http://rossgarren.com/news.html Ross Garren: News Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Sat, 19 May 2012 02:02:51 -0700 http://rossgarren.com/news.html#10
1) Smitty & Son (smittyandson.bandcamp.com) has begun a residency at the Highland Park Kitchen every Friday from 8-12. This gig has been super fun and I don't think I've ever played 4 hours of mostly instrumental blues duets before...a rare opportunity indeed! In other news, we've also filmed (but not yet posted) a video or two as part of the Street Piano LA project...but more on that soon...
2) I'm excited to be teaching at the Musician's Institute this quarter. I'll be trading keyboard instructorly duties with Russ Ferrante in the Fusion LPW. It's truly humbling as Russ (yellowjackets.com) has long been a hero of mine! If you're an MI student, I'll be teaching open counseling on Mondays from 2-4...come out!

that's it for now!]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#10 Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#9
Firstly, I'd like to share the humble debut release of Smitty & Son, a harmonica/keyboard duo project with keyboardist Sasha Smith. Over the last couple months Sasha and I have celebrated our mutual passion for old-school Americana-inspired music by playing, co-writing, and recording a batch of new music. It's been a really organic and relaxed process and I'm really proud of the spirit and unique, subtle sounds we've captured! Check the recording out at http://smittyandson.bandcamp.com/. Better yet, check out the recording and make a donation to the cause!

Secondly, I'm excited and honored to have been commissioned by the South Bay Chamber Music Society to write a piece for the Midnight Winds to be premiered in early 2013. This will be my second woodwind quintet and, after a prolonged period of exploring the composition of electronic music, I'm looking forward to applying my new found insights in an acoustic environment!

Thirdly, much is in the works or on the cusp of being completed...stay tuned!

Fourthly, as many of you have noted, my calendar has become utterly useless...i've put a moratorium on updating my calendar on this site in favor of regular Facebook posts---so if you're interested in seeing some shows, find me on Facebook!

-Ross]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#9 Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#8 http://rossgarren.com/news.html#8 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#7
Nick DePinna and my first duo record, "Expansions on Solo Piano", has officially been released! You may ask yourself how can a solo piano record be duo? Well, in short, we spent about two days recording me playing various material on keyboard and piano and then spent the next several months exploring ways to orchestrate, enhance, and re-imagine those original recordings through post-production techniques. That's where Nick really came in. For a more complete synopsis of the project, you can read the full liner notes at on the page appropriately titled "liner and other fun stuff". If you're so inclined, I'd be honored if you picked up your own copy of the record (digital download only!) at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/expansions-on-solo-piano/id430619597. We're both really proud of the record and would love to hear what you think of it. Please also note the wonderful contributions of Hitomi Oba, the only non-Garren to contribute to both of my records. Unbelievably talented, she supplied not only the fantastic sax work on my first record, but also the wonderful sketch that is featured on the cover of this album.]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#7 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#5
Though it''s been a busy and exciting 2011, I'm still working on wrapping up 2010! I just posted some samples from premieres from the last fall/winter; "Pantomime for Orchestra", my first recorded orchestral work (performed by the Symbiosis Chamber Orchestra) and "Falling Apart for Woodwind Quintet", an orchestration of a piece from my album Elision (performed by the Midnight Winds).

Also of note, my partner in crime Nick Depinna has posted a piece he wrote for me to perform on his [slated] 2012 release, "Music for Spaceports". You can check out "MFS terminal D" at www.myspace.com/nickdepinna. Watching him create this homage to Brian Eno was a great learning experience for me and exposed me to a number of exciting new (for me at least!) compositional and production possibilities.

Stay tuned for the release of my duo recording with Nick...it's currently being mastered by much missed Hans Bernhard in the land of Arcade Fire and should be ready in the next month or so.

Ross]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#5 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#4
On another note, I have recently been named "Composer in Residence" along with George N. Gianopoulos by the exciting new LA-based concert music ensemble, Symbiosis. This was an unexpected development and has been a great context for the creation and debut of new concert works. The ensemble recently premiered a woodwind quintet of mine and will (hopefully) be premiering my first work for orchestra in the next couple of months, an orchestration of my composition, "Pantomime", for chamber orchestra and clarinet soloist (written for the great clarinetist John Tegmeyer).]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#4 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#3 A great tune by Nick Depinna!]]> http://rossgarren.com/news.html#3 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#2 http://rossgarren.com/news.html#2 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News http://rossgarren.com/news.html#1 http://rossgarren.com/news.html#1 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700 rossgarren.com - Ross Garren - News