Projects

Chase The White Horse

Chase the White Horse is a political memoir about my family. My mother, Marjorie McGregor, was born in Eastern Washington on a large ranch, an “empire” in size, pioneered by her uncles in the late 1880’s. McGregor land was situated on the former tribal lands of the Palouse Indians. My mother’s early contact with the few remaining Palouse Indians in the 1920’s influenced her political views. As an acting student at the University of Washington, she came in contact with people on the left, and became a communist in Hollywood and was later on the HUAC blacklist.

My father, Arnold Manoff, born to Russian Jewish immigrants in New York City, was a blacklisted screenwriter who worked under “fronts” for most of his life. His writing was a prominent influence on the emerging styles of television in the 50’s and early 60’s through such shows as You Are There and Naked City.

The book deals also with my time in Mississippi as a civil rights worker in 1964 and 65. An excerpt from the book is posted in the “In Depth” section.

The Trials of Katherina Kepler

An opera based on the life of Katherina Kepler, mother of the famous astonomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler. Katherina was tried as a witch in 1619. I began this project when living near Weil der Stadt, the city where Kepler was born. Operas take some time but the work progresses. I have been adapting some of its music for other pieces, notably The Trials of Katherina Kepler for violin and piano performed in 2002. My intention for this work is to create an internet version of some of it, using singers and midi-generated instruments. I’ve worked steadily on this piece for many years. Whatever its time frame, that is what it will take.

Harmony Kit

Written as the planned successor to The Music Kit, The Harmony Kit was considered too difficult for the average college market. This book is based on the assignments and ideas from the courses I taught at the Manhattan School of Music. It is not a text for everyone, but for serious student of music who are willing to immerse themselves in traditional harmony and counterpoint, culminating in deep study and internalization of Bach Chorales. It will appear in 2013 as a web based multimedia package at an attractive price./span>

Music : A Living Language

Influential and well-reviewed in its time, Music: A Living Language proved too challenging for college students by the early 90’s, at least according to a number of music instructors. Using web resources, especially for music examples, the book will be offered to students and teachers at a reasonable price. 2012-13

Milagro Vargas

Mezzo-soprano Milagro Vargas has many fine recordings including the role of Neferiti in the premiere recording (and only recording) of Philip Glass’sAkhnaten from the original production at the Stuttgart Opera. She was also a soloist on the Grammy-winning Credo by Penderecki. This year we embark on several recording projects : The Lieder of Josephine Lang and an album of Yiddish and Spanish Folk Songs.

Jill Talve

I’m finishing an album of popular music started some years ago with Jill Talve, a wonderful singer in New York. Some of the tracks are mine and some co-written with Jill. Basic tracks recorded by Bob Stark at Portland’s famous Kung Fu Studios with bassist Phil Baker, the project is now in its second phase at my newly expanded recording studio.