Back in 1974, at Oberlin College, Herbert Blau led a group of students in developing a production about the ill-fated Donner Party. The cast was a promising one, including Bill Irwin and Michael O’Connor, with whom I toured for years in The Regard of Flight. I was a composition student at the time, and contributed […]
Entries Tagged as '*Music'
“The Donner Party” at the University of North Texas
February 23rd, 2024 · No Comments
Tags: *Music · *Songs · *Stage · D
Iffiness in the Offing
January 9th, 2024 · No Comments
Some free-flowing piano music…
Tags: *Music · *Music for Keyboard · I
The Terrier’s Christmas
December 20th, 2023 · No Comments
Once again, Meg Reichardt assembled a group of musicians in Brooklyn to record a holiday album. I sent in my song from upstate, and called in Brian Dewan to record it. It’s called “The Terrier’s Christmas,” and gives a canine perspective on the holidays. My fellow contributors are Kurt Hoffman, Meg Reichardt, Tisha Pryor, Brian […]
BEDBAG
November 6th, 2023 · No Comments
For the magazine Bed Bug, this variation: a canon on the letters BEDBAG.
Bed Bug: A Magazine of the Arts
October 29th, 2023 · No Comments
Bed Bug: A Magazine of the Arts is now available from Black Scat Books! Here’s the description from its editor, Norman Conquest: As the world comes to an end, and the bed bug infestation spreads from France throughout Europe, it is time for a journal devoted to infestation, invasion, and chaos. Featuring works by Alphonse […]
Symposium at Lily Dale, 2023
July 24th, 2023 · 2 Comments
I’ll perform some historical musical oddities, drawn from my upcoming book Music from Elsewhere, at the symposium at Lily Dale, NY, July 27-29. The conference is organized by Shannon Taggart, and includes presentations on art, the paranormal, and the history of Spiritualism by Phil Ford, J. F. Martel, Amy Hale, Emily Hanger, Charles and Penelope […]
Zolla di Zucchero
May 29th, 2023 · 2 Comments
Some fairly lush piano music, based on the major sixth chord (or minor seventh chord) in various inversions. According to the composer and music historian Alec Wilder, the major sixth chord has a “compelling power,” so here’s a string of them.
An Afternoon in the Arboretum
March 20th, 2023 · No Comments
An Afternoon in the Arboretum is now available on Bandcamp! This album contains solely instrumental music, mostly for keyboard, from as early as 1976 to as late as 2022. All selections were composed and performed by Doug Skinner, and recorded and mixed by Brian Dewan: An Afternoon in the Arboretum (2020) Radio Valentine (1976) Ulterior […]
Kerf
February 28th, 2023 · Comments Off on Kerf
A piano piece, all in the middle octave of the keyboard: G3 to G4, extended briefly to F#3 to G#4 every ninth measure.
The Gibsonetto Song
February 14th, 2023 · Comments Off on The Gibsonetto Song
In this song from “Doug and Mike’s Adult Entertainment,” I gave the recipe for our signature cocktail, the Gibsonetto, while Michael Smith followed the directions. It was a Gibson made with Amaretto instead of gin; in the puppet show that followed, Doug and Mike explained to their horrified guests that “it’s really not that sweet.”