Issue 1 2013

As I begin the 2013 season I'm reflecting on some wonderful experiences and sonic journeys I had last year!

"The Conference of the Birds" - An Amazing Journey

Conference of the Birds

This past November I just closed The Conference Of The Birds by Farid Uddi Atar. This amazing production was directed by Aaron Posner and featured beautiful choreography by Erika Chong Susch. The music received a lot of attention including feature articles in The Washington Post, DC Theatre Scene and other publications. Below are a few of the quotes that speak to the music from this amazing adventure.

Interview about composing and performing this new score

"... With the brilliant audio creations of Helen Hayes Award-winning Composer Tom Teasley. The music never misses a beat throughout the production. Teasley's wild orchestrations are primal in nature and echo cries of these birds without falling into the generic hackneyed trap of bird calling. His rhythms are fierce and drive many of dance numbers with a raucous beat and wild feeling of freedom behind them. Teasley's composition sounds as if it were derived from the very spirit of the earth; echoing a time of nature with the reality of the world of these birds."

Amanda Gunther-,DC Metro Arts

Highlights Of 2012

"The Conference of the Birds" was a great way to close out 2012 but there were many other wonderful opportunities for me to explore the world through music and share with others.

"All The World's A Stage"

I was able to fit in some regional and national touring before completing work on my just released CD, "All The World's A Stage". I was delighted that the CD spent several weeks on the CMJ Radio top 40 charts reaching #13. I just also found out I was nominated for WAMA (Washington Area Music Award) for best world musician and "All The World's A stage" for best world music recording. There was a very nice article about my work in the February issue of "Modern Drummer" magazine where I discuss my theater work, solo performance Cultural Envoy work and new project with avant garde film. In addition, the CD has garnered some very nice press as well.

"Percussion is often treated as rhythmic garnish but, in the right hands, it can be the meal itself. Light spices, meaty grooves and flavorful accents can provide more than enough sustenance for the ear if they're blended in the right proportions and percussionist Tom Teasley proves that this hypothesis holds water on this, his eighth recording."-Dan Bilawski- allaboutjazz.com

Original Compositions

My interest of setting film to my original music received a nice boost with three sold out performances of "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" at Source Theatre in Washington in collaboration with Constellation Theatre as well as a performance at The Taubman Museum in Roanoke. I added Fritz Lang's Sci-Fi thriller, "Metropolis" at a performance at the Lorton Workhouse. I was even able to bring a little bit of Hollywood to my world and audience with a wonderful collaboration with Stephen Lang at The Atlas Arts Center for The Intersections Arts Festival. We have prepared an exciting performance of Stephen reading "The Pied Piper OF Hamlin" set to my original music. For those who may not know Stephen by name he was Col. Miles Quaritch in Avatar as well as countless movies and television appearances. Look for more on that collaboration in the future.

Looking Ahead

I have several college clinic tours scheduled including VA Tech. Radford University and several others.

I have just completed my new educational video, "An American Approach To World Percussion". I'm very excited to share my hybrid percussion ideas fused by my world travel, study with jazz great Joe Morello and classical percussion background. Look for a release no later than April of this year. I will be adding a section to my webpage specifically devoted to excerpts and I encourage you to visit soon and often. Preliminary response has been great on Facebook drumming pages.

I'll be rejoining my favorite collaborator director Allison Arkell Stockman and The Constellation Theatre In May for a month run of "Gilgamesh" at Source Theatre. I'll be drawing deeply from my touring in Iraq as I delve into the rich musical culture of ancient Mesopotamia combined with my fusion approach.

For those of you who may be interested in some private world percussion lessons to take your playing to the next level I have reopened my and upgraded the equipment in my studio. Preview what you can learn.

There are a lot more surprises and experiences in store for this season that I cherish being able to share with you. I hope you will check my site oftenwww.tomteasley.com Updates are on my Facebook music page and also follow me on Twitter for the very latest news.

Until next time,

Peace, Salam, Shalom, Shanti,

Tom

Peace, Salam, Shalom, Shanti,

Tom