Thomas Bramel, composer

AMERICA 250 (last movement) of an orchestral tribute honoring America’s 250 years. Quiet pride, enduring hope. A single pioneer greets the dawn of our next chapter.

@RAMoulds @lippyent 🤣

@lippyent Cigarettes

Hmm 😒 🤔?¿

@sir_squatchalot @MeatEaterTV Trout from fast moving streams in the Sierra Nevada mountains above Lake Sabrina (Bishop, Ca) . Spent a week in the back country climbing to higher lakes and catching a variety of trout in the small lakes and icy streams. Great memories!

@MeatEaterTV Saltwater. Easy. Except for walleye.

Debate time: freshwater or saltwater fishing?

“Twilight Chimera” for violin and harp composed by Thomas Bramel and performed by Duo Alcor on April 26, 2026. The concert took place at the Chapelle St Quenin de Vaison-la-Romaine. Cordelia Palm, violin & Aliénor Girard-Guigas, harp. Sponsored by Three Essential Elements, Inc.

@RAMoulds No. Hybrid is simply one way to get your stuff out there. I know several self published authors who are actually making money on Amazon. One person studied it seriously & put some ad money into it. He’s in the black! But, it took some time & effort.

I confess that I resorted to hybrid publishing to get my book out. Does that make me a bad person? 😁

@RAMoulds @musicandroots It’s true that the muse takes leave now and then.

@ThomasBramel @musicandroots I've largely stopped producing music altogether. That may change in the future, but we'll see.

Does anything happen on this app anymore? I remember classical music twitter being more lively.

@musicandroots @RAMoulds It could be a function of my age, but active discourse about music no longer interests me. Energy is better spent birthing what begins as a tiny glimpse of inspiration. The labor is intense and requires deep focus and focus upon the deep. X isn’t much help.

@ThomasBramel @RAMoulds That fair. I just remember a lot more vibrancy. Many of these folks jumped to Bluesky. But even after that things were more robust here for a while.

@RAMoulds @musicandroots What should we expect from X? At 1st I expected people to listen, comment & like – Growing my audience. Then I lowered my expectations to having a few listens now & then. Now I expect nothing. I’m happier allowing for serendipity.

@musicandroots One becomes a bit beaten down after a time.

@nicksortor x.com/steverob/statu…

🚨 WOW! VP JD Vance says the fraud discovered in Maine is SO BAD it might literally rank THIRD in the entire country, behind only California and Minnesota "why did Maine go from a state that did not have a serious fraud problem to one where I can honestly say it's one of the worst states in the union?" His answer? Janet Mills and Joe Biden. One is already gone. The other is on her way out, thankfully

1951. Taught the same. Told to fit in. Don’t make waves. Don’t speak out. Don’t project power. Be nice. Raise your hand when you want to speak. Wait to be called on. Don’t stick your head up above the crowd. Keep your head down. Duck and cover. Don’t show your teeth - people might fear you and call you names.

I'm 85 b.1941, childhood in 1940s & earlier 50s. I was brought up to eschew boasting, discourtesy & exaggerated claims that things are best, worst , greatest ever &c. I grew to admire achievement most when combined with modesty, even humility. Have I simply lived too long?

@RAMoulds Buckshot

Dustbunnies

@RAMoulds A friend of mine says tea works, too. Sketches can spark ⚡️. Energy ~ whatever works for you!

@ThomasBramel Unfortunately, I despise coffee. The good news is that the recent discovery of my pile of sketches rather energised me a bit, so we shall see what results. Maybe nothing; maybe everything.

That's all that I do these days.

@AuthorGFAllen @RAMoulds Introverts lose energy being around people too much and gain energy when they’re alone. Extroverts don’t understand this. Extroverts gain energy by being around people.

@RAMoulds Same here

Be honest… do people actually exist who love staying home all day, completely alone, not seeing a single person, the same way some people finish a whole book in one sitting?

@RAMoulds Happy Easter, Mr. Moulds.

I'd like to send wishes for a Happy Easter to all my Twitter friends (I won't say 'X friends,' because that sounds rather negative. 😁) You brighten the world!

@sir_squatchalot Must be thrilling to be in the midst of such a fantastic work. Happy for you.

It’s been 21 years since I’ve gotten to play this gem. Strauss Death and Transfiguration. The orchestra is smoking!

@sir_squatchalot Very sorry to hear about your mother. Praying for her.

In your charity please pray for my mother, Sharon Karst. Three weeks ago she had a seizure while driving. Broken neck and back. She will spend the rest of her life in a hospital. Thank God no one else was hurt.

@RAMoulds ego-killing

Sometimes, I think it would be better for people to be brutally honest about my creations, both musical and literary, rather than maintain the soul-killing silence which many of us face. It won't happen, but it needs to be said now and then.

I’m sure you know what follows but for the people interested in what is happening, here is a summary from Grok: The Trump administration, through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), opened a grant application process in April 2025 for professional sculptors (and artists capable of sculpture) to create life-size, realistic patriotic statues for the revived **National Garden of American Heroes** project. This initiative aims to produce up to 250 statues of historical American figures (from a list originally outlined in a 2021 executive order and updated in 2025), funded in part by reallocated or canceled grants from NEH and NEA programs, with awards up to $200,000 per statue (max $600,000 per applicant for up to three statues). Applications required U.S. citizenship, work samples, proposals for 10–20 figures from the list, and other materials, with a deadline of July 1, 2025. Statues were to be completed by mid-2026 (around June/July) for the nation's semiquincentennial. No official public figure has been released for the total number of applicants as of March 2026. Sources from mid-2025 (e.g., Politico, The Art Newspaper, NPR, NEH announcements) describe the call going out but express skepticism about turnout due to: - Tight timeline (applications closed July 1, 2025; assignments late September 2025; delivery June 1, 2026). [See date changes in previous post] - Requirements (e.g., artists sourcing/paying for materials like bronze or marble; "realistic" style mandate; explanation of any federal debt). - Controversy (low pay relative to costs, political perceptions in the art community potentially deterring applicants, criticisms of the project as "unworkable" or propagandistic). Some reports noted uncertainty about who would apply, with concerns that America's pool of qualified monumental sculptors and foundries might not support the scale and speed. There are no subsequent NEH press releases, news updates, or official statements (as of the current date) announcing application totals, awards made, or progress on selections/commissions. In short, while the administration requested applicants for these patriotic sculptures, the exact number who applied remains undisclosed in available public sources. If new details emerge from NEH or related government channels, they would likely appear on neh.gov or grants.gov under the program.

Grants were to be allocated late Sept 2025. In early Sept the NEH sent an email saying they had so many applicants that they pushed the date to Oct. Then the Gov shut down, reopened in Nov '25. NEH emialed in Dec saying they were back on it. Jan '26 NEH emailed applicants with acceptance/rejection letters. Half an hour later, they said forget the email you just got, we're still evaluating. That was the last contact. I have it from a good source that it's essentially a clusterf*ck within the NEH.