- ARCHIVE / Uncategorized
- “There’s this string”
My setting of Matthew Thorburn’s excellent poem premiered at the Firehouse Space festival in Brooklyn last spring. Time to set it free. Before you listen, give his work a read. There’s This String Thanks to Matthew for his kind permission, to J.D. Marsters for the mix, and to my friend Jenna Cardinale for pointing the way.
- “Beluga”
An article in Current Biology includes a recording of a captive beluga whale mimicking human speech. Recently the recording has received a great deal of press attention. I like to think he was singing. Beluga The whale’s name was Noc. He was captured in 1977 and entered into the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program in San Diego. He [...]
- The Quinceañera
My new choral work The Quinceañera premiered May 11 by Grace and Spiritus Chorale of Brooklyn, under the direction of Jason Asbury. I’ve had the pleasure of accompanying this group for the past year. Grace and Spiritus has a commendable record of new music commissions, and it’s an honor to be included among them. The 13-minute [...]
- The Bridge Project – RICHARD III
I’m thrilled to be working with Mark Bennett again as Associate Composer. Fellow Northwestern alumnus Curtis Moore is Music Coordinator and Director. The Bridge Project is a co-production of London’s The Old Vic, Brooklyn’s BAM and Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions. Richard III opens at The Old Vic and tours Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Spain’s [...]
- DRIVING MISS DAISY on Broadway
I’m associate composer, and it’s a great pleasure to work again with composer Mark Bennett (A Steady Rain, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Coast of Utopia.) Starring Vanessa Redgrave, James Earl Jones, and Boyd Gaines, this is the first-ever Broadway production of Alfred Uhry’s iconic play. David Esbjornson directs. Sound design is by Christopher Cronin. [...]
- TWELFTH NIGHT in Central Park
I join the first play of this NYC summer tradition as rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for a star-studded cast, including Anne Hathaway as Viola, Audra McDonald as Olivia, Raúl Esparza as Orsino, and David Pittu as dear Feste. Daniel Sullivan directs and music is by NYC folk-rock band Hem.
- Durang’s WHY TORTURE IS WRONG, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM
I join composer Mark Bennett (Coast of Utopia, The Bridge Project) as associate composer and co-arranger on Christopher Durang’s new comedy, Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them, premiering at The Public Theater on April 6. Nicholas Martin directs, sound design by Drew Levy, scenic design by David Korins, costume design by [...]
- “Oil”
Lyrics by the multitalented Kurt Larsen.matthew-henning-oil
- Broadway Debut
I made my Broadway debut onstage this weekend in Passing Strange. This is a first for me – costumes, props, spoken lines, acting. It’s fabulous fun, and icing on the cake after the intense rehearsal and prep period. The show is getting great reviews & looks to be in the running for several Tonys. Kathie [...]
- Discordia Music
I’m doing engraving work for Discordia Music, Inc., a publisher of music for the double bass. Founded by CSO bassist Michael Hovnanian and David Cardon (aka my better half), Discordia is taking its bestsellers into second editions and relaunching its website soon. Of course, music is no longer engraved on waxed metal plates with a [...]
- PASSING STRANGE – On Broadway!
I’ve been hired as Transcription and Music Consultant for the Broadway run of Passing Strange, which opens at the Belasco Theater Febuary 28th. Book & lyrics are by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Onstage with the fabulous cast are Christian Cassan on drums, Jon Spurney (Hedwig, The Daily Show) on keys and guitar, [...]
- American Ballet Theater’s THE NUTCRACKER
My friend Curtis Moore and I are doing synth programming for The Nutcracker, December 18-23 at the Kennedy Center. Just when I thought it was safe to sell my SCSI CD-ROM drives…
- “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for the MTV Crowd”
How to be a Kid is a children’s series created by and starring fellow DePauw alum Jack Stahlmann, who asked me to write and produce music for the pilot episode. Aimed at the underserved 8- to 11-year-old demographic, HTBAK teaches problem-solving skills in real-life situations like schoolyard bullies and test-taking. Joe Raposo is one of [...]
- FROST/NIXON
Ron Howard’s film adaptation of Peter Morgan’s fascinating play will open sometime in 2008. I was brought in as a piano coach for Frank Langella here in New York. President Nixon was a piano player. And composer. Oh yes.
- PASSING STRANGE
The Public Theater has hired me to transcribe Passing Strange. I saw the show earlier this summer (the night of the Tony Awards) and enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s a most unusual show, and now I get to write it down! These are musical ideas which have never needed paper for transmission. There are no charts, [...]
- “Bible Study”
Like so many musicians, my first exposure to practical musicmaking was not in school but in church. The ensemble was several guitars, an Omnichord, a piano. Occasionally older kids in the parochial wind band would bring their horns. We’d sway to the post-Vatican II treacle of Carey Landry, Dan Schutte, and Marty Haugen. We’d sway [...]
- “The phone… the phone is ring-ing…”
I’m working as MIDI Synthesist for Season #2 of Nick Jr.’s The Wonderpets! Wall-to-wall music and a roster of highly regarded composers and orchestrators doing the installation. I sequence the full orchestration to picture for review. As in, fake orchestra. Then we record 10 strings, brass & wood players on the first chairs & pull [...]
- The Wizard Returns
And so the Help Wizard returns to The Houston Museum of Natural Science – just in time to save Earth’s energy sources from the greedy little green monster from outer space, Blackout Bart. The chase is projected onto a huge hemispherical screen. Viewers zoom by undersea oil wells, wind farms, coal mines, nuclear cooling towers, [...]