I recently did some recording of two solo vibraphone pieces in UWM’s Jan Serr Studio performance venue (pictured above) for the Advancing Research and Creativity Grant that I received. I’ve already edited and released one of the videos, Jordan Munson’s “Where Light Escapes You,” and it can be found on my YouTube channel and on the Video/Audio page here on the website. I’ll be working on editing the second piece over the next month in addition to my continued work on other components of the grant.
In the fall, I had only a few performance opportunities because of the pandemic. It was very odd not to have more gigs and performances, especially in December around the holidays which is normally the busiest time of the year. I put together a pre-recorded program in October for the UWM Chamber Music Milwaukee series with my colleague Nicki Roman as our Romex Duo. I also played in a live-streamed holiday brass concert with the Sheboygan Symphony in mid-December. I’m already looking forward to a few opportunities this spring, however, with Present Music in March and a Cross//Hatch Percussion concert in April (both virtual programs).
As we are about to start a new semester during the ongoing pandemic, I have hope that things will work out at least similar to how they did in the fall semester. At UW-Milwaukee, we were able to do in-person private lessons and ensembles all the way up to Thanksgiving break. That meant that we could play music together and give concerts, which was a big relief and a very positive experience when compared to the alternatives. There is still so much uncertainty about how things may develop or change at any minute, but all we can do is to continue to hope, and to plan for multiple possibilities.