News

LOTS of catching up to do! (May, 2023)

It has been a verrrrrry long time since I've updated here. Like as in: I've moved to a new city (4 years ago), have survived the pandemic (mostly...), and am composing MUCH more actively. Here's the quick version:

2019: I resigned from my 'Dream Job' at Wausau West High School, because my wife (Dr. King) accepted a new job in La Crosse, WI. We moved there in June, and I became a stay-at-home dad again for the most part. It was difficult, but to this day I have no regrets; it was 100% the right move for our family.

2020: yeah....'nuff said.

2021: I got back in the compositional game again when I was asked to revoice My Soul Is Awakened for SSAA. I did, it worked, and was performed by 2 choirs in the fall of 2021. 

2021, later on: I finally finished a piece I had started way back in 2014, The Day is Done, for SSAA a cappella. It was cathartic in many ways.

Also 2021: my older brother, Brian, passed away from Covid in November. He was 53. He was perhaps my biggest champion and encourager, and we collaborated on Noel back in 2006. He had a great brain for music theory, and was always there to help me flesh out an idea, and refine and edit things. I miss him a lot. Every day.

2022: I started to prioritize my composition work again, taking up older pieces that were only partially complete.

2023: The Day is Done got its premiere, on March 26, 2023! Link to video

I think that catches things up nicely. :)

NEW! Scores available now through JW Pepper!

Hello again! I've begun uploading a few scores to the JW Pepper website, where they can be purchased directly for both paper copies and digital delivery. Just search my name. Currently, I have Modern Courtship and I Heard A Bird Sing available, and will be adding more scores soon. You can also find My Soul Is Awakened (published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing) that way.

2nd 24 Hour Arts Challenge a Success!

For the second time, I completed a piece overnight for the University of Wisconsin - Marathon County's 24 Hour Arts Challenge, February 24-25, 2017. This year the theme was 'Welcome Home,' and I had a harder time finding a text to use. I ended up using some fragments I found via Pinterest and Instagram, and the result was Home Is Where The Heart Is. I finished it by 10:00 am, and a volunteer choir (directed by my friend, Dr. Tim Buchholz) was able to rehearse it for a few hours that afternoon before presenting it that evening as part of the closing festival presentation.

It will be performed again by the UWMC Choir for their Mother's Day concert on Sunday, May 14, 2017. I will post a video soon! 

AUGUST 30, 2015 - UPDATE

And...we're back!

After a very long interval (as in months), this website is back up and running. I have no idea whether anyone missed it, but alas, here we are.

For me, as a composer, not a lot has happened since the site went down (late in 2014, I believe). This is because I have been directing all my professional energy toward my teaching position at Wausau West High School, where I went full time in the fall of 2014. It's a large, successful choral program with a rich history that I've 'inherited,' and the expectations are quite high. And after one year, things are still good. I'm finding that in selecting and preparing fine choral works, my composition brain is frequently being stimulated and utilized, though toward different ends than the creation of new pieces of my own, for the most part. But as I've experienced throughout my compositional career, there are always peaks and valleys of both inspiration and output.

Looking forward, I have one big...albeit short...event on the horizon, compositionally speaking. I will be participating in a 24 hour art and music festival at UW-Marathon County on October 23-24, 2015. For this unique event, I have been tasked with creating and presenting a new choral composition in less than 24 hours. I'll get a 'prompt' on Friday the 23rd at 7pm, and will need something for the choir to start rehearsing by about 9am on Saturday the 24th. There will be a performance at 7pm on the 24th! I'm really looking forward to it. It is going to be exciting, certainly...as well as anxiety inducing, stressful, and just possibly...joyous.

This opportunity came about as the brainchild of my friend Tim Buchholz, who is quickly developing 'visionary' status as a mover and a shaker. He is a dedicated music professional who really knows how to get things done and done well, and his enthusiasm is infectious. It is in no small part that I'm looking forward to this event simply because he is involved. I hope several of my students from West will participate as well.

Loss and Gain at UW-Marathon County - VIDEO

Loss and Gain, winner of the 2006 Wisconsin Choral Directors Association Choral Composition Competition, was performed May 12, 2013 by the UW-Marathon County Concert Choir at UWMC's beatiful Center for Civic Engagement in Wausau. Brad had an opportunity to work with the choir briefly while they were preparing the piece, and he was pleasantly surprised this week to receive a link to the video from their director, Tim Buchholz. You can find the video at the bottom of this page, and also on the music and video page.

Presenting at WCDA's Refresh! Conference

Brad will be participating in a panel discussion at "Refresh!", the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association's summer conference being held at UW-Green Bay on June 17, 2013, at 6:45 pm. The topic will be commissioning, and the relationship between conductors, composers, and teachers. Hope to see you there!

New Recording of Red, Red Rose, sung by Matthew Curtis

There's a new song on the player! It is a recording of Chanticleer alum Matthew Curtis singing all four parts of Brad's TTBB setting of the poem O My Luve's Like A Red, Red Rose, by Robert Burns. You can find it at the top of the playlist on the music and video page.

First-time Commission Project Yields April 7 Premier

St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, PA will present Give Thanks to the Lord on April 7, 2013. This piece was commissioned by Scott Drackley, organist and choirmaster at St. Christopher's, in honor of retiring Rev. William Wood. The text is based on Psalm 118. Scott contacted Brad through ChoralNet, and they corresponded via email to discuss the first-time commissions project. Look for a recording or video of the premier to be uploaded later this spring.

Full Fathom Five featured in ChoralNet's 'Composition Spotlight'

Each week, a different piece is featured on ChoralNet's front page. Brad's Full Fathom Five is this week's listing. Most of the Composition Spotlight reviews are written by Jack Senzig, who administrates the Composers of Choral Music Community on ChoralNet. Jack has been a key advocate of mine for many years, and in fact, his students are part of the choir captured in the live recording of FFF on the music and video page.

New First-time Commissions Project

Brad, along with nearly 30 other composers, have announced a unique new commissioning project targeted at choral groups that have never commissioned a new work before. The composers are offering to provide new works in exchange for quality recordings and a truly minimal fee. The project's sign-up period ends October 15, 2012. You can find complete details about this opportunity at ChoralNet: http://www.choralnet.org/view/384044. You can also contact Brad directly at brad@bradburrill.com, if you have questions.

New job at Wausau West High School

Brad has accepted a full-time teaching position at Wausau West High School and John Muir Middle School, both located in Wausau, WI. He will be teaching choir and general music, working with friends Phil Buch and Karen Zuidema, and looking forward to making many new friends as well. He also will continue to compose, so check back for future updates.

FULL FATHOM FIVE now available at ChoralNet's Composer Marketplace

You can now view a sample score and hear a recorded excerpt of Full Fathom Five at ChoralNet's Community of Choral Music Composers online Composer's Showcase. This site is an exciting new creation where choral composers can directly market their works to choral directors. Check out what's available. Here is the storefront - and here is the SATB page, where Full Fathom Five is located. You can still order a pdf from Brad of Full Fathom Five or any of his other works by using the Contact tab, too.

Update: WLC to premier new piece April 28, 2012

In addition to conducting the Wausau Lyric Choir in the spring of 2012, Brad will be premiering a new piece with the group. His setting of a text attributed to Mary Frye, Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep, will be premiered at the Saturday, April 28 concert at 7:30 pm, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Wausau, WI. It is scored for SATB a cappella choir and 3 soloists, and dedicated to the memory of Fred A. Washa, Tom Hill, and Bridgette N. Wegert. A second performance follows on Sunday, April 29, 3:00 pm.

Brad featured as ChoralNet’s Composer of the Month

Brad has been featured as the ChoralNet Composer of the Month for November, 2011. Read the full post here.

REMEMBER performed by Cantala, Lawrence University, Oct. 15, 2011

Brad to direct Wausau Lyric Choir, Spring 2012