDUniverse,
Barnes & Noble.com, and many other stores (even Target.com!). 6/08. Exciting
news: Just received a commission to write a new work for the
acclaimed Boston new music ensemble Dinosaur Annex, for spring
2009!! I'm thrilled, as Dinosaur Annex is not only one of the top
new music ensembles, but SUPER COOL people, too! www.dinosaurannex.org 6/08. Just found out that my sax
quartet OK-OK
was performed by TAWA Quartet at the 18th International Jazz
Festival in Lima, Peru. Cool.