I've had three works (with more to follow I hope) accepted for publication by Wirripang, who specialise in Australian composers. As you can imagine, I'm very pleased by this, especially as they use an anonymous peer review process to decide on whether to sign a composer or not. There are some illustrious Australian names in their list (Colin Brumby, Houston Dunleavy and Margaret Sutherland to name just three), so it's nice to bask in a bit of reflected glory.

The three initial works to be published by them are:

• Four Haiku - a song cycle for high/medium voice and piano
• Lazarus in Ilium - for wind quintet and piano
• The Undone Years (Fire) - for tenor sax, strings, piano and timpani

This means that the Lulu score of 'the Undone Years' will be withdrawn. I mentioned in an earlier post that while I was abandoning the on-line store, and making scores more readily available, acceptance of works by a publisher would mean you would have to go to them.

What can you do to improve a "classic" sound? Add a tuba!

The "classic" wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon) has been with us since the late 1700's, and despite a quiet period in the later part of the 19th century and early 20th, is now a popular ensemble with a growing repertoire. I've played in this sort of group on and off over the years. Add a tuba and you get a rich bass, and something to partner the horn in sound.

A local tuba player, Per Forsberg, has been promoting this ensemble for a little while now and I was asked to write something for them. Today I had the pleasure to hear a workshop of "Merry-Go-Round", a carousel-like waltz. It follows a classic form of sections, but is a "harmonious" 12-note piece, based on the row in Berg's Violin Concerto. Also, each statement of the row is a semitone lower than its predecessor, yielding a "big form" that interacts with the "small form".

It's been a challenge to write a work in a lighter style but using a "serious" methodology.