Another Crazy Semester

When I took fewer credits this semester, I was hoping it might allow me a little bit more time to focus on writing music and doing the things I am here for. Unfortunately, this semester seems to have been even more busy than the Fall somehow. I have been up to my neck in electronic music, as I try to teach myself entirely new ways of thinking about music and the sound worlds that come with electronics. I just finished up writing a string orchestra piece that uses a lot of aleatoric gestures and falls in with many of the sound mass pieces in the 70s and 80s. I am not incredibly happy with how it turned out, but in many ways it was a fantastic learning experience for me. I am also working on a fixed media piece in a 5.1 setting, and starting work on a piano plus electronics work. This last piece led me to play around with extended piano techniques and preparations for the piano. As seen in the photo below, I had fun improvising using different techniques and now I look forward to the challenge of applying those sonorities in meaningful musical ways.

There is a lot to look forward to in the next few months, but it makes for a lot of stress at the moment!