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Dwight Stone

An Irish Blessing, written for Harmony (Rossmoor, Meriel Ennik, Dir.) released through PegasusPacificMusic.

Concert -- Piano solo, coming up! Sept. 9, 2011 at 7 pm in the Fireside Room at Rossmoor (first left off Golden Rain Road)
Classical in the first half; originals in the second half. Some with computer-generated imagery projected overhead. Will be très cool.

I wrote a letter to my brother Craig last week. He was asking what my 3 best works were. I guess he wants to be aware of what I've done and what I can do. So here's what I wrote (minor editing for the website):

When you first visit my website, it plays Pat, which I also really like. It's a new age piece for gtr & pfte, played by Peter Taucher and me.

An excerpt of one of the 5 movements of the 5 Cantos Sureños is Dambidú (Brace yourself for a LOUD excerpt!). I have a recording of the whole work here at home if you'd like to hear it sometime.

For the piano pieces, let me send you a copy of the CD The Light, as a CD can be played on a better sound system than a computer. In the meantime, another of the piano pieces which I really like, and the recording comes through okay on a computer, is April on Chilko Lake (Book IV) -- ice crystals and snowflakes afloat in the air... (2:58) .

More excerpts can be heard at Stone CDs

I'm sure this is way more than you asked for -- tmi, as in too much information!

One of the things I've run into is being too diverse. I've written some fine music for dressage, for choir, for piano, for brass ensemble, pop music (from rock to new age), for tpt & pfte, for soprano & pfte, and for flute & pfte. So it's hard to typify, or describe. And it's also harder for me to break in, and find the right niche. I frequently wind up explaining that my music sounds "original", which is true, once you get to know the harmonies and shifts I tend to evoke.

When you get the CD, listen to Whither Thou Goest, and I think you'll understand. I wrote it for a wedding in Grafendorf-bei-Hartberg in May, 2010. The couple was the daughter of an alto in the Singkreis Grafendorf and her fiancé. It's fairly mainstream (tame by comparison to some), but has some nice changes which are typical of my writing. Had a lot of fun doing that. :-)

And now, for good measure, I'll list some others which I feel are important:
Best song with lyric: Patti, Wait!
Best piece for flute and piano: Through the Mist
Best piece for harmonica and piano: Afternoon Reverie
Best gospel piece: He is the One
Best bit of scoring: Hawaii
Best song for Tenor and piano: Vocalise
Best piece for Men's chorus: Awake! Awake!
Best piece for Women's chorus: An Irish Blessing
Best piece of jazz: Can't Get Her Out of My Mind
Best pop arrangement: Downtown, the old Petula Clark hit from the '60s. :-)
Best rock piece: End-Zone Strut
Best (& only) Dixieland piece: The Ol' Dixie Stomp
Best piece for dressage (Kür - choreography) - Alanti -- Intermediaire
Best commercial demo: Toyota
Best rap song: Radical Rap: We Got the Power!
and amongst the piano pieces (now over 50):
Best academic piece: The Eternal Quest
& a 3-way tie for beauty in simplicity: Fair Youth, In the Garden, and The Light

& the bottom line would be, if you listen to just 1 piece, let it be Fanfare for Orchestra: 2010. (written 1987)

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"Be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi

(8 May, 2010) What a wonderful concert! The Singkreis Grafendorf outdid themselves! The repertoire was a mixture of Styrian Christmas carols (Es wird scho' gleich dumper"), classical Christmas carols ("Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen"), and arrangements I had sung in the States ("Carol of the Bells" from the Ukraine, "Carol of the Drum", "Infant Holy" from Poland), all in all a very enjoyable combination. 350 people in the Grafendorfer Hauptkirche, and all inspired. Favorites were "Ein Stern der Nacht" by Franz Peindl (arr. Stone), who also sang with us in the Bass section. And Birgit Traussnigg, Rupert's niece, who played harp beautifully, also with Helmut Fellerer on Steirischer Ziehharmonka - a fascinating instrument with wooden buttons in diagonal rows in lieu of a keyboard. Festivities ensued, Glühwein, hot tea, Strichbrot, and cookies were served on the Hauptplatz Grafendorf following the concert, with fires lit for warmth. Appropriate that it had snowed that day, and the night before. A wintry Christmas setting, like a Vermeer painting, enveloped the goings-on. A traditional festive dinner was served for the Choir at the Kirchenwirt next door.
Many thanks to all those who participated, to those who helped put the event on, and to those of you who came and enjoyed!.
The SKG is already looking forward to the concert next spring in the Schloss Kirchberg.

Der Singkreis Grafendorf hat ein Konzert diesen Sonntag, den 13. Dez. um 16 Uhr in der Kirche am Hauptplatz. (Ich dirigiere :-) Anschließend Getränke, Süßigkeiten, & Gemütlichkeit im Freien am Hauptplatz. Kommen Sie, und geniessen Sie es!

Christmas is on the way. We just had a fabulous Christmas concert here: "Abend der Ave Maria" with Nadja Fink, Soprano, and Irmgard Ederer, Flute.
View poster. I accompanied, and composed or arranged many of the pieces on the program. Clearly the biggest hit was the 3 Ave Marias from Bach/Gounod, Camille Saint-Saens, and Franz Schubert. Exquisitely performed by Nadja, who was in "super Stimme" that evening. Her voice is fine and clear, with just the right moderation of vibrato and warmth. What a fabulous evening. Oh! And the tuba! Yes, Robert Ederer played tuba on the Christmas carols at the end "In dulci jubilo" and others. What fun!
Full house, applause & encores, etc. Glühwein, cookies were served. People stayed on into the night. This is the type of success we aim to repeat!
Thank you to those of you who came, and we hope to see you again after the winter break. Concerts begin again in March.
In the meantime the Spiritual Cinema Circle is on the 3rd Friday of each month - next one is Dec. 18th here, at Ring 25, Hartberg.

Siegfried Koch and Dwight Stone presented a wonderful evening of music, Renaissance to contemporary, for trumpet, Siegfried Koch, and piano, Dwight Stone, including Baroque trumpet (Naturtrompete in German) and cornetto ("Zink" in German) in the Hartberg castle about the castle - in German, picture, on Sat., Oct. 24th, 2009. The Sparkassen-Rittersaal of the Harberg castle (Schloss Hartberg), the venue, is the old hall where in past centuries the knights gathered for meals, meetings and companionship. The halls were embellished with candles, the tables decked with red linens, and the fine Schimmel grand piano was put to good use by composer/pianist Dwight Stone in both the solo pieces, and the ensemble with Siegfried Koch, trumpet. The jazz pieces, including On the Prowl, A Romp in the Park and The Jounce were especially well-received. Also the Songs of Spring, a cycle on poems of William Blake, arranged for voice, trumpet and piano, were exquisitely sung by Nadja Fink, Soprano. The New World Suite for trumpet and piano features movements sublime -- Calling and Himmelwärts -- and energetic -- Yo! and Birds of Paradise was a favorite of some. The composer's favorite piece of the evening was Through the Mist excerpt.
Food and wine was served by Buschenschank Simmler. The evening was well-attended, with many neighbors and friends -- great to see you all! The press was represented by Radio Hartberg. Many thanks to those who helped, and especially Franz Peindl, who moderated the concert, offering interesting and pertinent points and lending the evening warmth and charm. Poster
Similar to the evening in Schloss Murau, which was very popular with the audience last August, the program began with baroque pieces for the Baroque trumpet, and ended with the Renaissance dances for cornetto ("Zink" in German) and Piano. New pieces included The Jounce, a bouncy, jazzy piece for trumpet and piano, and The Eternal Quest for piano solo. Many thanks to all of you who came!

We are setting up a concert "Art & Wine" in conjunction with Buschenschank Simmler for Sunday, June 20th, 2010. The featured artist will be Tim Welvaars, appearing with Dwight Stone. Tim Welvaars is a renowned Dutch chromatic harmonica virtuoso and composer. You have to hear him to get the concept of what a virtuoso is. Dazzling. Breath-taking. And deeply moving. This event gets 5 stars! Don't miss it! Previous Konzert + Buschenschank event!

Dwight played for nephew Emiliano Martinez' and to Meghan Cameron's wedding in Yountville. Napa Valley, CA. on Sept. 6th, 2009. All went beautifully (well-, not-to-say tightly! organized), and it was a great reunion time for the families. The music was appreciated by all, with many, many compliments. My favorite piece of those requested was Maybe I'm Amazed (McCartney). It has such cool modulations, and that great bass run from low C up to Bb -- a really nice piece. Afterwards pictures, champagne, dinner, dancing, etc., on into the night.

On August 23rd, Sigi Koch and Dwight Stone played Schloss; Murau. A fabulous event! Well-attended and well-received. The piano impressed me so much, a 2006 Schimmel grand, that I decided to open my portion of the program with several pieces by Chopin, including the Fantaisie-Impromptu. I must say, it sounded gorgeous on that piano in that hall. The "Zink" was also a huge hit. New songs in the line-up: Calling for trumpet and piano, and Feiertag, for piano solo. This concert sets the right pattern for what we'd like to do in Schloss Hartberg in October. The keeper of the castle, Herr Burgstaller, presented us with packs of Murauer Bier afterward, which was comical and a bit eccentric in such a setting and on such an evening, but very enjoyable nevertheless!

On Friday, August 14th AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) performed here in Hartberg as part of our Music Salon series at the Claddagh Ring Cultural Centre. The A.I.M.S. concert was a blast! We had four fabulous singers: Sarah Viola (Soprano), Andrea Leyton-Mange (Soprano), Edwin Cotton (Tenor), and Christian Teague (Bartione). Each performed two sets, with Dr. Charlene Harb at the piano. Mostly Italian arias, with some English, French and German sprinkled in. Fine voices, with great agility, technique and variety of repertoire! The setting was intimate, with the singers verbally setting the stage for their songs/arias. Afterward people stayed on for a light buffet dinner. Dwight had picked boysenberries earlier in the evening, which made for a delicious and popular dessert! An evening of Cuban music is being planned for next year around this time. One of the sidelights will be Dr. Gustavo Halley, who is authentically Cuban, doubling as cook!
Poster

Am 20. Juni spielte Peter Gabis im Perkussionskonzert (Plakat) im Salon vom Claddagh Ring Cultural Centre, Ring 25, Hartberg.

Wir haben gerade "das Fest der Gärten" gemacht (6-7 Juni), und letztens die "Gartenwanderung" Hartberg und Umgebung, am 13-14 Juni. Jazz in the Garden : Dwight hat Musik im Hof gespielt als die Leute den Garten besucht haben. Margrit hat die Gäste unterhalten, und Gartenführungen geleitet. Zum trinken und essen wurde geboten und genossen.

Am 27. Juni spielt Dwight für die Eröffnung des "Garten Bayer". Eigene Kompositionen (Synthesizer) im Garten am Abend. Soll ein Ereignis sein!

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