Plans for the Wintery Break

Now that I am done with my first semester at the big, scary conservatory, I am ready for a well deserved break. I plan to catch up mentally, and surprisingly, musically. Although I have grown tremendously both as a composer and as a cellist, these last few weeks have kinda sprinted right past me as I ran as hard as I could to keep up. Now that the semester is over, it is time to evaluate what I have accomplished. It is time to really set in stone all the music and academia that has been thrown at me. This break is going to be a very productive one.

Apart from having two books to read, I have to finish up some works for orchestra so that I can have them be read by the orchestra. Although I do not technically have to have the orchestral readings material, I feel it would really be pushing the button to be a first year student that is already actively writing for orchestra. And that is exactly what any composer needs to be doing: pushing the button. As far as composing goes, I also plan on putting finishing touches on "Inside the Meditative Mind," which is a piano quintet piece, and I am also optimistically planning to begin a piece for two percussionists that is based on an African dance that I am learning. If I can get the piano quintet and the orchestral material done, I will be in excellent shape. The percussion piece can wait.

My reading material for this Christmas will be comprised of two fairly brief books, the first book of which I am already unable to put down! It is "The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation," by Chögyam Trungpa. It is a fantastic book on meditation, life, death, and just Buddhism in general. The second book I will read-- which has also already been peaked into-- is Roy Carter's translation of Arnold Shoenberg's "Theory of Harmony." Shoenberg's look at music theory has already made me adore this book...

So, as a recap, I think I will condense this into list form, since no one in their right mind will sit down and read into the existential life of J. D. Wise:

Plans for this Christmas:

1. Finish Orchestral Reading Material

2. Finish "Inside the Meditative Mind"

3. Begin work on a percussion piece based on African dances.

4. Read "Theory of Harmony"

5. Read "The Myth of Freedom"

6. Sleep

The Crash

So, this last Tuesday was a big bound for my career as a composer. It was the first time I have ever had a group of people perform a piece by me. Up until now, I have only heard very poor MIDI prototypes of my works, which is quite frustrating at best. However, hearing the lustful, organic sound of real instrumentalists playing music that I have written is awe inspiring.
Up until now, composition has not felt so real. Yes, prior to hearing this performance, I wanted to compose for a living, but I wasn't quite in the right mindset yet. I still thought of composition as a pastime, even though I am majoring in it at the conservatory. However, after hearing someone play "The Crash," composing has truly become much more than a pastime. Composition is really what I want to do for a living. Not until I heard Tuesday's performance did I truly realize how much I love to compose music.
The thought of these other artists putting time into learning a piece I wrote, and making it into a good concert makes me feel happier about music than I have ever felt. Furthermore, the fact that so many other fellow composers appreciated my work, and congratulated me after the concert was probably the most appreciation I have ever received for my music. This experience was invaluable. The performance of "The Crash," or rather, the great feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment I got from said performance have inspired me to put more time into composition. I need to put more time into reading the books of other composers. I need to put more time into studying the music of other composers, so that I can further my technique. Most importantly, I need to put more time into focusing on finding my own unique sound. It's time to buckle down. The music world is tough, but it had better watch out, because I plan on conquering it.