With the holidays coming up, I am immensely looking forward to a trip home soon, which will include attending The Esoterics’ performances of my pieces “O God, Thy sea is so great…” and “We Walked through the Trees.” Having worked with The Esoterics before on my piece “Uprooted,” I can’t wait to be with the group, hear them perform and experience Eric’s visionary programming again. The concert is titled “Humility,” and it is the culmination of The Esoterics’ 2019 season which has featured other concert themes such as Vulnerability, Inclusivity and Honesty. The program also includes works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Dale Trumbore, and my fellow Polyphonos winner Anna-Karin Klockar. The concert will be performed at:

• St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Seattle: 13 December at 8 pm

• Holy Rosary Church, West Seattle: 14 December at 8 pm

• Christ Episcopal Church, Tacoma: 15 December at 7 pm

Also on the 13th and 15th, SACRA/PROFANA will be performing my “Mater Dei” on their holiday concerts. The concert features original works and arrangements of ancient hymns entirely by living composers including Brandon Waddles, Mari Esabel Valverde, and Eric William Barnum. This group did a stunning job premiering my piece “The Devil’s Tower” last March, and I’ve been working with their lovely director Juan Acosta on a new commission for his church choir for this upcoming Easter. Concerts are on Friday the 13th at First Unitarian Universalist Church, San Diego at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday the 15th at San Marcos Lutheran Church, San Marcos at 4 pm.

East Coasters can also catch my “Brightest and Best” at St. Thomas' Church, Whitemarsh in the Philadelphia area with Michael Smith and the Church Choir at their Nine Lessons and Carols service on the 15th of December, and in Sunday morning service on the 4th Sunday of Advent (the 22nd). Londoners can hear The Gesualdo Six perform with the Brodsky Quartet at Kings Place, London (90 York Way, N1) on 20 December at 7:30 pm, where the program will include my “My Heart is Like a Singing Bird.”