Variations on a Summer's Day to be performed on 4/15/2014
Heather MacLaughlin, piano, and Alan Johnston, guitar, will be premiering Sarah's new piece, "Variations on a Summer's Day" on Tuesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at MacPhail Center for Music.
Hans Christian Andersen Duet to be performed 3/30/2014
The piano duet version of Sarah's Hans Christian Andersen Suite will be presented at the MacPhail Faculty Recital on Sunday, March 30th at 2 p.m. at the MacPhail Center for Music. The performers will be Sarah Miller and Guna Skujina.
State Arts Board Grant Received!
Sarah Miller has received a State Arts Board Grant for the "Wild Swans" project. This project will involve music and dance to tell the Hans Christian Andersen story, "Wild Swans." The project will be present in early October. More details to come!
Individual Artist Grant awarded by MacPhail
I found out this week that I have received a grant to create a piece with choreographer Maria Tierney. I am very excited to begin work on this. Look for performances of the piece in December, 2013!
Students Win MMTA Composition Contest!
The results are in! My students won 8 of the top 12 prizes in the MMTA State Composition Contest! This includes 1st and 2nd places in Senior High, 1st and 2nd places in Junior High, 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in Elementary and 2nd prize in Primary. I am so proud of their good work. Their pieces will be presented at the MMTA State Convention on June 10th, 2013.
Hans Christian Andersen Suite premiere a success!
The Hans Christian Andersen Suite was premiered by the Sinfonia Orchestra on March 15in, 2013, in St. Paul. The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Rob Hubbard) called it "an engaging work . . . that had the feel of a ripping yarn, particularly the high-contrast give-and-take of 'Great Claus and Little Claus.'" I was thrilled with this response, and also those of the many friends and colleagues who attended the concert.
Student Compositions Submitted
Today I sent off 19 student compositions to the Minnesota Music Teachers state composition contest. There are some great pieces in there, and I hope some of the students bring home prizes again this year.
Competition Results
I just received the results of the Junior Composers Competition, and my students did exceedingly well. I had 12 students enter at three different levels, and they took 1st & 2nd place in each of those levels. One student even received a perfect "100" score!