CANCION DE LOS TSA'CHILAS

Cancion de Los Tsa'chilas, the choral arrangement based on the melodies of the Ecuadorian indigenous community I spent some time with last year, was premiered at Oklahoma State University on April 19, 2009. Under the direction of Ms. Janessa Anderson, the OSU women's chorus did a fantastic job performing the piece. I had blast interacting with the chorus; many thanks to Ms. Anderson and the ladies for their work with the premiere!

TSA'CHILA PROJECT

Over the last couple of months I've enjoyed conducting workshops for choral groups and geography classes. The focus has been on the Tsa'chila indigenous community and what can be learned from their musical and cultural traditions (In 2008, I lived with the community in northeast Ecuador; for more info, check out "Ecuador" under "past news").

Workshops have occurred throughout high schools, universities, and community choral groups in Arizona and Texas, with more planned in Oklahoma and New York City.

In an effort to help preserve their culture and traditions, choral pieces based on their melodies have been arranged and are seeing world premieres throughout the US. Marcos de Niza High School premiered the mixed chorus version, the men's version is scheduled to premiere at a choral conference in Texas by Plainview High School, and the women's version is scheduled to premiere at Oklahoma State University.

If you are involved in a choral group or educational group and are interested in learning more about the Tsa'chila community or in performing one of the choral arrangements, please contact me at mchl.sample@gmail.com.

CONCERTS

I have been doing a number of performances and concerts throughout December and January at various churches and community groups. I'm currently booking throughout the Spring, so if you are in need of a soloist, pianist, or choral clinician, send me an email at mchl.sample@gmail.com with your request and contact information.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

I will be playing the role of "Topper" in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix, AZ from December 13th - 24th.

For more information, click here to visit the The Actors Theater website.

FOLLIES AND AZ WORKSHOPS IN OCTOBER

I will be in Arizona Oct 18-31 to perform in the 6th Annual Phoenix Theater Follies and to do a series of workshops and concerts.

If you are involved in a choral group, educational outreach group, and/or community group of any age range, and are interested in learning about indigenous Ecuadorian music, please contact me for further information about content and scheduling possibilities. All workshops are free of charge.

TADA!

I recently joined the NYC youth theatre company TADA! as a teaching artist. It is a great organization that seeks to give young people an opportunity to create and express themselves through the genre of musical theater. I'm excited to be a part of their team and to start teaching in the near future.

Click here to visit the TADA! website.

CAPTIVE

In the summer of 2007 I played "Gabriel" in an independent film called "Captive." I recently was notified that it has been featured at the following film festivals in 2008:

Great Lakes Film Festival www.greatlakesfilmfest.com
New Strand Film Festival www.newstrandfilmfestival.com
The Indie Gathering www.theindiegathering.com

ARIZONI AWARD

This September I had the honor of joining the AriZoni award winning family by receiving the AriZoni award for best supporting actor in a musical. Special thanks to the AriZoni Theater Awards of Excellence!

Click here to visit the official website of the AriZoni awards.

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

The furry hat has been resurrected! I recently played the role of Papa John Phillips in the Southeastern Premiere of DREAM A LITTLE DREAM: The Nearly True Story of the Mamas and Papas. The Florida Stage production ran from June 26 through August 31.

Click here for the cast announcement on playbill.com

Click here for the official Florida Stage website.

Click here for a few photos from the production.

In January of 2007, I jumped a plane headed south to explore the country of Ecuador.
The adventure lasted about three months and was most definitely a rich experience.

A few highlights:

- I worked with the foundation “ALDEC” (Alliance for the Development, Education, and Welfare
of Street Working Children) in Quito, conducting arts workshops with children involved with the foundation. This organization is always happy to receive volunteers and/or financial support, so if
you are interested in helping out some little ones in Ecuador, contact me and I’d be happy to give
you more information.

- I tried my hand at some extreme sports, including paragliding, scuba diving, white river rafting, mountain biking, and hiking volcanoes.
In celebration of surviving these endeavors, I threw some pictures on the MEDIA page.

- I had the incredible experience of living with an indigenous community outside of Santo Domingo. The Tsachila community is dedicated to preserving its heritage and its members graciously allowed me to share in their way of life as well as record and research their musical traditions. As a result of this experience, I’m currently working on a series of choral arrangements based on the traditional melodies of Los Tsachilas. I plan to conduct workshops focused on the music and culture of Los Tsachilas with a number of choral groups in the early fall. If you are involved in a choral group, educational outreach group, and/or community group of any age range, and are interested in learning about this indigenous Ecuadorian community, or about the musical influences of this region in general, please contact me for further information about content and scheduling possibilities.

Click here for photos from Ecuador.