Yesterday I had a wonderful arranging session with Joe Hearson, whom I hadn't seen in maybe ten years, when he and his father came to New York for a week of theatre. Joe's father was musical director for several groups in England, and we became friends via Castrecl. Shortly after their NYC trip, Joe's father asked me if I would help Joe with orchestrating a piece he had composed, and we had a good time with the piece through scans, PDFs, and emails.
Since then, Joe graduated from the University of Manchester, married French horn player Sophie, had his first child in January 2025, and formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent Symphony Orchestra, which he conducts. I'n very proud of him.