My month at Civitella was extraordinary. The studio, library, the unexpected camaraderie between the artists and staff, and the delicious food promoted a wonderful balance of work and play. Not having a pressing composing deadline, I used my time to research a brand new system of microphones imbedded into the fingerboard of my bass which facilitate a new set of microtonal, timbre possibilities and future compositional realizations. The recording equipment and music software in the music studio were ideal for various experiments. The last week of my residency my family arrived from New York and I could share with them the largesse of Civitella.

Unexpected were the collaboration with Jorge Macchi and the short solo piece that was inspired by a scene in Yvonne Vera’s powerful and poignant book, “The Stone Virgins.”