We've just begun the new season. For me, it's finally beginning to feel comfortable, as in the last two years most of what I've been doing is playing catchup and learning repertoire that the group collectively has already learned. The end of the season and the beginning of the season are both times that seem to inspire reflection. I can say with impunity that we have grown immeasurably as a group, both in our playing and our understanding of what it takes to make three (often very different) personalities and attitudes work harmoniously.
Our largest project this year is the completion (finally finally!) of our debut cd, which will have been three and a half years in the making. It has changed form more than a few times in the past 12 months, morphing in rep from a program we would actually play now (standards interspersed with commissions) to one completely of commissions. It's difficult to believe that we will see a physical product in the next year, but as we now have all the music in our hot little hands, it is actually happening.
This adventure has been uncharted territory for all three of us, beginning with funding and moving through to rep, a real label (New Amsterdam Records!), more funding, the recording process (much more difficult with three perfectionists), the editing process, and packaging, promoting and release. (whew.) With so many cds on the market, one thinks that the process would be easier, and maybe it will be with every successive cd we put out, but it has been a pretty steep learning curve for all three of us.
In the next three months we have lots of music to learn, most notably an entire program of composers attending Princeton. After that, there's a hibernation period to lock down this cd rep, and then a number of out-of-town programs in the spring.
