Uphill

Tomorrow will mark the fourth of four competitions I have failed to enter this year, each due to having large ambitions, not enough focus, and no "fall back" pieces to submit. I hope to make a concerted effort to enter a large number of competitions next year, as I only have two years remaining as a student!! AAAH!!

So... this has not been a good week for composing. Or maybe not a good month... or semester? No, that's not true. I've challenged myself a lot, and I've grown a lot in the process. Of course, the trade off is that I'm writing at an even slower pace than usual.

I am serving on a composition faculty search committee, starting up a CUA Composers radio show (premiering 4/11!), and researching the role of dramatic timing in William Bolcom's operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller's play A View from the Bridge. There, those are my excuses.

In other news, Opera Alterna, a new DC-based opera company founded by director Jay Brock and soprano Sarah Filippa, recently performed Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in the Callan Theater at CUA. While a lengthy review is neither possible nor needed now (as the run is over), suffice it to say that this inaugural production was a solid start for the area's newest opera company. Be on the look out for more of their productions in the future!