Cello Expressions
I played cello for more than a decade before singing in a choir. Another canon of music emerged when I joined the USC University Chorus to complete the performance requirement for my music minor in 2015. I took a choral arranging course from composer Morten Lauridsen to gain context. My composing and arranging style evolved to take inspiration from a…
On December 12, 2023, the Sherwood City Council and Urban Renewal Agency Board approved construction funding for the Highway 99W pedestrian bridge project. The council voted 6-1 in favor of the funding mechanism and authorization for the construction contract. The dissenting councilor noted objections to the project’s cost and funding approach, despite support for building the bridge. The bridge will…
The Cello Expressions Sheet Music Library has opened with a table view listing all sheet music in the library since its beginnings in 2012. As the library has grown past 100 pieces (currently around 120 pieces), this format has gradually become less effective. New pieces jump to the top of the list as older pieces become lost in a sea…
WordPress blocks offer a dynamic experience in the post and site editors. But creating dynamic blocks – with contextual PHP-rendered functionality historically central to the WordPress platform – can be painfully difficult. The challenge goes far beyond learning a new API. Blocks leverage an entirely different toolset. And that toolset is optimized for a full-time professional developer profile, making even…
With another influx of new cello music since my update last year, it’s time to highlight the next set of additions to the Cello Expressions Sheet Music Library. This posts covers works published between summer 2020 and summer 2021. You’ll also find a set of newly-available copyrighted arrangements that I wrote about last week. The library continues to expand in…
Building on the collection of copyrighted music that I published last year, six additional arrangements for cello ensembles are now available. These pieces were created for special concerts by the Boulder Cello Project. The five Disney arrangements premiered at Chase the Music concerts for children with critical conditions. The concert recipients specifically requested each of these pieces. The final newly-published…
I contributed to WordPress core from 2013 through 2021. WordPress core is the open-source software that powers 40% of the web. My contributions ranged from software code and designs to project management, documentation, and outreach. Most of this work happened as a volunteer. This post summarizes my involvement in the project. It’s long but hopefully successful in distilling eight years…
The cello expressions logo originated in 2013 as a simple sketch drawn during a music history class. An angled arrangement of seven line segments forms an abstract shape. And that abstraction conveniently represents several of the Cello Expressions projects. I reworked the logo’s digital interpretation about six months ago. Last week, I decided to build out a full library of…
I recently released the Full Screen Galleries WordPress Plugin. It automatically creates a full-screen slideshow of post content images and galleries. The slideshow provides an enhanced format for browsing large collections of images. Viewers can focus on a single image at a time, see larger images, and also read captions more deliberately. Navigation is simplified to change the image like…
The Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge project is moving forward, despite an unresolved funding strategy. As Multnomah County works through the formal environmental impact process, public outreach is already shifting focus to the new bridge design. This post records the public comments that I submitted for both concurrent phases of outreach. Draft Environmental Impact Statement There are a few sections of…