The end of 2020

After the busiest finals week I have ever experienced, my first semester of grad school is over. Winter break has been just as crazy, with visits to my in-laws for Christmas and my family for New Years. Over the last month or so, I have finished up 3 papers, my final piece for computer music (written for a MIDI controller and Max/MSP), and the guitar duet that I mentioned in my last post, entitled System Break.

I have grown tremendously over a single semester. My musical tastes are far different than they were when I arrived in Louisville, with a newfound appreciation for the experimental music scene and 21st century music (not just 20th century music). With Meru, the piece for tenor and percussion that I mentioned in October, and now System Break, I have tried to explore new sonorities using extended techniques and different kinds of interactions between instruments. I hope to continue this trend in my future pieces, especially as I look towards my masters thesis for next year. I have been using the break to relax a bit, but also to return to some more listening and surveying of various composers I admire. The music library at Louisville is so fantastic, and I can't spend enough time in there, just taking in what they have in the stacks and in the Grawemeyer collection. I have loved semester one at Louisville, and I can't wait for what the future holds for me here.