A few months ago, I wrote about the music that concludes the film A Quiet Passion, and that brought to mind one of the most frustrating endings, musically speaking, that I’ve experienced in a film score. It was ten years ago; the film was There Will Be Blood.  Justly celebrated as one of the most amazing films of the 21st century, it features an award-winning score by Jonny Greenwood.  Much of … [Read more...]

Never been the kind of composer who slows way down during the academic year and then composes like crazy in the summer, but that seems to have changed this year.  I’ve been blasting out music the last three months like nobody's business, and all in pairs: two sextets, two quintets, two large ensemble pieces, two songs. After fifty years of doing it, I’m still always amazed at how quickly … [Read more...]

I co-led an hour-long seminar this summer on the business side of being a composer.  We covered a lot of topics: commissions, publication, recordings -- the works. At one point, I mentioned what a small world it is, despite appearances.  We keep running into the same people over and over in different contexts, and the way you treat people when you are young will almost certainly have an impact … [Read more...]

Can we name a universal aesthetic experience, one that all peoples around the globe have encountered from the beginning of humanity to the present?  Probably not.  But if we wanted to come close, we could do worse than the daily occurrences of sunrise and sunset.  The size of the sun, the colors that surround it, the length of the shadows that engulf us as we watch: how many trillions of times … [Read more...]

Over time, various cities emerge as strongholds of finance:  Venice, Zurich, Edinburgh, Singapore, Hong Kong.  These cities, though they have many other characteristics, have been known for taking a leadership role at some point in regional or global finance. New York City has held a central position in this nation’s financial dealings from the start, and one could argue it was in the city’s … [Read more...]

At the bottom of the hill where I live is what used to be called a Dead End.  Now, I believe, developers address them more euphemistically – No Outlet, for example. The pavement doesn’t stop so much as merge, shifting into crumbled asphalt, then stones, then weeds, then wilderness.  I have the impression that once upon a time the street came to a distinct halt, but gradually Nature has been … [Read more...]

I am off to the Charlotte New Music Festival, a gathering of composers, performers and music lovers in the Queen City over the second half of June.  I’ll be teaching seminars and lessons, and the Out of Bounds Ensemble will be premiering a new piece of mine – Let Slip – on June 23 at the Steinway Piano Gallery. Also on the program: Gestures (fl, ob, perc, pno) by Egid Joechi simul … [Read more...]

Long ago, I heard a lovely definition of creativity: “Finding what has been lost and making it new.”  I’ve never been able to track down the source of that definition, but it’s stuck with me.   We’ve all heard there is nothing new under the sun -- and we can certainly extend that axiom to the knowable universe – but the number of things that have been lost perpetually increases.  Maybe newness is … [Read more...]

I’ve always felt open to a wide range of influences in my music.  That’s not the right approach for everyone – some composers must focus on one or two strong influences – but it suits my character and the kind of music I want to create. Been working on a new piece, though, that has an influence I never would have anticipated.  The music takes the form of many short movements – each under two … [Read more...]

A friend of mine in grad school, a cellist, was close to graduation when his teacher suddenly died.  “What am I going to do?” he asked me. “There is nobody to help me get started in my career!” I remember being shocked at his selfishness, seeing someone else’s death only as an impediment to his own success.  I mentally chided him for ignoring the man who had died, and his family. Two years … [Read more...]