This past November, the Eastman BroadBand performed six concerts in four cities during a rapid-fire one-week tour.

The BroadBand is one such labor of love, a project that on the one hand requires an enormous commitment of time and energy—but on the other promises an experience that is worth twice the work. What’s better than performing with these old friends, participating in the premieres of exciting new works, traveling internationally?

I owe most of the stamps in my passport to my trips with the Eastman BroadBand.

For me, performing Bob Morris’s music is a tricky balancing act.

For me, performing the music of Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez is risky. To say that his works are touchy is an understatement—in performance, they have the feel, for me, of being held together only on faith. Irregular patterns, unexpected accents, and awkward grace notes give the impression of a mechanism operating near its breaking point.

Never turn down an invitation to eat, drink, or dance

The music of Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon is, for me, a satisfying challenge that requires the player to engage in intent chamber music—his own part is only a small portion of his concern, as at every moment an intricate contrapuntal structure is being advanced.

This week, I’m in Rochester, New York, rehearsing with the Eastman BroadBand, a contemporary chamber orchestra at the Eastman School of Music, in preparation for our upcoming tour to Mexico.