AUAUGUST 2026

​​​AUGUST 2026

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Hello there friends —

 

Everything old is new again, as they say, and in this time of social media fatigue and algorithmic angst, this is me undertaking what I anticipate to be a (very infrequent, probably quite sporadic, entirely off the cuff) old timey thing called a NEWSLETTER.

 

I’ve had a really wonderful summer, and I hope you have too. A major highlight is happening TODAY, as a matter of fact, as Grand Band has just released its DEBUT ALBUM!!!

 

Now, you might be wondering why a group that’s been playing together for over a decade is just now getting around to releasing its first recording — to which I would invite you to consider the supreme logistical insanity of RECORDING SIX GRAND PIANOS!!!

 

As it happens, this isn’t just our first album, but it’s also the first professional album of music for six pianos in American history — p r e t t y  c o o l  !!  It features music by some of our favorite collaborators including Missy Mazzoli, Julia Wolfe, and Kate Moore, as well as our rendition of Julius Eastman’s epic work, ‘Gay Guerrilla.’ GG is a work that is very near and dear to my heart, and I cannot overstate how excited I am that this version of it is now in the world! 

 

You can check out the album in all the places linked to here  

 

(And you can follow me and/or Grand Band and/or Cantaloupe on Instagram for more info, including some upcoming events in NYC to celebrate the release of the album). 

 

Looking ahead to the coming season, I am really looking forward to some exciting projects:

 

My ‘Steve Reich at 90’ year kicks off with the massive new ‘Music for 18 Musicians’ project happening at the Park Avenue Armory in October (more info here), followed by the big celebration at Carnegie Hall on October 22 (more info here). I recently got the part for Steve’s new piece that we will be premiering on that concert, and I can’t wait for rehearsals to begin!  (Also, West Coast friends: after the show at Carnegie, we will immediately head your way for a repeat performance in SF on October 24: info here.)  More to come on this front in the Spring, but I can’t talk about that just yet  ;) 

 

More immediately, I’m pleased to be playing on an exciting new project that is bringing thoughtful and exciting programming to my own neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. I’m looking forward to joining Chris Gross and Tessa Brinckman for WildLine: Still Here | Three in September. Music by Andy Akiho, Gemma Peacocke, Pauline Oliveros, Marcos Balter, Seth Boustead, Ashkan Behzadi, and Clarice Assad, with contributions by Yiseul LeMieux. (Oh, and don't worry --  we’ll also repeat the program downtown for those of you for whom a trip to the ‘North Pole of Manhattan’ is a trek too far!) More info here.

 

Other interesting tidbits:

 

• The remarkable Matthew Westerby Company spent part of the summer touring abroad. I’m so pleased that their repertoire included an excerpt from ‘City of Ashes’ — it’s so moving to me that my music about the AIDS crisis in NYC was heard by various audiences in Europe and Rwanda, interwoven with Matthew’s staggeringly beautiful choreography. It was really meaningful to premiere this at Judson Church here in NYC (working collaboratively with super-colleagues Bill Solomon and John Hastings), but I’m so glad it is spreading its wings and encountering new audiences.

• I have some really dear memories from the time that I was lucky enough to work with Ryuichi Sakamoto, in collaboration with the Bang on a Can All-Stars. It was super wonderful to be immersed in his music again with the All-Stars via Ken Thomson’s beautiful arrangement of ‘1996,’ and amazing to connect with some people who were close with Sakamoto during his life following the performance. (Sidenote:  Los Angeles, what grows in you that I am so allergic to?!)

• Recent discoveries:  1) tents can be cozy  2) digital disconnection is impossible to overvalue  3) solving long-brewing notation conundrums can be facilitated by 1) and 2)

• I’m so pleased that Manhattan School of Music will be presenting a concert in memory of my dearly departed teacher, Philip Kawin. I’m pleased and honored to be performing alongside classmates, colleagues, and old studio buds on September 30. More info here 

• I recently walked past the gallery where I picked up a physical copy of ‘The Brooklyn Rail’ a few months ago that included my article recounting last year’s strike by faculty at Manhattan School of Music, with further musings on what organized labor and arts workers can (and should) learn from each other. I don’t often have the time to undertake big writing projects, but it was nice to be reminded of this piece, which I am so happy to have had published .

• Recent (to me) great reads: ‘Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade’ (Justin Spring) ; ‘The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World’ (Robin Wall Kimmerer) 

• Recent (to me) great follows:  Yoshi Weinberg’s Substack ‘Queerflöte’ ; fiftyplusone.news ; peoples_songs (IG)

• Recent meditation: ‘While performing and listening to gradual musical processes one can participate in a particularly liberating and impersonal kind of ritual. Focusing in on the musical process makes possible that shift of attention away from he and she and you and me outwards towards it.’ — Reich, ‘Music as a Gradual Process’

 

Wishing you all a glorious end of Summer! 

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DF