December 18 - Last Day First Day

Up early again to grade papers, but forget iPod, so dispense with the breakfast outing (no protection against muzak and loud cellphone and other conversers), and directly to school, where all three classrooms are exam'd and the lab's security system is experiencing opposite day. The only solution seems to be to head to the office, shared with Rory (who mentions in passing that his favorite Renaissance composer is Ciprano de Rore...), turns out to be a pleasant experience, triggering Baroque music off of markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com (in preparation for the St. Mary's gig next semester) and doing grades on the laptop.



[James, Desiree, Ken W., Daniel]

It's the second final exam and our final time in Theory -- all of our survivors make it, including Dustin (who zips through a two-day test in one), and we are

Desiree Abad
Francisco Arcila
Hiraoki Asakawa

Sheyda Bahramian
Carissa Beck
Danny Butler

Neill Castro
Daniel Ciurlizza
Matthew Cooper

Ben Dashley
Andrew Flesher

Jamison Leggett
Luis Lobos

Nate Ma
Dustin Marks
Ken Medlen
Jonathon McCollum
Megan Mui

James Parton
Sean Paulson

John Veitch
Ken Wilcox
Seth Zimmerman



[Seth, John, Sean, Carissa, James, Desiree, Ken W., Daniel]

-- 23 in all! Some sort of record (and two with perfect attendance/participation: Carissa and John).


[Sheyda, Jamison, Nate, Neill, Dustin, Luis, John)

The two hours are devoted to finishing up the written exam, then presenting the remaining fourth compositions, and all the fifths -- the latter which must be presented by students (in either live performances or via recordings). These include Desiree and Daniel's colaboration (respectively on guitar and piano in several photos above) -- a funny and moving Goodby Music Theory Class, including

I really like Do Re Mi
But I didn't like the Fi Si
Or the C Section (in the 12-bar blues)


[John, Seth, Sheyda, Luis, Sean]

-- and John's Lament for Alburger's Class ("Alburger said I should play my own piece so I did"),



[Francisco, Megan, Ben, Ken M., Andrew, Jonathon]

which mirthfully combines elaborate extended melismatic cantillation and minimalist drone --



[Francisco, Megan, Ken M., Andrew, Ben, Jonathon, Daniel, Hiraoki, Desiree]

both pieces, as well as all the others, to very positive response.



[John, Ken M., Andrew]

So, farewell,



[Ken M., Andrew, Megan, Neill, Danny, Matthew, Desiree, Daniel, Dustin, Francisco, Sheyda, 12/11]

Music Theoreticians --



[Neill, Danny, Matthew, Desiree, Daniel, Dustin, Francisco, Sheyda, Seth, Carissa, Luis, Jamison, James, Sean, Nate]

but keep in touch!



Home thereafter, finishing orchestration of Samson and Delilah: XI. Dagon -- hopefully having nothing to do with our reality...

November 19 - The Approaching Fog

A couple of more pages orchestrated for Joshua Fought the Battle: II. Shall We Gather, and record a portion at the lab after class (last traditional teaching day -- finishing up Police King of Pain -- Quiz 14 tomorrow and students take over responsibilities come Monday). Owen and I hit upon a compromise plan (little do we know), then I take it on the road, through the Caldecott and Berkeley, south to San Mateo Bridge, over the Santa Cruz Mountains


to Half Moon Bay (here's a picture from last walk in vicinity -- it's dark this time around), gas not as low comparatively as last time, getting directionally thwarted and realizing that the trajectory is virtually identical to when John Beeman's house proved elusive.


At last I reach Marilyn Pratt whose house (with a non-illuminated street address, but fortunately big windows, through which I seredipidously glimpse her) turns our to be just down the street from John's. We record the rest of her Offstage Soprano parts in Mice Suites, Op. 68 (there she is above in rehearsal last August 17 at Chamber Arts with Maria Mikheyenko [Lennie] and Suzanna Mizell [Curley's Wife], on the laptop (including the erotic sounds of Dancesong, standing at a respectful distance in her guest bedroom [!]). Tea afterwards, and emailing Harriet, since phone battery is low, then blitzing home, well perhaps a mite con brio, at least that's what the law enforcer seems to think in the Presidio as the fog closes in on a very dark night.

September 20 - From Sky to Sky to Sky

Off to Sky's house in Berkeley for an Ophelia Forever rehearsal, under lowering stratus,



clearing enough to allow a walk thereafter in the East Bay Municipal Water Districts lands from the Briones Trailhead to the EBMUD Office (conveniently closed on the weekends),


looping back on San Pablo Road, with views of the lower east slopes of the Berkeley Hills,



then home, towards Mt. Diablo,



past Poverty Hills,


Lagoon Valley,


and the North Lagoon Mountains, for more orchestration of Abraham and Isaac: XI. The Sacrifice (with an angelic voice in the heavens) -- to page 54.

August 25 - Perfect Day

A seemingly perfect day in the Berkeley Hills, looking towards Mt. Diablo, and everywhere, beginning with merriment with Harriet and teaching interval numbers, qualities, number inversions, and bass cleff in Theory off of the markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com site.


Then it's off to Cal to try to track down full score of Igor Stravinsky's Abraham and Isaac, which the U.C. Davis computer had cited as extant there last week, but first via the East Bay Municipal Water District Lands (with their ungainly acronym of EBMUD, including San Pablo and Briones Reservoirs) to pick up a still-10-buck one-year trail permit, not held since 2004 (not as good access as the free Marin MMWD lands, but infinitely better than the closed Peninsular district),


jumping over the hills on Grizzly Peak Boulevard, the views to San Francisco and the Golden Gate.


Park near palatial housing near International House and foot it down Bancroft to the new Music Library


(adjacent to the Music Building and Sather Tower). After some wandering through the labyrinths of genre (how one yearns for alphabetical by composer and then by title....), find the score, pay mildly ruinous rates for yet another speciality copy card and copies, and begin making the way home -- back up Claremont Canyon, down on Fish Ranch Road (love that name, imagine cowboys riding carp), merging with 24, Pleasant Hill / Taylor Boulevards, 680, Suisun Valley / Waterman Roads, I-80 -- rather a circuituous trafic-riven route today.




Finish orchestration of Israel in Trouble: II. Esau was a cunning hunter -- total of 19 pages in the selection (a contemporary continuo of bassoon, tuba, guitar, piano, cello, bass + plus horn and trombone obligati),



plus one page beginning instumentation of Abraham and Isaac (the dark Call, with hocketing hushed vocal triplets outlining F# "do-sol, te-fa, sol" then echoes in "sol" duplets), against pedal octave lowest A's (O.K., melody could be re-interpreted as "la-mi, sol-re, mi") and rich Britten/WarRequiemesque romantic appoggiatura chords.


Also design with Harriet, flyer for September 2008, which will additionally be posted at markalburgerevents.blogspot.com.

July 19 - Mercy, Mercy

Return again, again, to DVC, the one errant MIDI file transferred to the laptop from the desktop via wireless before even heading to school, then placed in school computer via CD burn, recording the last of the instrumental version of Mice Suite No. 1-3. More wrestling with the Triton, which initially doesn't initialize on seemingly any of the lab's computers (at least not the PC's adjecent and across the room from my favorite or the Mac across from station), then finally does (realize that nothing has probably changed since yesterday -- no classes taught, etc., so whatever way I stumbled into yesterday solving this problem eventually occurs again today). After all this, also record a provisional vocal version of same (the mercy-kiling of Lennie -- finale to entire opera), and am moved, right out the door to Mt. Diablo in the evening light, and


sunset over the Sulfur Springs Mountains.

June 23 - The Fiery Devil on the Whole

Running a bit late today (comparatively speaking -- still early for class nonetheless -- actually every day after the first have been incrementally later, such that a half-hour before start is more like 15 minutes), and upon arriving at parking lot, it is blocked off and we are diverted due to a "crime scene." Yes, the bomb scare several semesters back, but this is a new one. Park remotely, am now just 10 minutes from class start and notice (it's hard not to) that the relatively new police services building has had fire and a hole (at least one). Not that the building was much to look at anyway, but still, it was convenient, when needed. Hate mail from some parking-ticket-receiving flounder? Such can be frustrating, but moderation in all things, and from a purely local standpoint, glad the music building (only several stone's throws, depending on the thrower) was not affected.



Upon entering the hallowed hall, wonder if the internet connection is still up. Will there be obstacles today? But no, all works very well, and indeed this is the first day presenting material totally on the Music History bookblog (markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com), for which I'm grateful. Home in due time, putting up more material virtually each day as we go along (theory notation material and recorded examples), and, of course, producing another publication page of Mice and Men: Act II, Scene 2 -- now first page of section C.



Passing tropical scattered clouds (always looking like stowaways from Mexico or further afield) have produced lightning remotely (nothing within sight and/or sound) setting off wildfires (at least one close enough -- Napa, Highway 12 area, spine of the Vaca Mountains between there and Solano -- that the scent is in the air).

May 21 - Shoulda Coulda Noah Noah'ed

Ostensibly a day off, but more errands on campus, kind of an absurd ballet, but at least another opportunity for pictures around the grounds, including our own music building and magisterial Mt. Diablo.



Then back to the lab, recording more than half of instrumental short-score version of The Flood ("Noah, Noah"), with lots of sound effects -- hoping to post all in the next couple of weeks.

Before all of this, rehearse with Harriet and Tisha (who's just flown in with Claire for Sunday's show).



After, head to Marin to pick up Journals -- one last Celia's San Rafael for the semester, grading papers, then home in the setting sun, tempted by the hills, as always.