So, I was thinking about the last time I've had a new piece performed for the first time, and I honestly don't remember when the last premiere was. It's been at least 2 years, maybe even 3! I can hardly believe it - I've been very busy over the last few years, but mostly with teaching, and all of the performances of my music have been older pieces. Now, I am very excited to finally share three brand new pieces with the world, and it's all happening within one week! First, the Illinois State Saxophone Ensemble, led by Dr. Paul Nolen, is going to premiere a new piece, "Prestidigitations," on March 11, at the NASA Conference at Texas Tech University. Unfortunately I won't be able to go, because I will be making my way to Chadron State College in Nebraska to attend the premiere of two piano pieces, Gravitons and Neutrinos, by Brooks Hafey, on March 14th. Brooks and I went to FSU together, and he asked me to write a piece for him a couple of years ago. It took me a while but I finished "Gravitons" in 2014, and... long story short, we both ended up moving for new jobs, and the performance was delayed. In the meantime, I decided to continue the theme with another piece based on quantum particles, and wrote "Neutrinos" last year. So now Brooks has two new pieces to perform as part of a program including other music inspired by outer space and the cosmos. I can't wait to finally put some new music out there for the first time again, and I'm so excited to hear the interpretation that Brooks and the ISU Saxophone ensemble bring to the music!