Graduate School

Well, it’s been a while, but I’ve been busy.  So, 5  out of 6 of the graduate schools that I have applied to have responded.  I have interviews at Indiana University (Bloomington) and University of Texas at Austin on March 6 and March 10th, respectively.  As to Yale and Eastman, they just didn’t want me. So screw ‘em.  Just kidding. But yeah, screw ‘em.  Now Chicago is an interesting one. There deadline was December 15th and I had my supplemental materials (scores, recordings, recommendations, etc.) in by December 1st.  Somehow, they lost all of that and I didn’t find out until a day or two before all decisions were to be made. Thus, I will not be attending the University of Chicago.

In a way, I’m glad that three schools were immediately dropped from the list. I’ve found that even deciding between only two is very difficult, and if I get into Princeton (unlikely), it will be even worse.  I’ve been trying to weigh the pros and cons of these two schools, and they seem to balance nicely.  Indiana has undoubtedly one of the best music and composition programs in the nation.  Statistically, better than Yale, and sometimes Eastman, depending on the year.  Texas, though, is in one of the coolest cities ever, and in the words of one of my composition professors, “kick-ass”.  Complicating things even more is the fact that my wife, a soon-to-be nurse, could find tremendous career opportunities in Austin that she would certainly not have in Bloomington, and there’s a nursing residency program that she’s really excited.  Plus, I think my mother-in-law would resort to witchcraft to get us to move to Austin.  And after seeing “Slackers” recently, Austin seems pretty appealing, except for the heat.

Finished!

I have completed my graduate school applications and they are in the mail tomorrow.  Now I must wait until January to see how I fare.

Suggestions for the FSU College of Music

This morning, I successfully mailed my application materials (scores, recordings, etc.) to the University of Texas at Austin.  I can only hope that it arrives safely.  I must honestly admit that I am a bit nervous trusting the United States Postal Service with my academic future, but I suppose I just have to live with that.  I DID get Delivery Confirmation, which eases the pain a little.  Anyway, my schedule today will include the bi-annual Dean’s Student Advisory Council of the FSU College of Music (DSAC for short, but don’t snicker too loudly).  I probably won’t say much, but here is a list of things I would like to bring up if I weren’t afraid to offend anyone:

1. Stop allowing fraternities to use ensemble practice rooms for their secret rituals.  During a rehearsals I was holding, a kept seeing a band-geek type individual donning a black cloak with a hood; my immediate thought was that some sort of Eyes Wide Shut situation was afoot, and that even more horrifyingly, people associated with MARCHING BANDS were involved.  I can imagine replacing a fight song with the music of Ligeti in all of the especially disturbing scenes from that film.  Real classy, guys!  And of course, all of the lights are turned off during their little rituals and no one one is allowed in, even the STAFF who are in charge of the upkeep of the rooms.  This just seems a little strange to me.  Word to the wise, never let musicians form secret societies, they inevitably fail to ever develop the sense of exclusivity that they desire; it is impossible for inherent rejects to create said sense.  Trust me, I’ve tried.

2. Lighten the workload on the top musicians. It seems that musical work is unevenly divided in the College of Music.  I’ve noticed that for each instrumental studio, the top two or three musicians bear the brunt of the heavy musical work, often playing in at least 3 major ensembles per semester in some kind of leadership role.  Honestly, I believe these poor souls work harder than any professional musician, especially in relation to the pay they receive (basically zero).  Furthermore, if they find a musical project that they DO want to pursue, they usually can’t because of their heavy schedules.

3. Let a new music ensemble ACTUALLY EXIST! Although FSU’s website states that a perpetual New Music Ensemble exists, this is a falsehood.  The only time the ensemble ever plays is for a few concerts in a weekend every two years for the New Music Festival.  I’ve only seen it play one student work in my three years at FSU, and have never seen a concert featuring this ensemble.  Personally, I feel the composition and performance students are missing out on a great opportunity.  One of the greatest experiences a composer can have is working with an ensemble and really understanding how their work relates to reality; and for a performer, the earlier one has experience with challenging or new music (for which there is not a recording or tradition), the better one is prepared for professional playing experience, which will inevitably involve reading and performing new music.

So, those are a few things that could certainly help the College of Music, in my opinion.

A New Choice for Pro-Lifers

I read a great article in the Post today about a change in direction for anti-abortion activists.  Basically, they will not focus so much on changing the law regarding abortion, but instead on prevention and support for mothers and potential mothers.  All I have to say is, “It’s about time!”  For at least 20 years, activists have fought hard to overturn Roe v. Wade, elect an awful president for the sake of the Supreme Court Justices, alienated anyone who believes differently, and have helped stall efforts to reduce the actual number of abortions in America.  I believe the root of the problem is a narrow-minded perspective in which only a very particular path can be chosen, and all others are fought against tooth and nail.  The hypocrisy of illegalizing abortion while demanding an abstinence-only sexual education in public schools is horrifying.  It’s basically saying, let’s make it that much easier for students to have unplanned pregnancies, and then make the alternative illegal!  I start to wonder whether the activists are more interested in the political victory of having abortion outlawed than in effectively reducing the staggering amount of abortions performed in America each day.  To see them advocating for social services and affordable health care for potential mothers is a huge breath of fresh air!  Check out the article!

Religion and Graduate School

As I complete the process of graduate school applications, I am beginning to worry about a few small things on my Curriculum Vitae.  At the bottom of the first page: Student Leader, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship; volunteer, Mosaic Church, etc.  These items certainly speak of a definite religious affiliation that I am proud of, but I am always unsure of how a committee of primarily non-religious (and in some ways anti-religious) academics would respond to such items, if they do at all.  I feel as if I am taking a risk by including my involvement in an evangelical movement, and that evidence of such involvement could mean a possible rejection from a program that I long to be a part of.  Am I being paranoid?  I’m not sure, but I can understand the reticence to include an “evangelical” in a small graduate program if all one has seen are the Pat Robertsons and Rod Parsleys of the world.   I wouldn’t want to be in a class and all the sudden the “evangelical” stands up and begins arguing with me because I assumed that the world was several millions years old, or I hinted at truth as being anything but objective; or have them constantly decrying the “liberal bias” of my particular university, as if it’s MSNBC or something.  Frankly, I wouldn’t want that person either; but I am not that person.  I’m not a strict creationist, I’m not a Republican, I’m not convinced that Bush has been good for our country (although I regretfully voted for him in 2004, mainly in spite of all my hippie friends at the time), and I will not stand up in the middle of class and make a speech so that I can make into someone’s chain letter about great, fictitious exploits for The Faith.  Honestly, I just want to study, learn, write music, and develop some good relationships along the way.  Sure, I adhere to the teachings of the New Testament, and yes, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but that shouldn’t affect my ability to work with others who believe differently and who show no interest in my faith.  And it doesn’t.  I am far from believing that atheists, Muslims, Scientologists, or anyone else who believes differently than me is an evil person.  That cannot be true, or else the world would be a far worse place.  What I do believe is that Christians should maintain the highest standards in their relationships with others, whether it be through work, school, or leisure.  It is sad for me to say, but my worst employer was a Christian, and my favorite was an atheist.  So perhaps the misrepresentation of evangelical Christianity is what concerns me; and I hope that those reviewing me can give me the chance to show them myself, and not rely on a gross stereotype (that may very well be deserved).  I can only hope…but if not, and it does cost me, then I will just have to “consider it all joy”.

A Burden Lifted

Last weekend, I presented my senior recital featuring pieces I’ve written over the last three years.  In many ways, I learned more about composition in the weeks leading up to the recital than I have in the last few years, at least as far as the visceral, physical aspect of music-making is concerned.  Let me explain.  As a composer, I can easily begin to have a tendency where I think of a note as only a dot on a page, or a part of a chord; or a piece as simply a culmination of sections, phrases, or ideas.  I’ve realized that so much more exists in music than simply what I’ve written.  I’ve discovered the beauty of a breath before a note, and the grace in the combined motion of a string quartet, or the intense look of determination followed by satisfaction as a difficult passage is successfully executed.  This is the part of music that has always grabbed my attention, and I am now consciously trying to keep these things in my mind as I sit alone with a piece of manuscript paper and attempt to etch something that somehow resembles my so-called “artistic vision”.  I am earnestly in search of a voice that incorporates the music I love, whether it by pop, indie, avant-guarde, or classic rock.  It seems that I am constantly in flux between a style brimming with complexities and one where utmost simplicity rules.  How does one sythesize these two polarities?

At this point, I think of the music of Wolfgang Rihm, and the way in which he employs these elements in various pieces. In a work like Auf einem Anderen Blatt (From a Different Page) (2000), the piano hardly plays above a piano, and the pieces slowly develops (or doesn’t) with extremely long, slow notes and even a repeated Bb-major chord in second inversion.  But it’s still good.  So who knows?

I am on the right, next to the ensemble for

Listening to Bruckner

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring my recently acquired recording of the complete Bruckner symphonies by Eugen Jochum and the Berlin Philharmonic.  I came to Bruckner predisposed against him.  After hearing so many negative reviews of unnecessarily long movements and drawn out sequences, I was hesitant to even sit through an entire symphony.  However, after playing in the orchestra for a performance of his Third Mass in F Minor, I become far more interested in discovering his catalog.

For the uninitiated, these are not the symphonies of Brahms, Mendelssohn, or Beethoven.  Bruckner seems to believe in long, sustained introductions that slowly lead to vast, moderately-tempoed expository movements which function as symphonies within themselves.  They are rich in melody, harmony, and counterpoint, but unlike Brahms, these elements are conceived over a large span of time and unfold very slowly, as if the piece is non-existant until one hears it for the first time.

One particular symphony that has struck me as especially excellent is the Fifth, in Bb-major.  The opening introduction easily contains one of the most beautiful brass choir sections in romantic literature (I’d say it rivals the moment in the last movement of Brahms’ First Symphony).  But my issues arise at this very moment of beauty as well, for interrupting this beautiful passage is a clichéd, scalar string passage which seems to have no structural place in the work at all.  It’s these strange formal interruptions that may turn off a large amount of listener’s to Bruckner’s music.  I’m not sure, but I would recommend his Fifth and Seventh symphonies for a first listening.

The Graduate – The Prequel

I’ve got one word for you: plastics!

As I prepare to take the GRE tomorrow, I am now forced to pick four schools to send the hoepfully decent scores to.