After my House of Untold Horrors was such a hit with kids, I was asked, "So, when's the sequel coming out?" The next morning I woke up with an idea for First Snow. Written in a hotel room and a car on the way home from Chicago (never do this -- it's dangerous!), I came up with a story that even tops Untold Horrors in, well, stupidity. After telling the story to my five-year-old daughter, she announced, smiling, "That's really stupid!" Thank you -- that's exactly what I'd hoped you say. The story here is of a man who wakes up to the first snow of the season. When he goes outside to drive to work, his car won't start, and he ends up stuck to a lamp post by his tongue. From there his day gets even worse (but I won't give it away here.) The piece was premiered by the Orquestra Joven de El Puerto de Santa Maria in Spain, conducted by Ricardo Vega, who also staged the performance and created wonderful lighting effects. The text was of course translated into Spanish. This, by the way, was the kind of performance that makes a composer really, really happy to be a composer!