A late night in early March 2012, I was lying in bed at my country house having trouble sleeping. It was one of those cold, clear nights; when the temperature falls below freezing, and the ground is bare from snow all but for some spots and shadowy places. It was moonless, and my room was pitch black and totally silent; I was alone in the house.

Then, all of a sudden, a shrill shriek repeatedly pierced the night; a shout that both made me happy, and comforted me. It told me that there was someone out there keeping an eye on the premises, and whom had taken on the role as warden of the night. The vernal calls for territory of the Tawny Owl, somehow made me relax and tiredness swiftly came over me.

Before I fell asleep, I wrote down a short poem – of which I wasn’t fully aware when I woke up – about this nightly experience, and the point between wake and sleep. Now, this text is turned into lyrics in this short tonal poem that from today is available in the shop.

Finally the composition project I’ve been working on for a long time is complete! From today the last composition to be finished in the Guitar Pastime Suite – part one titled Pick Your Point – is available in the web shop. The suite Guitar Pastime Suite, in four movements, offers two guitarists a lot of solo space, with melodic and rhythm playing as well.

Maybe the dark and the cold, and the often murky weather this time of the year make people think of death more often than otherwise. Whatever the reason: November seems to be a month where many orchestras combine with choires to perform various requiems and masses. One famous piece that is not a requiem but strongly allude to death, is Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, which was the composer’s last major orchestral work and premiered not long before his death in November 6th 1893. It is a piece with strong emotional connotations; permeated by a sense of loss and sorrow, but also with a streak of revenge or triumph that eventually ultimately succumb to loss and sadness, with the halting heart leaving the listener at the end.

Here is, in the back row, the brass section from last Sunday’s concert of Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony. From left to right are: Jaan, Per-Arne, Me, Anders, Björn and Erik.

There will also be a Christmas – New Year’s Sale here. From December 1st throughout the 31st there will be 15% off on all arrangements, and 20% off on all compositions. Take the chance to buy some new, exciting, challenging and fun charts for your band – to get a fresh start after the holidays.

Before: Piano wrapped in plastic bags and surrounded by tucked away stuff.

What should have been a simple and brief window renovation, turned out to be the Work-In-Progress from hell. The company doing the renovations took our windows out to do much of the work – such as changing glass, painting and carpentry – at their shop, and we found ourselves having to live with just some poorly fitting tarpaulin umbrellas over the empty windows for more than a month. Because autumn is now setting in here in Sweden, things got cold (the draft!) and damp in the apartment, and since we live by a fairly trafficked street it was also noisy. To keep my electric piano safe, I had to pack it in thoroughly and for more than a month I have been unable to do any serious writing work at home.

After: Piano unpacked, connected to its outlet and played for the first time in over a month. On the stand is the score for Guitar Pastime Suite part 1 “Pick Your Point”. Partly due to this abysmal renovation still not completed.

Today I am finally unpacking my workplace! After tidying things up I plan on a composing spree this weekend.

This year’s summer sale is over, but between 1st and 31st of December, there will be a Christmas-New Year’s Sale.

(Did things finally work out with the renovation? No. We finally got our windows back after a serious delay, but the job was poorly done. This is by no means over…)

Sweden is right now in a severe drought, with large areas not having had rain since early May. Combined with a – for Swedish conditions – heatwave, with about a month of temperatures around and above 30C, or 86F, trees and lawns are now yellow, brown and autumn-like, and in forests around the countryside wildfires are ravaging unprecedently.

In such circumstances, a trombonist has to take shelter in the cool of his basement to get some proper bass trombone practising.

Fortunately, the Summer Sale is unaffected by drought and wildfires! Take the opportunity to buy new, unique Big Band charts at a discount – to keep your band practising during summer recess. 20% off on all compositions, and 15% off on all arrangements.