Category: Reviews

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Pre-Orders for PRISMA Vol. 3 are Open!

My Dark Glass Sinfonia for symphony orchestra is the second track on this amazing album, coming out soon from Navona Records. And you can pre-order it now! 🙂

…Next comes Dark Glass Sinfonia by Sarah Wallin Huff, in which crumpled dissonances flower into exuberant tonality, capitalizing on the full dynamic range of the orchestra… In PRISMA VOL. 3, seven masters of this challenging artform rethink what a symphony orchestra is capable of, and in so doing, present their audience with a unique and gratifying musical experience.

Album Editorial Review
Pre-Order PRISMA Vol. 3 Today!
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“Legend Seekers” Awarded Silver in the GMAs

I was thrilled to discover this morning that my April 2019 album Legend Seekers won the Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the composer/composition category of the Global Music Awards!

I am so honored (and validated)!

If you haven’t already, go take a listen to Legend Seekers today! 

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Press Release: New Instrumental Album April Release

Legend Seekers, featuring the concerto for 6-string electric violin, “Leviathan of the Ancient Deep,” is planned to be released April 5!

Enjoy this official Press Release with info about “Leviathan…” and the rest of this adventurous album! Please share this pdf with anyone else you think might be interested in learning about Legend Seekers!

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Roland Cube Street EX

Only a few days ago, an amp I’ve been drooling over for a long time finally arrived! And I just had to share all the fun I’m having with it ?

All the effects that you hear in the video below are built-in. I’m sure they can also be combined, I just haven’t gotten the chance to play more with that yet… This amp also has the option of being battery powered, for those busking outings. And, speaking of busking, I was surprised to find how light and easy to carry it is!

I can control the output to save on power depending on the situation:

Output power is adjustable in three levels—Max (50 W), Normal (25 W), and Eco (10 W)—letting you optimize battery life for different performing situations.

One of the reasons I fell in love with this amp was the full power it offered (50 W)!! As an electric violinist, I’ve often found that I need a lot of wattage to be heard over orchestras and bands.

It has 4 independent channels, and there’s an 1/8 inch jack in which I can plug my iPhone to play with backing tracks or directly record into apps like (one of my currently favorite on-the-go recording apps) Spire.

Above all, I love how warm and natural the sound is as well as all the EQ control I have (as you can imagine, balancing the sound of 6 strings can be tricky). Enjoy taking a listen to my fooling around with the just-out-of-the-box Cube Street EX!

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#NewTuneThursday: Forgotten Melody

Welcome to #NewTuneThursday!

How apropos is it that our first new tune to show up this Thursday is “Forgotten Melody“? 😆

“Forgotten Melody” is very memorable with a sweet movement that progresses throughout the piece. (source)

Purchase this recording at http://cbttf.com/albums/parokeths-veil

This unassuming, little 3-minute work for solo violin and piano was originally composed in 2006 for a graduate school assignment. I jotted it down in only a week and then forgot about it! But during my work putting together Paroketh’s Veil for CBTTF Records, I realized it was an opportune time to “dust off” the old file, clean it up (add an improvisatory intro), and give it a real life. 🙂

Spoiler: I have plans to re-record this work with two very dear and talented friends of mine this Fall. My long-term sneaky plot is to eventually release it as part of a very exciting, full album release, featuring the ultimate recording of the 2008 electric violin concerto, “Leviathan of the Ancient Deep”! (Pro Tip: Be sure to subscribe as a Backstage Member to be the FIRST to receive the epic Concerto recording!!)

This charming little duet can be played by anyone with intermediate ability. Get the sheet music here! And stay tuned for our featured work next week…

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Voltra is a Must-See Music Service

I just came across this super interesting article from The Verge about an upcoming stream-to-own, online, music-store service: 

Voltra’s desktop and mobile players — currently in beta testing — are free to download. Any users with a Voltra account can choose to either buy songs immediately or try out a new song with Voltra’s “stream-to-own” feature….

…this model offers listeners a low-cost way to figure out if they enjoy a particular song while also ensuring that artists earn money off the songs that get played the most…

This emphasis on lasting storage contrasts with subscription-based streaming services, where canceling your account comes with the risk of losing personally curated playlists and listening history….
Voltra aims to strengthen two facets of this artist-listener relationship: If music ownership is Voltra’s priority for listeners, sufficient compensation is the company’s goal for artists…
…artists who sign up directly through Voltra would receive 100 percent of their earnings, since the company doesn’t deduct a commission from their song profits… It’s also free for artists to upload their music to Voltra’s store. Voltra — which is not ad-supported — earns additional revenue from its sale of Pro Features to artists, labels, and distributors for five to ten dollars a month, offering musicians additional perks like customizable sales reports or a public artist page on the Voltra site.
…a musician can earn 99 cents after only 10 streams on Voltra, compared to 226 streams on Spotify, 134 on Apple Music, and 146 on Google Play. Spotify’s average payout per stream reportedly ranges from $0.006 to $0.0084, which is split among the the music’s various “rights holders,” meaning that 226 streams would yield about $1.50, of which the artist would receive some portion.
“I feel like it’s weird that [Voltra’s business model] is novel,” Fragomeni says, “but I really believe that it’s possible to have a sustainable business with really cool premium services where the ultimate ethical objective is to try to have the artists be paid.”

I am SO getting my music on this service!! Check it out and support this amazing artist-listener-relationship tool!

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“Bohemian Rhapsody” for Sax Choir

Just saw the video from Cal Poly Pomona Music Sax Choir’s performance of my arrangement of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, under the direction of Lori Rosenbauer Huff! Soooo amazing! They made it sound soooo great!!!

I’m pretty sure I’ll be making an arrangement from my arrangement for string quartet and other groups soon… ? Want the Music? Get it here!

Enjoy the video from CPP’s performance here:

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Kudos to GoStrings.com!

I just wanted to send a quick shout out to GoStrings.com – I was thinking of them as it came time to reorder new strings for Flora… I love their Build Your Own Custom [Violin, Viola, Cello] Set option!! It’s so unique, and so smart! 

I’ve used this option for both Flora (my violin) and Minerva (my viola). I once took the time to compare prices between all the online retailers I’ve used in the past, or have had friends use, and, for the strings I need, the Build Your Own set at GoStrings is the cheapest option by far! Having me build my own custom set, they’re able to offer each string at a huge discount, so it ends up being way cheaper than going and buying each string on its own – which is the only other option when you don’t use all 4 of the same string. Plus, for my Flora, her favorite G, D, & A stings are super hard to find anywhere else, I’ve discovered… 

FYI, I also got my beautiful BAM case from them during an incredible sale they were offering!… 😉

I only have one request for GoStrings…that they set up a general returning guest option, for those of us who don’t have a Yahoo or aol account… ;-p

Go check them out! They’re great!

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Kesher #1’s first review!

Thank you, thank you to my dear and knowledgeable friend, Morgan Lazo, for the kind, stellar review of “Pursuit of Truth“!

In an America of the distant future, Janice Smith is a fairly ordinary thirteen year old girl with a decent life. Not too rich, not too poor, lives with her mother, with whom she is very close, and while not exceedingly popular, is comfortable socially. Her mother is a political activist who speaks out against the government’s monumental levels of control over the people. Social levels and travel restrictions mean that only the most wealthy and influential have any true free will or options for their lives. Unfortunately, this has gotten the attention of the wrong people. Janice comes home from school to find armed unknowns spiriting her mother away, and Janice must flee for her life and her freedom through a world where everything is monitored and it is unknown who can be trusted.

Janice’s journey is very exciting and without giving spoilers, all I can say is that the manner in which events progress is extremely well-orchestrated. Sarah Wallin-Huff has provided something that this book-lover finds only too rarely: a unique experience. That may not sound like the highest praise, but it is. Her world is very well-developed. The future tech is innovative and conceivable. This book is highly recommended, and I cannot wait for the next one to be released.

If you’ve read and enjoyed this book leave a review at Amazon and help spread the news about this little work of mine. 🙂

And, if you haven’t read it yet, consider getting a copy and giving it a try!

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