Scott Michal and I have been friends and musical collaborators for two decades, although we seldom talk and are lucky if we see each other once a year. But it’s not one of those Gilbert & Sullivan things. We actually like and respect one another, but I live in the center of the state and he lives on the fringe. Consequently, we do not co-write as much stuff as I would like and when we do it takes an inordinately long time. (He also had a lot of problems with his beloved Mac computers and lost a lot of his work, but that’s another story.)

I began writing The Last Oz Story immediately after The Last Christmas Carol was published in 2001. Now, in the spring of 2011, it looks as though the show will finally have its premiere. Scott is teaching music at the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College in southeastern Ohio and will be producing the show using the combined resources of the music and theatre departments.

In September, Scott spent a week in Prague working with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra to record his violin concerto, “Econiums.”  The orchestra features a rising young star in the violin world, Vit Micka. The orchestra liked the composition so much that they are planning to include it in their regular season. Meanwhile, the session will be released by Parma Recording.

Now, that Scott has the recording bug, he is working on recording the whole score for Oz (something we still haven’t done for Christmas Carol). In fact, he would like to have an original cast album available at the premiere.

 

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