Dear Friends,
I hope you are keeping safe and well as the bitter cold, stress, and sinus troubles of December are bearing down upon us! This has been a season of exciting developments and changes, and 2023 is looking like a delightfully dense time for musical performances. Only a few of these have firm dates yet, but keep calendars primed for more details to come!
I am also writing to share about a new website that my brother-in-law Chris Swenson created for me and for some of my creative activities. Since last year, I have been writing cartoon illustrations of the many doves and some pigeons that visit my balcony, my Hoodleoos. This project has really taken on a life of its own and deserves a site of its own. As Internet 2.0, the version revolving around social media sites, teeters, wobbles, crumbles under the egos, insecurities, and obsessions of a handful of hideously wealthy, white manchildren, I've decided to opt out of my already-minimal engagement (only LinkedIn remains). The Happy World of Hoodleoos site is an experiment in returning to the halcyon days before checking a single, endlessly vertically scrolling feed. It is set up like some of the beloved webcomic sites like XKCD or Hark! a Vagrant, with a new image accessible on the title page and a click to access the archive, a random image, or the previous images.
It probably reads strangely that I'm so excited to share a web setup from at least a decade ago; but in an age where we have all become the product, I hope it is refreshing to only have someone sharing something with you, not also selling you either advertisements or anything other than a genuine love of the sweet and simple. I hope you check out the site and enjoy. New images will be available every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
2023 is going to be flush with new musical opportunities, and I'm excited to share more details as I get them! One of the main highlights to be aware of (for everyone in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area) is that my star collaborator Katie Procell is going to be presenting a concert series at Baltimore's venue An Die Musik, starting (likely) in February and going into the summer, she is putting on a series of concerts showcasing her incredible talents as well as her many gifted collaborators. While some of these will involve my music, I'm sure some of them will not as well! I'm sure they will all be worth going to!
Some other things that will be taking place (possible involving this series):
Feb: the world premiere of Temptress Helen a new 30-minute song cycle for soprano and viola performed by Katie Procell and Christopher Lowry (a true dream team of my collaborators!) in Baltimore City.
Mar: the album release party for the second album from the 2021 summer recording sessions: All in the Sound - New Vocal Music by Peter Dayton in Baltimore City.
Apr: a concert of works for Soprano, Saxophone, and Piano, performed both in Baltimore City and in Howard County as part of the Chalice Concert Series. The program will include my Desiderata song cycle, excerpts of Lori Laitman's Living in the Body, and excerpts from Songs of the Son by one of my composition teachers at Vanderbilt, Carl Smith.
Apr: the world premiere of a new 9-minute Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano composed for saxophonist Nicholas May, which will take place at the Charlotte House Concert Series in Kansas City, MO.
May: the world premiere performance of my choral setting of Vicki Hearne's poem "The Tree that Plucks Fruit" at a concert in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Spring (TBA): a performance of my Recurring Dream: Second Fantasy for viola & piano by Scott Stewart in Fort Collins, CO.
I am over the moon that so much music-making that involves what I have written is taking place! I will share more details as soon as I have them. To each and every performer taking on my compositions, thank you. Without you, none of it happens.
Stay safe everyone, and happy holidays!
-Peter