About

This project was conceived by me, after hearing a few of Clint’s song compositions. I was looking for American songs for a recital program. Most of the songs I found did not interest me in some way, others were either too high or too low, or too something else. I liked the way Clint’s songs had a large sweeping melody that allowed a classical singer’s voice to bloom and blossom throughout the phrase, much as one of the old masters. Yet, his music didn’t fall into the trap most young composers fall into…they weren’t copies of an old master’s style, they were Clint’s own unique voice and sounded new, fresh, and complex.

So, I approached Clint to write four songs. I ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds, and one of the rewards for donating was a recording of the completed songs. Clint suggested four texts from Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. His idea for a set based on the theme of love and loss seemed interesting, so we moved ahead with the project.

During the composition phase, Clint was approached by baritone, Randal Turner to write three songs for a recital. Clint, once again, chose three poems from Leaves of Grass. Upon hearing them, I knew my project was going to expand to a full CD. I knew I had to sing these songs too–and why not record them?

About that time, I received the first draft of “I Saw in Louisiana” and Whitman’s themes of a live oak growing, alone and depending on one’s friends resonated with me. Thus the title of the CD came to me: A Live Oak Growing.

Currently, we are in rehearsals and we will premiere the songs on August 3rd, 2011 at CAP21 in New York City. We will record the performance to share with our sponsors. We then will let the songs live a little and will record the CD in the late spring/early summer of 2012. Check back for the release date, and further updates!

All the best,
Tim