Mid-Week Intermission Friend Edition: Graham Reynolds
Today’s Mid-Week Intermission comes from an Austin favorite who’s always up to something wild, compelling, and stunningly brilliant… you guessed it — Graham Reynolds! Check in with this local composer to learn more about his newest projects, plus a little insight into our favorite helping of yuletide mischief, Graham Reynolds Ruins the Holidays. Catch the show December 3 & 4 (a few tickets are still out there!) in our Rollins Studio Theatre.
Hi everyone,
I’m Graham Reynolds, a composer, bandleader, and improviser based here in Austin, but also doing work around the world.
I work in all sorts of contexts and mediums. Recently, I scored a dance piece called Horse that premiered in Sweden two months ago and a comedy TV show for the BBC, Out of her Mind, that started streaming in Britain a few months before that. I grew up playing piano but fell in love with the drums and spent a bunch of time with them as well.
I love to explore and never like to play anything twice the same way.
I loved the holidays growing up. We hosted large gatherings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I missed that when I moved to Austin. So I started some holiday traditions of my own, including an annual holiday concert. While I love the season, the music itself can, for many of us, get old quickly (especially if you go anywhere near a store). It tends to be extra sweet, like a dessert with extra syrup poured on and sugar sprinkled on top of that. With this show, we try to add a bit of spice to the mixture with some irreverent improvisations and a lot of minor keys in the arrangements.
I got a new toy this fall, a sampler from 1010music. It’s only a bit bigger than an old CD case, but it can make huge amounts of sound. I’ve developed some new materials for this concert, and we’ve expanded the band dramatically. This year we have a full string quartet, a three-piece trombone section, and pedal steel. I’ll make sure you get to hear each player framed and spotlighted while also playing around with various combinations.
I’ve been working with the Long Center since day one. On opening weekend, I played a piece of mine with the ASO upstairs while a theater performance I scored went on downstairs. I’m excited to be back and hope you can join us for a bit of holiday fun this weekend.
Send me your requests!
Graham
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