Watch “Pray the Gay Away”® the musical on YouTube! Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland. This video is from the original 2019 community theater premiere at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA USA
“Pray the Gay Away”® delves into the challenging realm of gay conversion therapy, offering a raw and impactful portrayal. Experience the mix of entertainment and raw emotion that left audience members describing the show as both gut-wrenching and emotionally devastating.
I’m finally starting to release some clips from my 2019 original musical “Pray the Gay Away”®. This song “No More Musical Theater” is a turning point in the musical where it quickly switches from a comedy to a tragedy. This is the last of the “fun and games” moments in the script as we follow the journey of two boys going through gay conversion therapy.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more PTGA clips and other music video projects I’m working on at: https://www.youtube.com/@ConradAskland
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Yes, that’s me (Conrad Askland) sitting at the ice piano during a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. (Photo by Caroline Thibault)
We just finished a wonderful two weeks performing in Montreal, Canada over Christmas with the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. Not only were the audiences wonderful to perform for, the cast of Crystal also got a private tour of the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters in Montreal. Wonderful city. Wonderful audiences.
Continue reading “Cirque du Soleil CRYSTAL – Christmas 2023 in Montreal, Canada”
Here is our new recording of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus by the vocal quartet Tembresha. We recorded this in my living room at the tail end of the pandemic in December 2021. This was one of several groups I worked with in my home during the pandemic. During the pandemic I wasn’t able to perform publicly so I started working with people in my home as a way to keep my sanity and creativity alive.
Click the bottom right of the video “Watch on YouTube” to listen to it on my YouTube channel and also to read more about the singers, our recording and the history of Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus
Read more about the history of Ave Verum Corpus by W.A. Mozart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_verum_corpus_(Mozart)
You can also listen to this recording on your favorite streaming platform: https://social.tunecore.com/linkShare?linkid=kvv70yBgJXvm6qcaL8RFqg
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This is the first of a series of videos I have created as part of my latest project called “Discuss AI”
Over the last several weeks I’ve been learning about and working with artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGTP, BrainTrust AI, Google Bard and Typecast AI. I created several simple videos while learning about it; videos on my YouTube channel that are overviews of the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. I knew that I wanted to do something with AI and that those videos were just a vehicle to learn more about it.
Continue reading “AI Just Said “Everything Will Be Okay” – What Happened Next?”
Photos from my two weeks in Barcelona, Spain playing music for the Cirque du Soleil ice skating show Crystal. After taking photos in Lisbon I wanted to improve my photography so these are my first photos with my Sony A7 iv camera (and a G-Master 35mm f1.4 lens). Special thanks to professional photographer Diego Patitucci for giving me tips on night photography with my new camera
My musical of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been translated to Chinese! This work was done by a Chinese student majoring in Linguistics who goes by the handle “CocoKissh”. We did some Zoom meetings preparing for the project and that was really fun working between Seattle, WA and Beijing, China. Read more for additional info and link to the Chinese language subtitles to my Romeo and Juliet musical.
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Cirque du Soleil ‘Crystal’ Music Director Conrad Askland Q&A
In June of 2022 I was interviewed for the Berklee College of Music “Take Note” Online Magazine by Freesla Towle. “In this interview, Conrad Askland discusses live music production for Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Crystal,’ his time at Berklee Online, and conveying empathy with his original musicals.”
I was also able to tour the campus at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and also do a Q&A session with Berklee students studying Music Marketing. Thank you so much to Berklee College of Music for your warm hospitality and the opportunity to interact with students. And as a side note, I loved Boston and did many historical throughout the city. What a wonderful city Boston is!
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When William Shakespeare meets musical theatre.
*Original article on the BandCampDiaries website at: https://thebandcampdiaries.com/post/652902300001714176/conrad-askland-presents-romeo-and-juliet-the
June 2021 – It’s safe to say that Conrad Askland is not your average artist and composer. His creativity transcends “traditional” music release formats, in favor of a broader approach, which touches so many different genres and influences. From pop and uptempo folk-inspired dance music, down to musical theatre and plays, anything goes. Conrad has recently released a brand new project, Romeo and Juliet (The Musical). Any theatre enthusiast will tell you that tacking a Willam Shakespeare work is not easy, especially when it comes to turning such a well-known classic into a musical with a different twist! Thankfully, Conrad really managed to accomplish something amazing with this one, and listeners won’t be disappointed, even those who might not be familiar with the original version of Romeo and Juliet! If anything, this adaptation could be a great incentive for someone to go and pick up the collected works of The Bard! This happens to be Conrad’s third full-length musical theater project, and it still stands out as one of his most distinctive achievements. Although the musical play premiered in 2015, it was released as a full-length Youtube Video over at the artist’s official channel, linked at the bottom of this article.
This amazing project is a perfect example of what it’s like to produce great musical theatre pieces with a focus on great scoring inspired by neoclassical music composers.
Continue reading “Askland’s Romeo and Juliet the musical – When Shakespeare meets musical theatre”
Words and Music by Conrad Askland (ASCAP). “I Like Chocolate” © 2007 Conrad Askland.
I ascribe by the motto of “What was funny in third grade will always be funny.” This is MAYBE the silliest song I’ve ever written, and I’ve written a LOT of very silly songs.
I almost never write a song “just to write a song.” There’s always a reason for a song when I write it. I’m very utilitarian, or practical, in that way. “I Like Chocolate” was written for a very specific reason: to make third-graders laugh. And here’s the story all about that…