Music To Open Your Heart
These are the things that will help me
Play in Lithia Park for many years to come
Compose musical portraits
Create movies with beautiful music . . .
so that I may share boldly with the world.
New Cello Strings - $400 FUNDED!
These are the Perpetual Soloist Edition, Medium Gauge. I purchased my last set in 2020. I play a lot, and should buy a new set at least once a year, so I am long overdue for new strings.
If you can assist with a new set, it will be so appreciated!
Luis and Clark Carbon Fiber Cello - $7939
I had the pleasure of playing a Luis and Clark cello in Nashville in April of this year, when I was asked to play for the memorial service of my dear friend and musical brother, Mac Gayden. I discovered that their cellos are not only quite beautiful in terms of sound production, with a big warm sound from bottom to top, but also, in many ways, easier to play than my great wood cello, Flare, which was a gift from a friend, back in 2007, when I had made the strong commitment to make my full time life and living be all about making music. It has concerned me for a number of years now that, after long hours of sitting and playing in my spot in Lithia Park, my hands have become shaky and weary at times. I have consulted my doctor, a neurologist, a physical therapist, a naturopath, a myofascial release specialist, and through all those things developed a set of routines that hopefully will preserve my longevity as a cellist. The thought, however, of owning a cello that could be a complete game-changer in terms of its effect on my playing life, is very magnetic! I’d need a case for it, which is likely about $900, so we will call this investment about $9000 with shipping and everything.
Standup Cello Stand $1000
I have had the pleasure of visiting more than once via Zoom with this incredibly gifted and brilliant cellist and inventor, Emmanuel Feldman. He is not only a wonderful cellist and composer, he has designed a particular kind of endpin, called the Tekpin, which is easier on your back when you are playing, and more recently he has designed a stand that allows the cellist to stand while playing. This standup cello stand isn’t yet in production - he only has the prototype so far - but as you can see from this video, it is completely secure and adequate to play very complicated passages in a secure way standing up. He has promised that I will be able to order the first one off the production line. This is, again, an effort on my part to extend my longevity as a performer on the cello. One of the ongoing challenges of playing cello for long periods of time continuously is being crunched into a slouched position that does the opposite of what you want your body to do - to be open, free and flexible! If I were to guess, I would imagine this innovation alone could add several years to my ability to play regularly in the park.
New Virtual Instrument Library
Cinematic Studio Strings Sample Library for Film Scoring - $399 FUNDED!
Cinematic Studio Brass - $399
Berlin Woodwinds - $470
Synchron Percussion Bundle - $1525
Orange Tree Evolution Boutique Acoustic Guitars - $179
Time Macro - Orchestral Tools, A Temporal, Textural Orchestra - $415
Total Samples - $3387
I have been gradually, as my budget allows, accumulating sample libraries so that all sections of the orchestra can be represented in my music. But this turns out to be one of the biggest investments a composer can make in his toolkit. This whole section is a wish list of sample libraries that one of my favorite film scoring composers - Anne Kathryn-Dern - has recently recommended as basic to any good library of virtual instruments for film scoring. Since the very idea of creating a musical portrait for a person is to attempt to compose the movie soundtrack of their life, these are the kind of sounds I need to do my best work. And of course, being able to use the highest quality sounds for the movies I will be making is one of the best things I can do to ensure that the movie will be received as the professional quality work I want to put out into the world. So this whole wish list, or any part of it, would be a substantial upgrade to my current capabilities, changing the sonics, the lushness, the expressiveness of every new work I create.