It's been great fun to dig back into Adam Gwon's wonderful "Ordinary Days" score! His lyrics are intelligent, witty and genuine, and his vocal writing runs the gamut from lively patter songs to heartfelt ballads. He's part of a new generation of musical theater composers who are creating a bevy of "small-scale" musicals that are scored solely for piano accompaniment. This means that my role at the keyboard is to provide both rhythmic and melodic support, in the absence of bass and drums! It's a fun challenge to continually experiment with what is needed at any given moment, and adjust the balance of my playing accordingly. The acoustic in the new studio space is fantastic! The grand piano fills the room with almost an orchestral richness, and the clean lines and hard surfaces of the studio enable the singers to explore a dynamic range from a whisper to full-throated lyricism and be both heard and understood. It's been thrilling to hear Doug, Keri and Max combine for the ensemble numbers, and now that Jill Anna has joined us, we'll have the FULL quartet sound!
