2022 Year in Review

2022

slight return

moments of normalcy

new artistic directions

Catching up

Dreams realized

musical Adventures

2022 By the Numbers (see below for expansion):

• Premieres: 12
• Concerts: 26 
• Espresso: 730-750 (~2 per day)
• Albums: 2 
• Cassettes: 1 
• Publications: 3 
• Collaborations: 8
• Music with electronics: 2
• Interviews & Podcasts: 8 
• Grants: 2 
• Grants Applied for: 8 
• Interviews conducted: 5
• Residencies: 2
• Classes: 12
• Streams: 2.5 million
• Amazing Street Tacos: 2 
• Pieces performed: 79

I know it’s arbitrary, but I would prefer our calendars marked the New Year in the spring, at least in to the Northern Hemisphere. That said, when I awoke on January 1, 2022 I did not know what to expect. 

My album ‘A Guitar Holiday’ was reaching people via streaming in ways I had never experienced (1-million streams to date!)

I was deep into composing what would become ‘honey cadence.’

A few concerts were on the calendar, but it did not feel like Covid had released us from its terrible grasp.

Coupled with the terror of Jan. 6, I knew I needed to focus on Art and appreciate each moment of living and creating.

I began the process of getting back to performing with classes and a concert at Framingham State University before embarking on my first tour since Covid: California!

APRIL TOUR: San Francisco State University –>Museum of Northern California Art, Chico–> Center For New Music, SF –> CSU Bakersfield –> Cal Poly Pomona –> Guitar Solo International (VIDEOS). SEE California Tour Pictures

While on the tour in California, I received news that I had been awarded a grant from the Boston Mayor’s Office for Arts & Culture to produce a series of 5 contemporary music concerts being held in my neighborhood between August and November under my series Now Musique.

Each concert brought composers to Dorchester for performances of their new lullabies and works for guitar + electronics. Read and see pictures HERE.

Upon returning to Boston, honey cadence, the first album dedicated to my own music was released. Mixed and mastered by the great Steve Hunt, I was not expecting much, as who knew if my music would touch people. Needless to say, I was happily surprised to go quickly through the first printing of CDs, and then see it was picked up on a few streaming playlists and it now has 1 million streams since its release in April!
It is my most popular album, which is a bit surreal. And no, my Mom does not do streaming.

My June concerts in Oregon began with an interview and performance on Thursdays @ Three with Christa Wessel for All Classical Portland before performing two solo programs in Portland for CDZ Musica and another at the wonderful Coaster Theatre Playhouse.

Seeing friends and walking on the beach felt like returning home. 

In June I recorded God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar, which was released in September. Featuring 16 of my own arrangements, it was recorded over 3 days and mixed and mastered by the wonderful Paul Averginos. The reviews have been stellar and I’m extremely proud of the album.

I set out to create a Bach album that was not like every other Bach Guitar album.

Mine would explore pieces not often played on the guitar, create new repertoire (a bit of a habit of mine), and bring a fresh voice to a couple of well known works, and I think I did that.

The responses to God’s Time have been overwhelmingly positive.

With over 300K streams since its release, I can’t wait to do another! Read and watch HERE.

One of the great difficulties of Covid was not being able to collaborate with wonderful musicians. Thankfully I had three performances with harpsichordist Frederick Jodry in Boston, Cape Cod, and Newport. Pianist John Thomas improvised over my own compositions in Provincetown – a first, and I joined Convergence Ensemble in November for three duos, two solos, and two quartets in an exhilarating concert titled Strings Galore. Libby Larsen’s Cajun Set was extra special!

I returned to Southern California in November for a series of classes and concerts. Being amongst friends and musicians for more than a day or two was inspiring extremely inspiring. I worked with students of guitarist-artist Peter Yates at UCLA, collaborated with Tom Flaherty and Buzz Gravelle at Pomona College, performed in La Jolla and Carlsbad, and ate amazing tacos!

Even while touring, I kept up with my students. In August we held our first student recital since Covid with players ranging in age of 14-62, and were gifted a wonderful Fernando Sor song with soprano Jessica Cooper.

At the end of November I kicked off my new blog series Music I Am, featuring brief interviews with inspiring and smart musicians and artists about their latest projects, inspirations, and habits. Check it out HERE.

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy year ahead. May 2023 be a year of wonderful music, exciting adventures, and Dreams Realized.

Musically,

Aaron

2022 Numbers Expanded

• Premieres: 12 – Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, Antonio Celso Ribeiro, Dean Rosenthal, Thomas L. Read, Laurie Spiegel, Ian Wiese, Aaron Larget-Caplan
• Concerts: 26 – California, Oregon, Massachusetts, which is still well below pre-covid concert numbers.
• Espresso: 730-50 (~2 per day on average) – mainly cappuccino and Cortado
• Albums: 2 – honey cadence and God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar
• Cassettes: 1 – Etudes Volume 1 by Petridisch 
• Publications: 3 – Bacchanale w/ Edition Peters and two Meet The Composer articles for the American Composers Alliance 
• Collaborations: Frederick Jodry – harpsichord, John Thomas – piano; Convergence Ensemble: Heidi Braun-Hill – violin, Michelle LaCourse – viola, Hyun-Ji Kwon – cello
• Music with electronics: 2 – Lainie Fefferman & Tom Flaherty
• Interviews & Podcasts: All Classical Portland, Conducting Conversations Rhode Island, All things Six Strings (2x), Just One Question, Guitaromanie, Fret Not
• Grants: 3 – Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, multiple Local Cultural Council
• Grants Applied for: 8 
• Interviews conducted: 5 – Music I Am blog series
• Residencies: 2 Kirkland Community Artist Residency, Clinton, New York • Now Musique – Dorchester, Mass.
• Classes: 12 – California, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island
• Streams: 2.5 million – Amazon and Spotify
• Teaching: In person and online with students from California, China, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas.
• Amazing Street Tacos: 2 – San Francisco Korean Tacos and Los Angeles street tacos
• Pieces performed: 79 compositions by 34 living composers, including 7 chamber works, 12 world premieres, and 29 solos from the New Lullaby Project

* Now Musique Composers TL: John McDonald, Stanley Hoffman, Charles Turner, Aaron Larget-Caplan TR: Larget-Caplan, Ronald Pearl, Brian Schober, Scott Wheeler BL: Tom Flaherty, Larget-Caplan, Stefanie Lubkowski, Ian Wiese, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz BR: Anthony Green, Francine Trester, Jim Dalton, Michael Veloso, Larget-Caplan, Curtis Hughes

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