Elaine Barber, Peter Bay and I selfie during applause.
My new harp concerto “Rough Night w/Happy Ending” was premiered at the American Harp Society Conference last night. Peter Bay conducted members of the Louisiana Philharmonic and fabulous soloist Elaine Barber in a killer performance to close out the festival. Good time and good musicians!
Conductor Brent Baldwin accepts awards like a pro!
Every year the arts critics in Austin come together and give awards for outstanding arts events and performances. This is called the Austin Critic’s Table Awards. This year I was a part of several arts events that received awards:
I am lucky to be a company member and composer for the internationally acclaimed theater company Rude Mechs who were inducted into the Austin Arts Hall Of Fame this year.
I love my friend, playwright Kirk Lynn, who wrote an amazing adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John which was directed by Madge Darlington. It was an all-star cast and crew and that play received two awards:
Best Actor:
Jason Liebrecht, The Lieutenant of Inishmore/Fixing King John
Best Ensemble Performance:
Fixing King John, Rude Mechanicals
I played piano in a touring show by Daniel Alexander Jones and Bobby Halverson which won
Best Touring Show:
Jomama Jones: Radiate!, Salvage Vanguard Theater
My 501c3 with Graham Reynolds, Golden Hornet Project, had our biggest show ever for the opening festivities of Fusebox this year. We commissioned 8 composers to complete Mozart’s Requiem mass and collaborated with Texas Choral Consort , Convergence Ensemble, KMFA Classical Radio Austin, and Texas Performing Arts to present Mozart’s Requiem Undead which won much acclaim:
Best Choral Performance
Mozart Requiem Undead, Texas Choral Consort/Convergence/Golden Hornet Project
Best Singer
Cameron Beauchamp, Mozart Requiem Undead
BROWN WHöRNET is playing in Houston, New Orleans and Austin May 23-30th 2014. We’re playing two shows with the fantastic and unique double-guitar-blade-weilding-poetic-avant-swamp rockers CHURCHWOOD and once with Flying Balalaika Brothers and OMGWTFBBQ. We don’t play all that often but when we do we freakin’ tear shit up! Here is a nice little featurette:
BROWN WHöRNET
Bizarre, frenetic, sometimes offensive, and always amazing, experimental rock collective Brown Whörnet has survived as long as it has on sheer grit and immense talent. The Austin eightpiece rocks out hardcore as effectively as they dismantle jazz, funk, klezmer, or anything else they get their eight sets of grubby hands on. The thinking man’s freakout session, their music leans as hard on Sun Ra as it does on Beefheart, as much Zappa as Minutemen. Chaos has ruled since their first show in 1993, and though the lineup has undergone changes over the course of the band’s decade-plus history, the sense of anything-goes and God-what’s-next has never left them. Currently composed of players with the monikers of Stin-G, RUNPMS, XSP, JimE, and Gaseous C, membership has evolved and revolved, including the likes of Juicy, AUNT J, MC Squeak, Chef Poonstick, Wolff, J, Oscar, and McKinney. Somewhere in there is Peter Stopschinski, composer, keyboardist, and a driving force behind this band and frequent collaborator with Golden Arm Trio’s Graham Reynolds. – Christopher Hess
I was super excited to get the call from my neighbor Adrian Quesada to write some string arrangements for use in ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup in Brazil!
Last year I was fortunate enough to score a play by my friend, playwright Madeline George: The Curious Case of the Watson intelligence. It went up off-broadway at Playwrights Horizons in fall of 2013. This year it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in drama. Congratulations Madeleine!!!
Over 200 performers will come together Wednesday April 16, 2014 to present this new vision of Mozart’s Requiem Mass. This classic was left unfinished at Mozart’s death and now Golden Hornet Project has commission 10 unique composers to each complete a movement. Conducted by Brent Baldwin and performed by Texas Choral Consort, members of Convergence Vocal Ensemble, full orchestra, 4 percussionists, rock band, and electronics.
Composers: Graham Reynolds, Todd Reynolds, Glenn Kotche, Kate Moore, Justin Sherburn, DJ Spooky, Adrian Quesada, Caroline Shaw, Petra Hayden, and Peter Stopschinski.
AND ITS FREE OF CHARGE!!!!
come see what we’ve been working on for almost 4 years now. MOZART’s REQUIEM UNDEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) @ 6:30pm GOLDEN HORNET PROJECT will present our most ambitious project ever and its FREE!!!! Please come and check out this very cool concert. Mozart’s Requiem Mass re-composed by 10 composers: Graham Reynolds, Todd Reynolds, Glenn Kotche, Kate Moore, Justin Sherburn, DJ Spooky, Adrian Quesada, Caroline Shaw, Petra Hayden, and Peter Stopschinski. Conducted by Brent Baldwin and performed by Texas Choral Consort, members of Convergence Vocal Ensemble, orchestra, 4 percussionists, rock band, and electronics (nearly 200 performers!). Thank you to our co-presenters, Texas Choral Consort, Texas Performing Arts, Fusebox Festival and another heartfelt thank you to our generous friends and supporters. We’ve been working on this show for almost 4 years and it’s finally here!!!!
GOLDEN HORNET PROJECT PRESENTS:
MOZART’s REQUIEM UNDEAD
Wednesday April 16, 2014
French Legation Museum – 802 San Marcos Street Austin, TX 78702
For the comfort and ease of your arrival and experience, we want to share the following guidelines and information.
Gates Open: 5.30pm
Show starts at 6:30pm
FREE ADMISSION
NO RESERVATION REQUIRED
For safety and legal reasons, the following items are not permitted onto the grounds:
Chairs (including folding)
Animals (with the exception of service animals)
Alcohol
Coolers / Ice Chests
You are welcome to bring:
Water (in canteens)
A small blanket, mat or cushion to sit on
Food contained in over the shoulder bags/backpack
PARKING
Street Parking is available surrounding the French Legation Museum on 7th, 6th and 5th Streets. Most street parking is available before 11pm without a permit. Please check street signs.
Paid Lots are available under the I-35 overpass at 7th Street. The lots are free before 7pm and $7 after. You may want to prepay if you are parking before 7pm, so you don’t have to leave the grounds during the concert.
Bicycle racks will be available outside the walls of the grounds on San Marcos Street.
Drop Off Zone – If you catch a cab or have someone drop you off at the grounds, they will be able to do so immediately opposite the Main Gate at 802 San Marcos Street.
ACCESSIBILITY
Please use the parking lot located at the intersection of East 9th Street and Embassy Drive for wheelchair access to the brick paths. The grounds are wheelchair accessible and all walkways are hard surfaced. There will be accessible seating at the event. If you need assistance, volunteers are available to direct you.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
There will be food vendors on site including Kerlin BBQ and Crepe Crazy (savory, sweet and vegetarian crepe options). There will also be a full cash bar and an ATM.
Bring it!!!
Got to fill in on keyboard with this awesome Chicha band. It’s like Cumbia mixed with surf and psychedelics and punk rock. A great flavor after 6 weeks of opera in New York. Everyone in it is an amazing musician and a joy to play with. Money Chicha!!!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-mouth-of-madness/id667155675?mt=8
I wrote the music for this fun and crazy game about dental hygiene!
WHO: Invincible Czars, Golden Hornet Project
WHAT: “The Invincible Czars Play Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski” (GHP fundraiser & Invincible Czars EP release)
WHEN: Friday March 28, 2014 – 8:30PM doors, 9:30PM show
WHERE: Spiderhouse Ballroom 2908 Fruth St. Austin TX 78705 (Chapel Stage)
TICKETS: sliding scale $10-25 (all ticket sales go to GHP)
AGE RESTRICTIONS: all-ages
AUDIO: EP athttps://soundcloud.com/invincibleczars/sets/invincible-czars-play-reynolds
THE INVINCIBLE CZARS TO PERFORM AND RELEASE THEIR INTERPRETATIONS OF WORKS BY TWO OF AUSTIN’S FAVORITE COMPOSERS, GRAHAM REYNOLDS AND PETER STOPSCHINSKI, AT A FUNDRAISER FOR THE GOLDEN HORNET PROJECT.
AUSTIN, TX – among their many projects and incarnations, Austin’sInvincible Czars have become known for Czarifying/Austinizing their favorite works by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Mussorgsky and others. Now Austin’s emperors of eclecticism have set their sights on two of the city’s own composers –Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski.
Reynolds and Stopschinski are arguably the most popular a composers in Austin. Both have ever growing catalogs of material ranging in scope from rock songs to dance/theater works. Their list of collaborators includes virtually every cutting-edge arts organization in Austin and several outside the state and the curate SxSW “Non-Classical” showcase each year bringing in names like Gabriel Prokofiev.
This show will be a fundraiser for theGolden Hornet Project, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit created by Reynolds and Stopschinski in 2001. Currently, the organization has received a matching grant of $20,000 from the Knaster Family Trust, which means every dollar donated will essentially be doubled. This matching grant will help to fund several current and future projects including GHP’s biggest effort yet; “MOZART: REQUIEM UNDEAD” which will be the kick-off event to the 2014 Fusebox Festival and features commissions from composers such as Glenn Kotche (Wilco), Caroline Shaw (Pulitzer Prize winner), DJ Spooky and many others…not to mention a 25 piece band and 200 person chorus!
The Invincible Czars collaborated with guest drummer Chuck Fischer(Mistress Stephanie, HCMS Band, The Robertsons, Foot Patrol, GHP) to record two pieces by each composer and will release a 4 ½ -song EP entitled The Invincible Czars Play Reynolds and Stopschinski Vol. 1at the show. The recording features founder/guitarist Josh Robinsdoubling on bass guitar and is the band’s most driving, rocking effort in years bringing more of their punk and metal influences like The Jesus Lizard and The Melvins back to the forefront. Winds mistress Leila Henley and violin-guy Phil Davidsonmake Reynolds and Stopschinski’s melodies sparkle like diamonds on top of Fischer/Robins’ bedrock.
As an added bonus, Mother Falconbassist Dusty Rhodes will join The Invincible Czars for this live performance.
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Unbelievable that these sports heroes from the past and present will come together to support Kirk Lynn and my new opera about Bum Phillips on March 20, 2014 in New York City at La Mama experimental theater. Here is a link to more information:
http://lamama.org/ellen-stewart-theatre/bum-phillips-all-american-opera/
It’s been almost 4 years since we came up with the idea. And now it’s all set to happen April 16, 2014. With our amazing partners Texas Choral Consort, Fusebox Festival, and Texas Performing Arts, we are pleased to present our biggest show. And it’s free of charge!
Golden Hornet Project has commissioned 10 unique composers to finish Mozart’s final incomplete masterpiece: The Requiem mass in D minor. We are proud to present adaptations by Glenn Kotche, Caroline Shaw, DJ spooky, Petra Haden, Kate Moore, Adrian Quesada, Justin Sherburn, Todd Reynolds, and of course Graham Reynolds and myself. For more information click the link below:
http://www.fuseboxfestival.com/2014-festival/mozart-requiem-undead
We are rehearsing at La Mama almost every day now preparing for our big opening on March 13. We have a preview show on March 12 which happens to be my birthday. I can’t think of a better birthday present thab to premier this amazing opera by Kirk Lynn and myself! Everybody on the team is amazing. Luke Leonard has really outdone himself and bringing us altogether. Charlotte Griffin is coming up with some unique choreography which looks really cool. The cast and the rest of the production team are all doing a fantastic job. It’s my pleasure to be part of this top notch production!
PETER STOPSCHINSKI and MOTHER FALCON each perform sets and then join forces to present PETER STOPSCHINSKI’s RE-WRITE OF THE RITE OF SPRING. I will have a limited number of advance copies of my new Rite of Spring Re-write CD available for sale.
THIS IS A LINK TO THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE
I spent my spring break coming up with solo piano adaptations of each movement of the first part of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Eric Roach helped me record all of these and I intended to make a small run of CD’s of this solo piano adaptation of the Rite of Spring.
In the summer I had the opportunity to arrange the first 25 minutes for percussion ensemble featuring Chuck Fischer, Tom Burritt, Owen Weaver and Graham Reynolds at a percussion ensemble concert presented by Golden Hornet Project.
In the meantime friends of mine, Van and Kelli Hoisington, offered to help fund a CD of that percussion version so I ended up arranging the entire first part for percussion ensemble and producing a CD of that version.
The band MOTHER FALCON then commissioned me, through their manager John Reide, to arrange 25minutes of my Rite of Spring Re-write for their huge band which has violins, cellos, bass, drums, accordion, bassoon, multiple saxes and trumpets and guitars and I’m playing piano. Its going to be massive and I’ll have my new Rite of Spring Re-write CD’s on sale. Yes!
Central Texas’ Alt(ernative)-Cunt(ry) sensation, CHABLIS, has released two new 45′s and we will play a lovely little holiday show with the Ron Titter Band, Blitzen and Churchwood at the Carousel Lounge Saturday, December 17th at 10pm. FREE SHOW!!!
An all-percussion evening of madness featuring Tom Burritt, Chuck Fischer, Owen Weaver, Graham Reynolds, and Peter Stopschinski
Golden Hornet Project’s big summer event. We just tied the Miro String Quartet for BEST CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCE in Austin’s Critic’s Table Awards with our STRING QUARTET SMACKDOWN concert with the Tosca String Quartet and now we are moving on to the heavy hitting drums. This is our 8th or 9th all-percussion show and more and more people come out each time. Last year it was packed and everyone was getting into the percussive madness. This year it is at the Off Shoot.
Check out this crazy-ass line up for a summer festival of rock:
Saturday July 20th 2013
*Ed Hall*
~Brown Whörnet~
!Gorch Fock!
^Pocket Fisherman^
#MIGAS#
`Tim Kerr’s Freedom Piece`
+Wood Grain+
$ John Galt $
My good friend and great pianist, Willis G. Miller, and I will bring his Kinda Blue/Goldberg Variations Original Piano Sample Pak and play Well Tempered Klavier, Rite of Spring, and improvise in EXTREME different tunings.
Last week I went to hang out with my friend Willis G. Miller at his place in Hyde Park where I got a demonstration of his newly purchased sample pak or the piano that Bill Evans played on Kinda Blue which also happens to be the piano that Glenn Gould played on his 50′s Goldberg Variations recording. I’m sure many amazing pianists played it over the years. He was playing Bach’s Well Tempered Klavier and had created some settings for different tunings that Bach may have used. We went on to create random tuning schemes that became more and more extreme, some notes tuned as much as an octave from its original pitch. We’d take turns creating a new tuning then we’d improvise in C major and it would sound completely amazing. You’d play the note C on the keyboard but hear an F quarter sharp an octave and a fourth above that C. D would be F# and E would be middle C etc. Sometimes we’d get tunings where C would become D but D would stay D and E would also sound like D so the C major scale would sound D-D-D-F-G-A-B. You get the picture.
Golden Hornet Project, my 501c3 with Graham Reynolds, has been working for 4 years with Brent Baldwin and Texas Choral Consort, Fusebox Festival, Kathy and Cynthia at Texas Performing Arts
The Amazing Earl Campbell
The first workshop of the upcoming opera about Bum Phillips and the Houston Oilers was so successful that we extended the performance one more weekend at La Mama in New York City. LIU Post University students and Musical Director Kerry Prep were absolutely amazing in helping to bring this wild new commission to life. So happy to be collaboration with my good friend Kirk Lynn who’s writing the book (we did the musical I’ve Never Been So Happy together) and my new friend Luke Leonard of Monk Parrots theater company who commissioned the piece and will be directing. This is really going to be a fun new take on Opera/Musical Theater. The official premier date is April 2014 in NYC but there are plans for several workshops along the way. I caint wait!!!
I Just had a great experience at a table read for a new musical called The Calico Buffalo concived and spearheaded and based on a published children’s book by artist and writer E.J. Stapleton. It’s a furry animal drama! I met the entire creative team and 10 singers all with Broadway credentials and taught them the 4 songs I’ve finished and they read the entire script. The singers were amazing and we learned everything in 4-part harmony in less than 2 hours. It’s a long term project with a big vision and big expectations. Bound for Broadway baby!
Click here to hear an excerpt of the sassy toads song, Toads Up!
Golden Hornet Project (My non-profit with fellow composer Graham Reynolds) presented a string quartet composition contest in November modeled after a 16 bracket single elimination tournament. We received 100 entries for all over the world including Iran, Scotland, Germany, Argentina, and Florida. Graham and i chose 16 to compete at the concert. The Tosca String Quartet performed and the audience voted via text message and the grand prize ($1000) winner was Chris Black from Tuscon, AZ (Austin ex-patriot) It was truly a unique classical music experience and the audience was thoroughly engaged. You can see in the photo as two piece were voted on a real time graph was created so we could all see who was winning as the votes came in. That made for some exciting “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from the crowd as one piece would surpass the other!
The Voting Screen at String Quartet Smackdown
The Austin Chronicle voted for this concert as one of the Top Ten arts events of 2012!
Watch The Cabinet Of Dr. Calgari Trailer with music by Peter Stopschinski2 shows on Sunday October 28th. 4pm and 7pm. Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar.
Click to go to the Alamo Drafthouse page with info and TICKETS!
I’ve created a new score to the Silent Film Classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I used the Alt-Classical criteria I created for my new album coming this fall, Now Would Be A Good Time. This is an amazing film with incredible sets and inspired Edward Scissorhands and Shutter Island.
The band will be the fabulous Dissonant Romantics: Leah Nelson – viola, Tom Echols – guitar, Chuck Fischer – drums, Hen3ry Q Vines – bass and Peter Stopschinski – piano.
Not to be missed!!!!!
Click to go to the Alamo Drafthouse page with info and TICKETS!
Rocking with DJ Spooky at the state theater as part of SXSW ECO. Its the first year for the environmentally focused national gathering and I joined Paul Miller aka. DJ Spooky in a performance of his recently composer hour long chamber piece dedicated to Antarctica.
Click to check out the SXSW ECO Page for Terra Nova
This piece is really interesting and the performance involves lots of cool video and opens with him playing a block of dry ice with chimes. Its a very fun, icy sound.
We are playing tonight for the Bee v. Moth new record release. Bee v. Moth is one of the best examples of the “new” school of bands in Austin that have rock instrumentation, are mostly instrumental, influenced heavily by a very wide variety of music including classical and even the extreme stuff of the 20th century. 
Very talented, very engaging, we are happy to be playing with them. In celebration I’m offering the Dissonant Romantics live album download for free:
Click here to Download the Dissonant Romantics album for free:
I’ve been teaching music composition at Austin Chamber Music Center for 7 or 8 years now, many of those years with Graham Reynolds. One of our proudest teaching experiences is having mentored the students that became the band Mother Falcon.
Last night 20 of our composition student ranging in age from 8th grade to seniors in high school got to sit in with Mother Falcon at Antone’s for their final concert. Everybody was so stoked and it truly made Graham and I feel proud.
The band I’ve played in since 1993 played some rare shows. Brown Whörnet. Unstoppable. It was so much fun an I love those people!
Click to listen to Brown Whörnet – Nightcrisis from The Hamburger Album
Just finished scoring a feature length horror film: “Saturday Morning Massacre.” The score was based on John Cage’s Second Construction and Some Xenakis and Penderecki Orchestral works. Oh yeah, and drones.
Click here to hear one of the sound cues from the film
It was very fun to make and I only had 2 weeks to do it. It premiered at the L.A. Horror Film Festival. Got the job through Graham Reynolds. Thanks Graham! He did the opening credits and I did the rest. Spent a whole day score a decapitation scene…awesome!
Click here to read a review and see the trailer
Graham Reynolds and I played a sweet set of Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives with our amazing band at this year’s Alt-Classical showcase hosted by Innova Records. Others on the bill that night were ex-Austinite Sxip Shirley and New York Violinist Todd Reynolds who has played with Laurie Anderson and Bang On A Can. Todd is also soon to be GHP’s newest featured artist in two shows we are presenting at this year’s Fusebox Festival on May 5, 2012. We will be playing a more formal indoor show and then a less formal site specific show at these cool drainage tunnels beneath Mopac. I hope it don’t rain!!!
It has just been released by Merge Records but It seems everybody loves the new Lambchop album. NY Times review below. I was so happy to hear from Kurt and get a chance to do some more arrangements for this exciting new project and to get to write for and record the Tosca String Quartet yet again.
I applied and got accepted to go to this cool workshop in NYC held by New Dramatist. They accept 5 composers to work with 5 writers and 5 performers to complete a series of high turnover creative assignments all geared towards creating new music theater. February 10-27. Working all day every day. Should be awesome!
from their site:
“Pairing five New Dramatists playwrights with five composers from a variety of musical and stylistic backgrounds, this nearly round-the-clock workshop sparks early-stage collaborations. During the two-week studio, facilitated by Ben Krywosz and music director Roger Ames, an ensemble of five singer/actors support the participants as they develop overnight responses to five songwriting assignments.”
The entire Chablis record release show at the Sahara Lounge was streamed live and can still be watched at:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20030884/highlight/236379
It was totally awesome. The new record is badass too and features some of the best country musicians Austin has to offer. From chablis.bandcamp.com:
creditsAdrian Quesada, Grammy winning producer, was hired to produce the new Daniel Johnston Album scheduled for release as an iPhone app during SXSW2012. I’m playing piano and organ and various other keyed instruments as well as contributing some string arrangements. Adrian is an awesome producer and musician and also he and his wife Celeste and two kids make fantastic neighbors! I had the pleasure of touring several times with Daniel back in the day and played with him SXSW2010 and now i’m super happy to be part of this new album currently called “Space Ducks”
(Video) Peter Stopschinski sits in with Daniel Johnston and Grupo Fantasma SXSW2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYLBXFWlHcI
Adrian’s “Level One” Site:
Golden Hornet Project (Peter and Graham Reynolds’ 501c3 Alt-Classical commissioning and presenting group) remounted their Visions Fugitives concert from 10 years ago to a packed house of what I can only describe as hard-core-music-lovers. They went nuts for Jeff Hellmer’s performance of Prokofiev’s 20 miniature solo piano pieces collectively published as Visions Fugitives. After Jeff played the originals Peter and Graham and an all-star band of Austin musicians played arrangements and improvisations based on the Prokofiev. It provided a unique insight in to both Prokofiev’s and our musical styles. We had tons of fun and were all blown away by how well it worked.
The original Visions Fugitives No.8 as played by Boris Berman. (27 sec)
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/visions_berman_eight.mp3
My arrangement and our collective improvisation featuring drum duel by Graham Reynolds and Chuck Fischer. This is recorded with my little hand held digi-recorder thing from the back of the room and its not super hi-fi but still fun to listen to. I’m playing piano. (4min57sec)
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/prokofiev_stopschinski_visionsfugitives_sixandfive.mp3
Review of the concert from Austin360.com:
YouTuber of Chuck Fischer and Graham Reynolds Drum Battle From Visions Fugitives Show:
I’m working on a new album of fully orchestrated instrumental tracks scheduled for release in Fall 2012. Chuck Fischer, Hen3ry Q Vines and I have already been practicing and most of the material is already composed. It is going to slay. It was Graham’s suggestion and I’ve been super engaged in making it. I’ll post some audio soon!
Kirk Lynn and I got a sweet new commission from Luke Leaonard in NYC to write a new opera based on ex-Houston Oilers football coach O.A. “Bum” Phillips. This is loosely scheduled to premier in NYC in 2013. I grew up in Houston during the “Luv Ya Blue” days and that made a big impression on me. We are just getting started with the very initial conceptual aspects of creating this piece. I want it to be high energy, fully orchestrated (we are talking about 12 – 15 musicians and possibly as many singers), and I imagine the music sound like the exciting parts of Wagner, the Monday Night Football theme song, and country music all mashed up. Bum fought in WWII in the South Pacific and coached professional football at the highest level and was a cowboy and rancher and a prison minister! He said, “I believe you win by being a family.”
A You Tube video about Bum Phillips:
Graham and I have been working together for over 13 years now building our Alt-Classical scene here in Austin, TX and helping each other mature as artists. We created Golden Hornet Project in 1999 and he is a constant inspiration to me and we are great friends. We are competitive in the healthiest way, driving each other to new heights. It’s super fun and I am thankful for Graham.
His site is very thorough and has tons of information, audio, and video:
YouTube of Graham Destroying a piano at our Fusebox Event April 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2jDvFMbqtw
This is funny because I was supposed to present a final piece after this but declined:) Is there a better way to end a concert than destroying an instrument??? Nothing can or should follow.
“I’ve Never Been So Happy” is western operetta/trans-media shindig with music and lyrics by me and book and lyrics by the amazing Kirk Lynn produced by Rude Mechs and Centre Theater Group. It has been in development since 2005 and received it’s first full presentation at a month long run in Los Angeles at the beautiful Kirk Douglas Theater. We traveled with 19 cast members and musicians and musicians and plopped down 5 blocks from Venice Beach for most of October 2011 and worked our tails off bringing this beast to life. What an amazing trip and we have big hopes for the future!
A link to the song “Search Party” from the I’ve Never Been So Happy Cast Demo
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/searchparty.mp3
Follow along with the score to “Search Party”
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/searchparty_score.pdf
I’ve Never Been So Happy has won many awards including the NEA New Play Development award 2010, The David Mark Cohen New Play Award 2010-2011, Best Musical Director – Peter Stopschinski Austin Critics’ Table Award 2010-2011 and many more!
A link to CTG’s I’ve Never Been So Happy Site
http://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/productiondetail.aspx?id=15944
August 20, 2011 Texas Choral Consort with conductor Brent Baldwin perform Peter’s adaptation of Mozart’s Lacrymosa from his unfinished Requiem. Mozart actually only finished the first 9 measures of this masterpiece and Peter took the raw material from this fragment and created this almost 7 minute fantasy for chorus and orchestra. Golden Hornet Project (a 501c3 new music presenting group of which Peter is Co-Artistic Director with Graham Reynolds) is working on commissioning each movement from Mozart’s Requiem from a 10 different composers for a concert scheduled for 2014 including Graham and Peter adapting 2 movements each.
A link to the recording from the performance featuring Roberto Riggio, violin:
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/stopschinski_mozart_lacrymosa.mp3
“We’ve taken home the prize for ‘Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album’ at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. What a day!”
That was the headline on Grupo Fantasma’s Website. It wasn’t long ago that there were no Grammy categories for Latin Music but now, things are changing. Peter proudly contributed string arrangements, organ, and keyboard tracks to this groundbreaking album from Austin’s modern cumbia mash-up masters. My buddy said, “I always thought you’d win a Grammy, but not necessarily for Best Latin Rock!” Trust me, that is one of the coolest categories for sure.
Link to Grupo Fantasma Website:
The Grand Theory of Everything Between is the title of Ariel Dance Theatre’s newest media and genre bending dance with a score by me. This piece had all kinds of wonderful choreography and lazer lights and video projections and…well, why can’t you spell laser with a ‘z’? Seems right to me. Anyway, the musicians and I had so much fun playing this music that we formed a band and play regularly around town now as “The Dissonant romantics” Our album is a recording of one of the dance performances. We were incredibly well rehearsed and the musicians are fantastic. Leah Nelson – Violin, Tom Echols – guitar, Hen3ry Q Vines – bass, Chuck Fischer – Drums, and Peter Stopschinski – Keys and Samples.
Download “Dissonant Romantics” Album:
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/DissonantRomantics.zip
YouTuberies of the Show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc-EZx_lBB8
Link to a review of the performances:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2011-05-20/the-grand-theory-of-everything-between/print/
Probably one of the least likely GHP shows and still it turned out to be super fun. Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski dueling out at the 6th Street Piano Bar “Pete’s” where usually the classic rock and country hits are lustily and drunkenly sung like in the fabled halls of Valhalla.
A nice YouTube collage from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyIdOF2_Ops
Graham and I went to Pete’s Piano Bar the night before our show and watched the master piano bar pianists in action. The tops of the pianos were freakin’ covered in money. “Ok, we’ve only $150 away from Bohemian Rhapsody…” We were floored. They were like strippers but playing the piano. It was inspiring to say the least. If I could come home with my underwear full of cash after each gig I would be so happy!
Barry Pineo’s Preview from the Austin Chronicle:
My Symphony #6 “Rough Night w/ Happy Ending” released on Pecan Crazy Records is a recording I made in my home studio to sell at the concert premier February 6, 2010. The concert also featured Graham Reynolds’ Triple Concerto entitled “The Difference Engine” and Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood’s “Popcorn Superhet Receiver”. The concert wound up winning the 2010 Austin Critic’s Table Award for Outstanding Symphonic Performance beating out all the traditional ensembles that year. Check out the review here:
http://www.austin360.com/arts/austins-alt-classical-auteurs-203241.html
For a limited time download the CD free here:
http://www.wastedwork.com/music/stopschinski_symphony6.zip
I would still love to re-record this with a large ensemble instead of so much overdubbing and multi-tracking but i’m proud of how it turned out none the less. Mastered by Ben Blank Audio. Recorded and Produced by me. You’re welcome!
The new DJ Spooky Album “The Secret Song” has collaborations with Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Mike G (Jungle Brothers), Rob Swift and…Peter Stopschinski! Both Graham Reynolds and I contributed string quartet arrangements and a few other little gems to this new collaborative release by one of Hip-Hop’s most adventurous artists.
Link to DJ Spooky talking about his album:
The Austin Chronicle cover story this week was by Robert Faeries and was titled “Out Of The Bachs: Classical Music Sounds New When Austin Artists Do The Composing” and names Dan Welcher, Graham Reynolds, P. Kellach Waddle, and Peter Stopschinski as the top 4.
Jeez. Had an amazing time playing and partying with Lick Lick on their Japanese tour. Too many great places to describe. In the pic above I am posing with my adopted family in a public park in Nagoya. In the pic below I am partying with some new friends in Tokyo. It was all a blur and most of us ended up getting food poisoning the last day.
The 16 hour plane ride home with food poisoning was one of the greatest challenges in my life. The trip itself was most memorable. I love those amazing Lick Lick people so much!!!
Lady Teminator
I have the pleasure of playing music with Buzz Moran’s Foleyvision regularly. Foleyvision is a live performance by 2 or 3 actors and a musician who perform all the sound to a film while the film is playing. All live. They just turn the sound off and we do it all. Every voice, effect, and musical note. Buzz is usually standing in a mic’d up cat litter box full of gravel doing the main character’s voice and opening and closing a tiny handmade door that is also mic’d up. Its really fun but this particular show was one of my favorites.
First of all we played with special guest Michael Winslow famous from his extremely memorable performance in the film “Police Academy.” Michael did voices and sound effects using only a microphone and a delay pedal. Second, the film that we did the sound for was Indonesian rip off called “Lady Terminator” This is a completely crazy variation on the “Terminator” myth and has many memorable scenes and completely wild ideas throughout. GOODTIMES! Here is the ad below.
Peter, Michael Winslow, Buzz Moran
Dear friends, here at Foleyvision HQ we’re all aflutter about this Sunday’s
incredible show!
That’s because this Sunday, June 26, 7 and 9:45 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse
downtown, we’ll be performing with the amazing Michael Winslow, better known as
The Guy From The Police Academy Movies Who Can Make Funny Noises With His Mouth!
At Foleyvision we’re no strangers to sound effects, but we can honestly say that
Mr. Winslow is an astonishing, singular talent. Guns, machines, video games, and
literally thousands of other sounds come alive using nothing more than Michael
Winslow’s mouth, nature’s mysterious sound effects machine!
For this stupendous evening’s entertainment we’ve picked a film with no shortage
of machine gun and helicopter sounds, 1988’s Lady Terminator. This Indonesian
rip-off action flick is a little more adult than most Foleyvision shows, but raw
carnage never sounded so good!
In case you don’t know, Foleyvision shows feature strange foreign films played
with the sound turned off. All of the music, voices, and sound effects are then
performed LIVE in the theater! This time we’ll feature Peter Stopschinski
playing all of the music, Buzz Moran performing all of the voices, and the
inimitable Michael Winslow making all of the sound effects. It’s going to be
crazy!
Tickets are available online at www.originalalamo.com . We hope to see you on
Sunday!
What: Foleyvision presents Lady Terminator
When: June 26, 7 and 9:45 p.m.
Where: Alamo Drafthouse downtown
Who: Foleyvision featuring Michael Winslow, The Guy From The Police Academy
Movies Who Can Make Funny Noises With His Mouth!
