…what comes with the pain of loss is a universal thankfulness to have known the love that caused the pain.
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That argument that you’re having in your head with your ex’s second cousin at some imaginary pool party? It isn’t helping anyone. Throw it away.
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The Stars Now Rearrange Themselves is officially in the bag! The Scattered Light consortium has been a wonderful project, and I can’t wait to hear the commissioning ensembles’ interpretations of these new works in the months to come.
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This is the first of two entries that will be produced as a part of the Scattered Light commission consortium. In this entry, I explain the genesis of my setting of Dana Gioia’s The Stars Now Rearrange Themselves, as well as the more personal connections I have forged with both the poem and the new work.
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One truth has become increasingly clear, especially in the last couple of months. More often than not, good things take time to manifest. Sarah and I refer to this phenomenon as the “Slow Burn.”
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It may be hard to imagine without seeing it in person, but to a small and very devout group, Nancy Luce is a serious folk hero; a lonely, eccentric woman who somehow managed to scratch out a living while caring for her beloved chickens.
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Tomorrow I leave for Martha’s Vineyard to discover what I can about Nancy Luce, to visit her grave and learn a bit more of what her life was like. Her devotion to her beloved animal charges, her clear desire for greater kindness in the world; these are aspects of her existence that speak more loudly to the problems facing our world than many voices that exist today.
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What would happen if I were to strip my own music down the bare essentials? What would happen if I were to go back to basics and limit myself to three or four-part writing? That is exactly what I intend to find out.
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It seems to me that situations like this are exactly why creative problem solving is such a big part of the job description. I will also fully acknowledge that what follows is not the only way to solve this type of problem, nor is it necessarily the best way. In any case, this is how I tackled it.
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All in all, things are going very well despite being laid up with a bad back. It’s great being at a point in my life where I can focus almost entirely on writing and teaching… With the occasional distraction of having to break up a fight between Powerball and Chumley, that is.
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"The bottom line is this: I am officially open for business. What I love more than anything is composing music for living, breathing humans and travelling to work with talented ensembles around the world. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t at least make the attempt to pursue my true dream of being a full-time composer, performer and clinician. The truth of the matter is that I’m young yet; I am newly twenty-seven, with a PhD and plenty of time to figure things out for myself. My life has been blessed with so many people who have selflessly supported my musical endeavors – it is now time for me to make the transition into true professionalism and a viable career."
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