Bill Douglas; Recent News

May 24, 2009
I just finished a quartet for flute, oboe, bassoon and piano, commissioned by 176 flutists, oboists and bassoonists. TrevCo Music (Trevco Music) has recently published my 'Songs and Dances for Flute, Bassoon and Piano' and "Celtic Spirit for Bassoon Quartet'.

My concerto for tabla and orchestra was premiered by the Boulder Philharmonic, with Rony Barrak on tabla on March 21. It was a huge success. It may also be played by any other hand drum or drumset and orchestra.

November 11, 2008
Eight of my most-liked songs (Begin Sweet World, Lullaby, Sweet Rain, Return to Inishmore, Infant Dreams, the Hills of Glencar, Morning Song, and Karuna) are now available in printed arrangements for piano and oboe (or flute or violin) and piano and bassoon (or cello) from TrevCo Music (Trevco Music). On the TrevCo website they are called 'Eight Easy Lyrical Pieces for Oboe and Piano' and 'Eight Easy Lyrical Pieces for Bassoon and Piano'. The printed music for my piano pieces 'Autumn Song', 'Azure', 'Elegy', 'Into the Twilight' and 'Prelude' is now available for digital download at musicnotes.com (www.musicnotes.com/).

The release of my new CD 'Dawn' has been delayed until later in 2009. I recently wrote a 3-movement piano sonata. The printed music and a recording of it are available directly from me. I recently wrote a 3-movement Divertimento for Two Bassoons (or Bassoon and Cello). It will be available soon from TrevCo Music. I am currently writing bassoon and oboe duets that will also soon be available from TrevCo Music. I arranged my piece 'Feast' for percussion ensemble and this version was recently premiered at the PASIC conference in Austin. It is published by Go Fish Music.

August 4, 2008
Welcome to the new Bill Douglas website! More additions and changes are on the way, so check back soon.

Here's a link to my new Facebook Artist page. You don't need to have a profile on Facebook to view my page or listen to full-length versions of some of my music, but if you already have a profile, becoming a fan is an easy way to stay informed about my new CDs and published music. If you don't already have a profile, it's easy to create one at Facebook. I also have an artist page at iLike, which is site devoted entirely to music. It's another place to keep track of my new CDs and published music and you don't need a profile to listen to clips of my songs and see the latest news. Click on this link to view my iLike Artist page.

I have recently written arrangements of some of my most-liked pieces from my recordings. You can see my printed music page for more details and to see what's currently available and where. I'm hoping to make more sheet music of mine available, so if you have questions or are interested in a particular piece of mine that you can't find, email me at billdouglas@comcast.net.

February 21, 2008
I'm working on a new CD with Ty Burhoe and Kai Eckardt. It will contain several new lyrical pieces of mine. It should be released in the fall.

I'm composing a new commissioned piece for flute, bassoon and piano. Last summer I composed a trio for oboe, clarinet and piano that is now published by TrevCo Music. Michele Fiala has released a new CD on MSR Classics entitled "The Light Wraps You" that has 2 pieces of mine on it: my oboe sonata, played by Michele and myself, and my trio for oboe, bassoon and piano, played by Michele, Frank Morelli, and myself. Click here for the link to Michele's recording. (http://www.msrcd.com/1217/1217.html)

My Suite Cantabile for Woodwind Quintet has been recorded by the Antara Woodwind Quintet. It should be released later this year.

I'm presently arranging my piece, "Feast" for large percussion ensemble.

July 7, 2007
I recently composed a woodwind quintet commissioned by 35 woodwind quintets and 22 individual commissioners. It will be premiered at the Aspen Music Festival on August 4, 2007.

I recently recorded my Sonata for Oboe and Piano with oboist Michele Fiala and my Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano with Michele and bassoonist Frank Morelli. They will be released in September on a Michele Fiala CD on MSR Classics.

September 18, 2006
My tour of Australia and Japan in November has unfortunately been cancelled. We hope to reschedule it for fall, 2007.

I recently composed a piece for contrabassoon and piano, commissioned by 27 contrabassoonists. I will be premiering it with Steve Braunstein in the San Francisco Symphony chamber music series on November 12, 2006.

I am presently composing a piece for oboe, bassoon, and piano, commissioned by the International Double Reed Society. I will be playing it along with the contra piece at the IDRS conference in Ithaca, New York next June.

I recently recorded my Suite Cantando with Steve Dibner, bassoon, and Bill Jackson, clarinet. It will be released in about a year on a CD that Steve is putting out.

March 12, 2006
I recently finished composing 'Suite Cantado for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano', commissioned by 52 clarinetists and bassoonists. I will perform it on July 26, 2006, at the IDRS Conference in Muncie, Indiana.

I am presently working on a big piece for clarinet and marimba, commissioned by Mika Yoshida. She will premiere it in Tokyo in June with Richard Stoltzman, clarinet.

I will be touring in Australia and Japan in November, 2006, with Ty Burhoe, tabla, and Kai Eckhardt, bass.

September 10, 2005
The big news is the release of my new CD 'Sky', with Ty Burhoe on tabla, Kai Eckhardt on bass, and Steve Smith on drums. It's definitely one of my favorites out of all my CDs. You can hear samples from all the tracks by clicking on the following link: http://talarecords.com/recordings. Ty and I will be playing a CD release concert at Naropa University on September 25 at 7.30 PM.

I recently finished composing a piece for clarinet and strings.

I recently recorded my new Partita for Bassoon and Piano with bassoonist Steve Dibner. Steve also recorded my Celebration V for Bassoon and Strings.

April 18, 2005
My new CD 'Sky' will be released on Tala Records this June. It will feature Ty Burhoe on tabla, Kai Eckhardt on bass, and Steve Smith on drums. Although this CD contains several lyrical pieces, it will mostly feature my 'world jazz' compositions. I will post information soon about how it can be ordered.

I recently finished composing a five-movement Partita for Bassoon and Piano that was commissioned by 29 bassoonists from the US, Canada, and Austria. I will be performing it with Jeff Lyman on June 8 in Austin, Texas and with Steve Dibner at the Aspen Music Festival on July 9. Steve and I will be recording it in San Francisco September 1 and 2. At the same time, Steve will record my Celebration V for Bassoon and Strings.

I will be performing my new Sonata for Oboe and Piano with Allan Vogel at the Sarasota Music Festival on June 16 and with Peter Cooper in Austin on June 8.
Peter recently premiered my new oboe concerto with the Colorado Symphony. He will be playing the version for oboe and string quartet in Austin on June 8.

June 12, 2004
My new solo piano CD, 'Stepping Stones', will be released July 13 on the Hearts of Space label. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. It contains all original compositions except for arrangements of two of my favorite Beatles' tunes, 'Fool on the Hill' and 'Julia'.

My new marimba concerto was recently premiered in Japan. My new oboe concerto will be premiered in April, 2005, by Peter Cooper and the Colorado Symphony.

I also recently recorded my first jazz CD. It will be released in early 2005.

July 23, 2003
I've recently written pieces for bassoon and strings, oboe and strings, and marimba and English horn, and I'm presently composing a piece for clarinet and strings. If anybody is interested in commissioning me to write a piece, please contact me at billdouglas@comcast.net.

June 19, 2002

"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."
-- Leonard Bernstein

"Ah, but in such an ugly time, the true protest is beauty."
-- Phil Ochs

My new CD, "Homeland: A Prayer for Peace" , will be released on August 13, 2002. It features the Ars Nova Singers, and it includes a memorial piece for Sept. 11, 2001, with a text by Tennyson.

A new 3-movement flute and piano piece, "Celebration IV" , commissioned by Chris Potter, was premiered on April 17. Chris and I will be performing it on August 18, 2002 at the International Flute Convention in Washington, D.C. The music for the piece is available from me.

The Richard Stoltzman Songbook, recently published by Carl Fischer, contains six of my pieces arranged for clarinet and piano.

I am busy composing new music. Much inspiration has recently come from British composers from the first half of the twentieth century, especially Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, and William Walton.