The first day of April has long been remembered as “All Fools’ Day” for many reasons.  However, exempt from that list of foolery is one T.S. Woodward, whom you may have spotted traveling around the classic city; mid-way through his tango-of-death with 88 keys.  Woodward made an “official” debut in 2013 with the release of Dominar’s “BLUE RIBBON” music video.  Since then, he has been hard at work on an album of recordings that will ultimately be submitted as his senior thesis in Popular Music Composition, a degree that Woodward designed himself.  The finished album is titled “How to Breathe Underwater” and it will premiere on April 1st @ exactly 5PM for one showing only in The Dancz Center for New Music on the 2nd floor of UGA’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
To better explain the situation, we requested a statement and the following descended upon the field at Gypsy Farm late last week, attached to a fast-dwindling balloon, it read :
“A few years ago I created my own major at UGA; I did this by outlining a unique path of study which was specific to my interests and incorporated upper level coursework from the departments of Music Composition, Creative Writing, and Music Business. Additionally, I proposed a senior thesis project which would require me to write, record, and produce a full length “album” of original material, the graded submission of which (alongside an academic paper) would ultimately determine whether or not I graduate. This major is called Popular Music Composition, and on Wednesday, April 1st, at exactly 5PM within the grand hall of The Dancz Center for New Music, the question of my graduation will finally be answered as I present my completed thesis, How to Breathe Underwater, in front of a live studio audience and my 3 esteemed committee members, Dr. Valdez, Dr. Pavlic, and Mr. David Barbe.
The first half of this recital will consist of the world premiere of my thesis, How to Breathe Underwater, in the form of a stereophonic playback of the 28 minute album in its entirety from start to finish and without pause. This is not an “album release” but rather an exclusive public screening of the album before the inevitable waiting period to get it pressed and distributed to record stores. It is worth noting that The Dancz Center for New Music, aka The Black Box, is the same state-of-the-art performance hall in which the majority of this work was recorded and mixed and is therefore the ideal place in which to listen to it.
The second half of this recital will consist of a live performance of B-sides and other material written by T.S. Woodward, performed by himself at the piano and with the help of his friends, The Phantasmagoric Chamber Orchestra, whose makeup is as follows:
Zeke Sayer – Drumset
Matthew Garrison – Upright Bass
Nicholas Mallis – Electric Guitar
Dave Kirslis – Acoustic Guitar
Jeff Webber – Synthesizer
Ember Remliel – Backup vocals
This performance will be recorded and archived by the hardworking composition staff at UGA, as well as by my talented friends and colleagues Mr. Neal Warner & Alex Kroh.
I would like to note that none of this is or would be possible without the graciousness and support of those closest to me both inside and out of The University of Georgia. And so…
It is with the utmost pleasure and excitement that I invite you to please join me for this one of a kind performance of a work that is representative of years of study and labor… whose surreal nature has been at once borne out of and painstakingly constructed atop the ruins of my dreams and nightmares… and which was conceived during the quiet, borrowed hours between midnight and dawn within the hallowed halls of The Hugh Hodgson School of Music.”
Please visit the official event page by clicking the above flier or RSVP here
Gypsy Farm Network 