Diane Moser

First, let me say that I am so pleased to be collaborating with Lon Garber on this new blog! I emailed Lon after reading about his new book and asked him if he would like to collaborate with me on a blog that would share the positive stories of all of us who have encountered GIST. We have so much to deal with, I wanted a place for people to share their stories of overcoming whatever GIST hands us, and to honor those who are no longer with us. Thankfully, Lon said yes and quite frankly has done most of the work on this blog so far! I hope that all of you will share your stories so that we may be inspired!
Now, to my story....

I have made my living as a pianist, composer, educator all of my life. I’ve also been producing concerts on a regular basis in the Montclair, NJ area since the mid 90’s. I am a single mom, and my son is now 34 years old. The life of a musician is not an easy one. Most of our work is free-lance, some happens regularly, then there are the hours of practicing, rehearsing, teaching, networking, it’s a juggling act and a bit of a roller coaster ride.
Being a musician is as much of a vocation as it is an avocation , it is my life. When GIST appeared in my life, in Feb of 2009, I thought everything would come crashing down...and it did..but only for a short while. Most of everything that happened can be read on a blog that was started for me at the time by my dear friend Elzy Kolb....http://d-mo-zone.blogspot.com/ 

 Surprisingly, when I look back over the past 4 years, I see that my life did not come crashing down for long, but instead expanded to encompass many new and wonderful experiences. Performances, composing, film, artist colonies, traveling, new projects, and a new job, my world had expanded in ways I had never dreamed. There were 5 projects I had in various stages before GIST. The good news is that 2 of those projects are now completely finished. The first, a recording I did with virtuoso bassist and my dear friend of 35 years, Mark Dresser. We recorded this project with CIMP Records, on my birthday in July 2008, and it was released March 2012. The recording is called "Duetto", and there are compositions by Mark and myself.

To hear samples of this recording you can go to my website...
http://dianemosermusic.com/music/duetto/

Mark and I had never recorded before, but have played together for over 3 decades. This was an extra special occasion, and I am so pleased with this recording.

As soon as I found out that "Duetto" was being released, I went back to work on another recording that I had worked on from 2002-2007. I had been traveling to San Diego during that time and recording with friends that I had known from my home state of Iowa since the mid 70's and more friends from San Diego. I was going to release it sooner, but GIST put a hold on that for a time.

This recording runs the gamut of Jazz (standards and contemporary), Latin, and even an electronic remix by my son Chad! I dedicated this recording to everyone who helped me through my GIST crisis. It's called "Diane Moser WDMO" and was named by Jazz journalist Elzy Kolb. When she heard the mix she told me that it sounded like a really cool radio station...and since most of my big band members refer to me as D-Mo, we decided the call letters of this radio station had to be WDMO. You can go to my website to hear samples of this as well...http://dianemosermusic.com/music/wdmo/

This next project goes back at least 38 years when I read James Thurber's book "The Last Flower", and decided that someday I would write music based on that book. In 2003 I was awarded a composition grant from Chamber Music America to compose for my quintet. I composed a 50 minute suite called.."Music for the Last Flower". We premiered the piece in NJ and NYC and have an outstanding live recording..but I always wanted a studio recording. In Nov of 2011 I was awarded a CAP recording grant from the American Music Center (now known as NewMusic USA) that would support that recording. We recorded the music in Sept of 2012, and I am now in the finishing stages. It will be released Fall 2013.

The other two projects I was working on before GIST were "Music of the Spheres", a four movement suite for my big band, and "The Birdsong Project" a group of compositions based on my improvisations and recordings with birds. You can read more about the development of these two projects on my website
http://dianemosermusic.com/2013/03/27/new-music-usa-metlife-creative-connection-program-award-and-beyond/. 

I am happy to report that I finished both projects and they were both performed while I was in residence at the Meadowlands Environmental Center in Lyndhurst, NJ during April/May of this year. It was a thrilling experience, and I had dreamed of doing this for probably 10 years! I don't have music samples of the performances ready for public consumption just yet, but you can go to their website and check out what we were doing, and, go to their Soundcloud page and listen to some of the music that was created in the workshops. http://moodle.rst2.edu/meadowlands/?page_id=1913 I plan on recording the birdsongs later this summer, and hopefully the big band music later this year.

The biggest thing I have learned is that life keeps changing, and, it’s a challenge to keep up with those changes. But so many times, when I thought it was all over, I learned that it was just beginning, and that’s pretty much how I live my life now. I also like to follow the advice of the Dalai Lama who has said that everyone should go somewhere each year that they’ve never visited before. I’ve taken that to another level, not just places, but ideas, new sets of skills and meeting new people. I also know how important it is to be grateful for everything that I have, in every sense of the word, and everyday I give thanks to all of those who helped me in my seriously darkest hours. Everyday is a gift, and I am forever thankful for that gift.

My son Chad!