Tuesday, March 9, 2010

new blog location

I've now moved my blog to a personal website: RevRicky.com. Click on "blog" from the menu on the welcome page. You will be able to comment on blog posts, subscribe with an RSS feed, and search posts for key words.

I took it as a Lenten exercise this year to learn a new website creation software, and to reconstruct my personal website. I'm using the iWeb software from Apple. I've now got the site up and running. I'll be posting sermons and prayers on my website as well as blog entries.

Come visit.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

February music

I made a new year’s resolution this year to write a new piece of music every month. Before I became a minister I worked in Human Resources with AIDS Project Los Angeles. And before that I was a composer. I was part of a composer’s writing/performing group called Lo Cal Composers Ensemble. We put on concerts of our own music several times a year in venues all around Los Angeles. I worked at a bookstore, too, to pay the bills. My undergraduate degree is in music composition from Cal Arts.

But I hadn’t been doing much composing in recent years and I realized that writing music was still an important part of my identity. So I made a resolution to make time for composing this year.

My January music was for solo piano. For February I had planned to write a piano/cello duet. But then I got inspired to write a song for tenor and piano. The text was written by a schizophrenic man who attends my Los Angeles church and sings in our choir. He had written a description of what’s going on in his world. It was so strange, and sad, and beautiful. Full of paranoia, but also tender. I set it to music.

If I can figure out how to post an mp3 here I’ll share it with you.