21
January 2016
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Guzheng concerto comes to Cape Cod

SILK ROAD-CONCERT GRAPHIC

I’m pleased to announce that Identity: Zhongshan Zhuang, the guzheng concerto which I wrote with Victor Cheng, recently added another US performance to its history. The Cape Symphony performed the concerto this past Saturday and Sunday, including it with a selection of pieces from or related to Asian cultures.

As with every performance of the concerto to date, Su Chang returned as soloist. The Cape Cod Times said, she “plucked the multi-stringed guzheng robustly, creating an alluring sound-world, her vibrato extracting a vocalist’s texture from the instrument”.

Our recording of the concerto is available on most digital music marketplaces, including Amazon and Apple Music/iTunes. Orchestras interested in performing the piece can visit Janen Music Publishing for more information.

27
January 2015
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The San Francisco Symphony to perform “Identity” guzheng concerto

San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year concert

The world-renowned San Francisco Symphony will perform Michael’s concerto for guzheng as part of a February Chinese New Year Concert. The concert will be conducted by Mei-Ann Chen, who also conducted the concerto last year with the Chicago Sinfonietta. Su Chang will join the Symphony as guzheng soloist.

The concert will be on February 21st, 2015. More information can be found here.

17
May 2013
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Cue of the Week: “Wizard Ops Tactics”

This week’s music selection is the main theme from the freshly-released iOS/Android game Wizard Ops Tactics.

The original Wizard Ops game was a frenetic action-shooter, whereas the successor is a turn-based tactical game. It features the characters and visuals, but completely different gameplay. This raised an interesting question: how to keep a sense of musical continuity between such different experiences?

This cue tackles that problem by reprising the original Wizard Ops theme (which you can hear in full sorcerous glory here) in a more stately, marchlike arrangement. It’s preceded by a slightly mysterious theme that’s unique to the Tactics universe, and recurs throughout the score.


(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

Wizard Ops Tactics
09
November 2016
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Guzheng concerto performed by China National Symphony Orchestra

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I’m very pleased that the Identity guzheng concerto will be performed by the China National Symphony Orchestra on November 13th in Beijing. The concerto will be included with a handful of other pieces for a concert celebrating the 150th birthday of Sun Yat-Sen. The CNSO had previously performed the concerto in 2011.

To use the piece’s full name, Identity: Zhongshan Zhuang is a concerto for guzheng and orchestra that I wrote with Chinese producer/composer Victor Cheng. Since 2010 we’ve been fortunate enough to see it performed many times both in the United States and China, including by prestigious ensembles like the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Sinfonietta.

Guzheng virtuoso Su Chang has been our soloist since the very first performance, and she’ll be returning once again for this concert.

If you’d like to hear the piece or are just curious what a guzheng sounds like, you can find the album on Amazon or iTunes. (It also appears to be available for streaming via Apple Music, but I can’t figure out how to link to it.)

16
May 2013
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“Wizard Ops Tactics” Released for iOS and Android

Tactical turn-based game Wizard Ops Tactics, a followup to Phyken Media’s 2011 shooter Wizard Ops: Part One, has been released for iOS and Android mobile platforms.

The game features a fantasy-themed orchestral score by Michael, combining musical elements from the prior game with many new themes and an overall pacing more suited to new game’s strategy genre.

The game is available on the iOS App Store and the major Android marketplaces.

 

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