well, I was informed that I hadn't update my blog yet today, so I feel it is my responsibility to do so-such that my faithful readers will have something to read.
1) I finished my ensemble piece.... now I need to name it...something I hadn't thought about... but yes, suggestions are open. The over/underlying concept of the piece is that the most important part of performing this piece is listening to the ensemble around you. It is through this listening that decisions are made in terms of what, how and when to play the excerpts which are written on the part. One of the things that I'm excited to learn about the piece(which will only be revealed upon an ensemble's first performance of the piece) is whether the listening aspect will have an effect on how the instruments play their solo excerpt at the end of the piece. The solo excerpts are written idiomatically for each instrument, but they will have heard it many times played in different ways, it will be interesting to see if the soloists will play according to what is idiomatic to their instrument, or according to what they have heard..
Suggestions for a clever title are welcomed!
I will be working on the Performance/Notation notes to make sure that everything about the form and performance of the piece are explained clearly and concisely.

2) I went to the modern dance show last night put on by the Young Lungs Dance Exchange. It was a choreographic showcase for young choreographers in the city. It was wonderful to see such a variety of performances and presentations. It was also wonderful to see the dance/movement/choreographic styles of some of the dancers I work with or that I have jammed with. One of the things I was most excited about was seeing the dancer I will be working with for my recital doing the thing that we will be doing: musician/dancer improvisation.
I thought it was extrmely effective. I saw and felt the communication between the two of them,and I found that the simplicity of using one prop and a clever title was perfect. They called it "Selective Hearing" and the prop was an old-style telephone with an extremely long phone chord.
What I found to be very reassuring was the strong musicality of this particular dancer! There are so many aspects of that piece that I could go on for a while talking about, but I won't overdo it... Basically, they used some additive structures that I had been thinking of using as a good starting place for improv communication - this is basically when both participants are doing a repeated motive together and as time progresses, one or the other adds something to the motive and that is picked up and responded to by the other. It allows the participants as well as the audience cause-and-effect perspective of what is going on.
As with any show, there were parts that I really really liked and other parts that I liked less-so, but I was impressed overall with the effectiveness of the performances.
I encourage all of you to check out their website and keep track of what they have going on, lots of wonderful talent there!