2025 was quite a year. I’m not sure how to express exactly what it was, especially with all that was/is happening outside of my little bubble, but it was quite a different experience from anything prior or from what I expected. 

I went into 2024 with a plan: recording, performing, premiering particular works and living life, and besides a few bumps it went well. 

2025 began with a lot of questions due to a less than typical performance schedule, which brought a bit of anxiety, but also allowed me to do things I hadn’t done prior: write more music! 

January, I attended APAP in NYC to observe and learn. I met so many people in the music industry and was overwhelmed in the best way possible. 

February, attended Chamber Music America in Houston. Similar to APAP, but much smaller in scale focusing only on classical music, I met many presenters and wonderful artists! 
Podcast for Piano Technicians Masterclasses – Watch
Gave a scholarship to a Cambridge high school student from Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni.

March, Tour in California performing for Ventura Classical Guitar Society, the Bender family in Encinitas, the Athenaeum in La Jolla, and Center for New Music, and a talk for composition class of Ken Ueno at UC Berkeley. AMAZING: visiting Muir Woods!! 
Visited luthier Pepe Romero Jr. and recorded multiple videos 
Wrote first draft of ‘Cider Meditation’ for choir and guitar.

April, Performed on Bargemusic in Brooklyn, New York for two concert programs; very pleased that the NY composers concert was very well attended. Returned to Maine for a last minute performance at Bowdoin College to premiere a guitar duo by Hayden Byrne.

May, Recorded all of the solos for Guitar America 250 (coming on March 1, 2026!), and reconnected with violinist Irina Muresanu for a recording of our arrangement of ‘Adoration’ by Florence Price. Premiere of New Lullaby Project solo ‘All Through the Night’ by Keane Southard.

June, Attended the Guitar Foundation of America in Louisville, Kentucky. Write and record Bill of Rights, Amended for new album. 

July, performed concerts in Boston and a mini-tour along the Maine Coast in Eastport, Steuben, Hallowell, and Kittery. 
Recorded Trevor Neal, poet Charles Coe and Jeffrey Lependorf reading works of Francis Harper, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau/John Cage for Guitar America 250 in Newport, Rhode Island and Northampton, Mass.

August, visited Art Omi in Ghent, NY and made a few videos in their SILO, gave livestream for New England Conservatory and an interview performance for WOMR radio. 

September, the 2025-26 Season started with a rush of events:
09-9-25, Cage Trust Event – A beautiful event celebrating outgoing JCT director Laura Kuhn. 
09-10-25, Hingham Library – My first all-Latin American concert in over 10 years.
09-13-25, Wellfleet Preservation Hall – My first performance in this amazing space!
09-16-25, BU Composition Class – return to BU to speak and share music with young composers.
09-17-25, Radio – WCRI – Conducting Conversations with Mike Maino – Listen
09-28-25, NSM – Convergence Ensemble – Words & Music with poet Charles Coe. 
09-30-25, King’s Chapel – bunches of New Lullabies and album preview!
Sign with Rhizome Arts for touring and management – announcement
Article Revelations on Guitar The Provincetown Independent

October, debut with Newport Classical. Premiere of New Lullaby Project solo ‘Night Echoes’ by Jin Hee Han.
WCRI’s Kids Classical Hour – New Lullaby Project – Listen

November, Tufts University all-Latin America program.
Publication of ‘American Patriotic Songs for Guitar’ with the American Composers Alliance
Publication of ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB+G with the American Composers Alliance
Music Career Talk for Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni – online

December, 3-weeks in Colorado!
12-05-25, Perform with the Cherry Creek High School Meistersingers and Kantorei
12-6/7-25, Perform concerts of 14 works for choir & guitar with Kantorei – Premiere of ‘Cider Meditation’!
12-8/9-25, 2-day residency in Carbondale and Basalt public/private schools for the Aspen Music Festival
12-10-25, Perform with the Cherry Creek High School Meistersingers
12-12-25, Bravo! Vail – 1-day residency in Edwards in the public middle and high school
12-19/21-25, Perform with Kantorei – Premiere of ‘Cider Meditation’ and Sir Christemasse by M. Ryan Taylor!
Article feature in The Aspen Times on the residencies for the Aspen Music Festival

Over 2-million streams in 2025!

Premieres 

• All Through the Night by Keane Southard, guitar solo
• Cloud Lacrymae by Douglas Knehans, electronics and guitar
• Cider Meditation by Aaron Larget-Caplan, choir and guitar
• Coastal Highway by Aaron Larget-Caplan, guitar solo
• Night Echoes by Jin Hee Han, guitar solo – New Lullaby #80
• Sir Christemasse by M. Ryan Taylor, choir and guitar
• Suite for a Changing Climate by Hayden Byrne, guitar duo

Premieres (arrangements) 

• Adoration by Florence Price, guitar solo
• America* by Paul Simon
• Battle Cry of Freedom* by George F. Root
• Harmony 20, O Give Thanks – James Lyon (From Apartment House 1776)* by John Cage
• Harmony 26, Judea – William Billings (From Apartment House 1776)* by John Cage
• Lift Every Voice and Sing* by J. Rosamond Johnson
• Star Spangled Banner* by John S. Smith

* Featured on Guitar America 250 (Navona, March 2026)

Publications

• ‘American Patriotic Songs for Guitar’ with the American Composers Alliance – HERE
• ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB+G with the American Composers Alliance – HERE

Videos

• Videos Pepe Romero Jr.
• Videos in Muir Woods
• Videos in a Silo at Art Omi

Supporters (Spirit, Fractured Atlas, Patreon & Private)

American Composers Alliance, Beverly Abeg, Bender Family, Simon Henry Berry, Christopher Bush, Laurie Caplan, Gene Caprioglio, Charles Coe, Olivier Fanton D’Andon, Stephen Drury, Alex Fedorov, Peter Frewen & Jenie Smith, Gina Genova, Frederic Hand, Paul Hatala, Simon Henry, Steve Hunt, Ross & Cody Jones, Patricia Krol, Laura Kuhn, Catherine Larget-Caplan, Caroline Larget, Patrick Lathrop, Jeffrey Lependorf, Beverly Maher, John McDonald, Melissa & Alex Menter, Marcelino Miranda, Nick and Jessica Morgan, Irina Muresanu, Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni, Trevor Neal, Lubos Naprstek, Will Rowe, K.S., John Weston, Ian Wiese, Peter & Bonnie Yates.

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A full circle moment: Aaron Larget-Caplan 

Link: https://www.aspentimes.com/news/aspen-music-festival-winter-music-recitals/

Aspen Music Festival and School also supports teachers and students across Roaring Fork Valley. This includes in-school enrichment and its Musical Connections program, which provided outreach by inviting esteemed musician Aaron Larget-Caplan to visit the school this month.

Acclaimed guitarist, composer, and Colorado-based musician Aaron Larget-Caplan returned to Basalt and Carbondale from Dec. 8-9 to work with the students by leading workshops and assemblies as part of Music Connections outreach.

For Larget-Caplan, who attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Basalt Middle School, Carbondale Community School, Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, and Carbondale Middle School, these visits “pay it forward.” He traces it back to a similar school visit he experienced in his youth. 

“Growing up in Denver, I remember when the Denver Symphony came to my elementary school. I played the clarinet. He performed a Brahms Sonata, and I thought, ‘Wow.’ When I heard this, I didn’t know this existed, and music really saved my life as a teenager. It improved all my grades, discipline, how I think, and how I learn,” Larget-Caplan said.

Now, as a concert guitarist, he has performed across the U.S., Europe, Russia, and Taiwan. He’s premiered more than 120 solo and chamber works, soloed with orchestras, and led commissioning projects. He has also received multiple awards and held prestigious residencies at the Banff Centre and John Cage Trust at Bard College.

He added, “As soon as I was a halfway decent musician, whenever I came back to Colorado, I wanted to make sure that these kids heard this and had opportunities to hear music.”

He’s also determined to demystify the world of music for young learners.

“You don’t have to be a professional with music,” he said. “There are so many paths. This is not something our society is very warm to unless you’re famous, and I refuse to accept that.”

For more information, visit aspenmusicfestival.com/events/winter-music-2026 or Aaron Larget-Caplan.

Aspen Music Festival and School’s Musical Connections program brings musical experiences to Roaring Fork Schools.Jennika Ingram/Courtesy photo

On Saturday October 25, I was invited by the Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni to speak about my career.

Over the course of just over an hour I highlighted a bit of my studies, a few of my projects including starting the New Lullaby Project, various recordings, how I started arranging and composing, and some of the things that inspired me to build a performance career in classical music. 

You are invited to take a listen and of course send me in questions.

A giant thank you to the Boston Alumni for the great questions, listening, and being so supportive over the last 25+ years!

Thank you to The Provincetown Independent and reporter Eve Samaha for the wonderful interview about finding guitar and the upcoming concert on Cape Cod in Wellfleet on Saturday Sep. 13.

Read the full article: https://provincetownindependent.org/arts-minds/2025/09/10/revelations-on-guitar/

On Thursday July 24 at 4:30pm ET, I will host my first live concert talk on Zoom via Patreon!

The talk will be about the forthcoming programs, arranging Bach and collaborating with composers. It should last 20-30min. It is free for all members (must be a follower on Patreon): LINK HERE

Patreon is a wonderful site that allows fans to follow and support their favorite Artists with either a free subscription or a paid tier subscription. I have been a longtime creator on the site and I follow a half-dozen artists and writers, though I have not taken full advantage of the possibilities. 

YOU can follow me for free or with a paid monthly subscription. There are give aways of scores and downloads, discount links for concert tickets, and LIVE CONCERT TALKS! 

I hope you’ll join me on Patreon!

Sincerely,

Aaron

*You can register as a member: https://www.patreon.com/alcguitar

The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:

I was 15 years old and walking up the hill to the classroom building at the National Guitar Summer Workshop on my way to a rehearsal. It had been a few intensive days of learning, rehearsing, performing in a close community of musicians, and I thought, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” After that class I confided this to my teacher, Julian Gray (Peabody Conservatory), and he gave me the best task, I think. He said, “I know you’re excited now, and I want you to go home and think about this for 6 months. And if you decide you want to do something else professionally, that’s absolutely fine and I’ll see you next summer. And if you still want to do this, and you’re serious, call me and I’ll help you.” And that’s what I did. It was a great lesson in self-awareness and responsibility in that exciting moment.

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:

Developing a leadership mindset in every aspect of your work, regardless of your role, that allows you to be adaptable, collaborative, and open to learning.

Two ways you stay motivated:

By teaching, and by taking lessons and collaborating with a colleague who inspires me to expand.

Latest Project:

A solo guitar project of my own compositions — in the works now is the music preparation of the scores, ideas for visual art, recording plans, performances, and a surprise or two!

What inspired it:

For the past ten years now, I’ve been working in duo with my colleague, the great slide guitarist and improvisor David Tronzo. As we played, composed, recorded, and swapped lessons together, I developed my own solo guitar writing style — inspired by my favorite places in nature that I visited in our times of isolation in the pandemic. On a recent sabbatical, I had time with the great jazz guitarists Leni and Mike Stern, and I can hear Leni’s influence in one of the pieces too.

Who’s on it:

It’s a solo guitar project, with music preparation by my former student Alex Mak, and planned recording with Randy Roos at Squam Sound Studios

How do you discover new music?

My students and colleagues at Berklee are my best source!

One living and one dead musician that deserves more attention:

Your teacher and your teacher’s teacher. We should know our musical lineage.

Where can we find you online?

www.kimperlak.com

The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:

Not sure. I think working with sound was what I always wanted but wasn’t sure how to go about it. I was always interested in sound, in particular I would stay underwater for long periods of time when swimming as a kid because of how it sounded.

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:

Being a good colleague.

Two ways you stay motivated:

Capturing what I hear internally and transporting it externally is always an interesting challenge, and what primarily motivates me. Financially maintaining myself in the arts is also a challenge and has it’s own interesting aspects.

Latest Project :

I recently was nominated for a JUNO award (Canadian Grammy equivalent) for my cello concerto, Simulacra*. This piece will be released with an album of chamber works called Lysis – (including my 10-string guitar piece Intermountainous) – on August 16, 2024 on New Focus Recordings.

What inspired it:

Simulacra is essentially a sonification of my own personal struggles with human identity. Like many others, I’ve often felt intense pressure to alter aspects of my fundamental self in order to do basic things like work and interact with others. I express this in the piece by making the timbre of the cello a metaphor for this kind of self- inhibition – it travels from one timbral extreme to another from the narrowest of timbral ranges to the fullest.

Who’s on it:

The brilliant cellist Jeffrey Zeigler is the soloist, I wrote the piece for him. Karl Hirzer is the conductor and Symphony Nova Scotia the orchestra. The piece was performed at the Open Waters Festival in 2023.

How do you discover new music?

Usually through research for particular pieces I am writing. I don’t listen to music for pleasure or relaxation, usually.

One living and one dead musician that deserves more attention:

Living – composer Pascale Criton

Dead – jazz guitarist Emily Remler

Where can we find you online?

amybrandon.ca • Instagram

Spotify • Bandcamp

Upcoming Event you’d like to share?

My string quartet Lysis will be performed at the ISCM Festival in the Faroe Islands in June.

JeffZeigler and SymphonyNovaScotia

Cellist Jeff Zeigler, Amy, conductor Karl Hirzer

Music, Open Studios: Music Curated by Pedja Muzijevic, Concert in the 21st Century

*Simulacra credit to artist is Susan Roston, Nub 2, Photographer is Andrew Rashotte.

The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:

ooooof…dunno. but it began to feel like a thing when some friends and I formed a band in high school to play songs I was writing.

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:

so many these days – we all have to wear so many hats! Project management, communications, financial planning…

Two ways you stay motivated:

i don’t have any system in place or have any external motivators….music is just so much part of my everyday….and my mind is always just racing

Latest Project:

becoming in shadows ~ of being touched – released in April on Whited Sepulchre records. 

What inspired it:

Daily practice actually heheehehe I was at the Banff Centre and my morning warm up was piano improvisations. That became the heart of this really weird work.

Who’s on it:

Myself, Mauro Zannoli, and the algorithm I created sad(john).low

How do you discover new music?

I listen to podcasts and radio shows, I get lost in app recommendations and follow genre histories, I go to live shows frequently, I have lots of friends with whom I share listening suggestions…

One living and one dead musician that deserves more attention:

Dead: Noah Creshevsky

Living: Xuan Ye

Where can we find you online?

https://www.jasondoell.com/

Upcoming Event you’d like to share? (optional)

just had a baby…so nothing until June in Sweden!

The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:

More precisely, the moment I knew I that I AM a musician (whether I want to be or not) was when I was 4 and figured out how to play Hava Nagila on the piano. The moment I knew I was a composer was when my band director in high school, Dr. Steven Lawrence had me arrange something for the marching band. As soon as I heard what I had written played by the performers, I was hooked.

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:

Being kind and respectful to performers and colleagues.

Two ways you stay motivated:

I live in terror of missing a deadline. And, I live to create music.

Latest Project:

I am writing a motet for Emmanuel Music, and then I will be writing a piece for the Kozar/Byrne Duo.

What inspired it:

The motet is inspired by the Bach Cantata it is being paired with (Cantata 94) as well as the sentiment expressed by Psalm 133 (“Hine Ma Tov Umanayim”- how good it is for all to live together under one tent).

Who’s on it:

The singers of Emmanuel Music.

How do you discover new music?

Scorefollower, music reviews, things my students tell me about, things my kid tell me about.

One living and one dead musician that deserves more attention:

• Dead Musician: Toru Takemitsu. His orchestral music should be on every major orchestra’s programming list and it isn’t.
• Living Musician: Bryn Harrison. Brilliant, brilliant English composer.

Where can we find you online?

martiepstein.com; soundcloud; Facebook; Instagram; bandcamp

Upcoming Event you’d like to share?

Emmanuel premiere is February 25th, but I also have a premiere of a piece I wrote for 8 cellos coming up this spring. Not sure of that date yet!

M. Epstein photos by ©️2023 Michael D Spencer

The moment when you knew you wanted to be a musician:

When I first started taking voice lessons, it was the only thing I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to sing forever.

An important skill for a career in music that does not have anything to do with an instrument or making music:

Writing and thinking. These two skills are so important to learn. I have always had a really rich journaling practice, and having the skill of reflection through writing has gotten me through some difficult times in my life and helped me expand ideas of who I am in the world, in music, and in the greater arts landscape. 

I certainly helps with grant writing and appeals for fundraising, but beyond that, it’s so important to come up with your own language for your art – what exactly it is that you do, why you do it, and what difference it makes in the world. 

The ability to ask questions and reflect on successes and failures allows you to hone your craft in a different way. I wish it didn’t take me 20 years to learn this, but now that I have these skills (and still improving), I’m a much better executive and artist.

Two ways you stay motivated:

1. Stay involved with or start projects that are meaningful to me 
2. Have hobbies that are not related to my professional career.

Latest Project:

My project, Bahué, has launched the second annual Latinx Composer Miniature Challenge (LCMC 2.0), which we envisioned as a sister project to the Castle of our Skins’ Black Composer Miniature Challenge. The Bahué #LCMC 2.0 asks composers who identify as Latin American or part of the Latin Diaspora to compose pieces for me and percussionist Ariel Campos that must be 30 seconds or so. We love for pieces to be inspired by themes of Latinidad, but it’s not required!

Pieces are due February 18, 2023 and early submissions are welcome and encouraged! We will record the works in June 2024 and broadcast the performances on social media and YouTube starting September 2024 (Hispanic Heritage Month). There is no cost to enter and the composers of all chosen works will be compensated.

What inspired it:

I felt alone when I first started searching for representation in concert repertoire and it felt like my interest in connecting to my culture through music was seen as a novelty because it was outside of the traditional repertoire. So this was always an interest and in my mind, but with Bahué and with Ariel, I figured out how to blend this interest with my passion for working with composers and with new music. We all need a space where we are not a novelty. Where we can celebrate new voices in our culture as well as the musical heritage that shapes us.

Who’s on it:

My duo partner, percussionist Ariel Campos, and any composers that want to apply!

How do you discover new music?

Through chorale in my undergrad, actually! I also became friends with a composer who asked me to sing his music more. Soo after, more composers started asking me to sing their music, and beyond that, I started looking for more composers on my own, and the rest is history! 

I still do that to this day. I go through periods where I’m Google Searching through websites and YouTube. Sometimes I’m going through lists to see if composers have specific instrumentation, sometimes I’m just listening to vocal works.

One living and one dead musician that deserves more attention:

I don’t know that I can answer this question. I’m not the kind that fans out on one person and there are so many amazing musicians in the world.

Where can we find you online?

Everywhere, but you can use https://linktr.ee/dirtypaloma to follow me on social media, sign up for my quarterly newsletter, and see what I have going on.

Upcoming Event you’d like to share?

Guerilla Opera has an artist networking event! It’s virtual and free, so anyone and everyone who has something to share is welcome to join us! And, of course, if you’re a composer of the Latin diaspora I hope you’ll submit to the Latinx Composer Miniature Challenge (LCMC 2.0).

New Year, New Connections: Virtual Happy Hour for Artists!

Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 7:00 PM ET

More Info: https://guerillaopera.org/eventcal/2023/12/29/new-year-new-connections-virtual-happy-hour-for-artists

Sign Up: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMldeCrqTovHdd9H_JUEmMXSzaTkK8zWClv 

photo by Tyler Hubby

photo by Tyler Hubby