Today, an extra post from Luther composition student Ben Davidson, one of the four IMFA composers: Today was the first day of IMFA! After we had a breakfast of yogurt, espresso, cereal, fresh rolls and fruit, we sang a short, fun piece in cannon by William Byrd. It took us a few tries to learn the whole thing, but it sounded gorgeous when we finally got it! Afterwards, we split into individual groups for seminars — the string players went with Dr. Martin and Dr. Belknap, the vocalists with Dr.... Read The Rest →

Today I arrived in Duino, Italy, for the start of the International Music Festival of the Adriatic. In addition to myself, five other faculty are teaching this summer, including Spencer Martin (viola), Monte Belknap (violin), Stefano Sacher (composition), Andrew Whitfield (voice), and Jessica Paul (piano). My own journey to this corner of Italy was rather arduous. We started with a 2.5 hour car trip at 6 am to Minneapolis, followed by a 2.5 hour flight to Washington, DC, where my wife and son were picked up by grandparents who whisked... Read The Rest →