November, 2003

It's been a busy year, and I'm long past due with an update of what I've been doing.

Last spring I was hired to compose and record music for a four-part documentary that is being done by Twin Cities Public TV and the University of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. This Ken Burns-esque docudrama is called "Uncommon Ground", and tells the history of the land of Minnesota from its creation to the present. I composed and recorded music for the first two parts back in May and June, using lots of my favorite musicians, like Ritchie Dworsky on piano, Dirk Freymuth on guitar, Marc Anderson on percussion, Diane Tremaine on cello, and many others. I'm quite pleased with how the music turned out, and am looking forward to working on the final two parts this coming year. I'll keep you posted on the film's progress.

I've also signed on to compose the music for a new play that is being created for the Great American History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. This show is untitled as of yet, but it deals with one of the greatest natural disasters in the history of our nation, the 'Great Hinckley Fire'. This project is the brainchild of actress Linda Kelsey (do you remember her character Bobbie from the "Lou Grant Show"?). Linda's great grandfather was a survivor of the Hinckley fire, so she has a personal interest in this story being told. We've got a great creative team working on this show. Playwright Roger Niebor, director/choreographer Joe Chavala and yours truly. Though the show will not open until October of 2004, we've already been meeting and planning for over a year. I will keep you informed as things develop.

This last August/September had me touring all over the country. Some of the high points were the Oak Grove Festival in Verona VA, the Laurel Theatre in Knoxville TN... San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara CA, and most of all, all the cities that were on the Prairie Home Companion Rhubarb Tour. Thanks to all of you who came out to support our music.

As some of you may know, guitarist Dirk Freymuth will no longer be my touring partner. Due to the demanding school schedule he has in Southern California (and more importantly, he's found the true love of his life out there), he can no longer give up his weekends traveling around the country with me. He is an incredible musician, and I'll miss his talent and friendship. For the immediate future, keyboardist Dan Chouinard is filling in in Dirk's place, and also my old touring partner, Irish guitarist Daithi Sproule. Many of you are probably familiar with Daithi as a member of the Irish supergroup Altan.

Dirk will be coming back to Minneapolis, however, to join me along with Dan Chouinard, Joel Sayles, Marc Anderson, vocalist Ruth MacKenzie and the three Ukrainian singers Tatiana Riabokin, Olenka and Natalka Nowytski for the return of the "Heartland Holiday Concerts". The concerts will be held at the Fitzgerald Theatre in downtown St. Paul on December 6th and 7th. Last year this concert sold out, so make your reservations early.

I've had a lot of people asking me about the "Lifescapes" CDs I've done for Target Stores. Here's what I know. As of now through December 24th the only CD of mine that can be bought at Target is the "Irish Christmas" CD I produced for them last year. They have brought it back for their Christmas season. The other three CDs I have done for Target are, I believe, all out of print. There may be a few left that could be ordered direct from Compass Productions, who are the executive producers of the "Lifescape" series. You can find out what's available by looking at their website (www.compasslifescapes.com). The three CDs in question are titled "Bluegrass", "Bluegrass Christmas" and "Oh, Father: Bluegrass Praise".

(editor's note: Still relevant from the last "What's New"): The Mando Boys live CD is finished. The title is The Mando Boys Live: Holstein Lust, the Midwestern Tours. I'm still working on the artwork and graphics, but hopefully it will be available soon.

Last, but not least, I continue to work on my transcriptions of Irish fiddler John Doherty. John Doherty, who passed away in 1980, was a brilliant fiddler, with an amazing repertoire of tunes. I fell in love with his music a few years ago and have been transcribing his style and repertoire on the musical page ever since. Tapes of his music are hard to come by because he was rarely commercially recorded. I have managed to track down quite a bit of it, and have even gone to Ireland to see if I could find more. To date I have a few hundred of his tunes transcribed, and still have more to go. I would love to see his music preserved and played for generations to come. I hope to publish these transcriptions in the near future. I also plan on recording some of Doherty's tunes as a companion piece to the book. Let me know if you have any information about John Doherty and his music, or if you have any interest in this project.

That's it for now... Peter