Scattered Like Splinters

The Folly of Autumn

Every three months, with the change of seasons, I’m especially prone to nostalgia. Vivid nostalgia bordering on Highlander—esque flashbacks, even.

That’s a given. It’s obnoxious, I know.

But it seems more potent with autumn than other holidays. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the majority of the autumns in my life involved “back to school,” beginnings and endings in their own right which necessitate reflection and assessment.

Combine that with listening to music you haven’t heard in a long time, and obviously you inevitably trigger a sense of nostalgia. And for some reason, fall is when I tend to listen to Baroque music much, much more often.

I’ve been mellowing out to a lot of Corelli and Vivaldi lately, and it has me thirsting for recitals. I have an insatiable desire to put on a recital, which I obviously can’t do at the moment.

Lately I’ve been thinking (much more than usual, even) about all my old compatriots from grad school. Thinking about fall, composing, listening to and discussing pieces, Myles’ Pizza, Campus Pollyeye’s, seasonal flavored coffee, comfortable sweaters, brisk twilight air, and all the good (filtering out most of the bad) times at BGSU.

I’m relishing the reprise of concert music in my queue. Tired of Steve Jablonsky, welcoming Beethoven and Bartok.

Yeah, so there’s this pertinacious desire to be a musician…

It’s all Corelli’s fault, really. Listening to Violin Sonatas Op. 5 1-6, for some reason, was the catalyst. I have no idea why. I can only interpolate as I have already done with this equation.

Stick with me. I have a point…


Many Meetings

I’ve blogged a lot about cultural starvation, the intellectual desert, and the Drought plaguing my erstwhile classmates. I am in need of an artistically nurturing environment, and I do miss the better parts of academia at times.

That was a week or two ago, when the weather started to cool and fall announced its presence. I took a renewed interest in keeping in better touch with my BG brethren, which required I spend—but not waste—more time on Facebook. Nearly to no avail, I’d concede, but it still wasn’t a waste.

It is, however, becoming beyond discouraging when I routinely comment on someone’s status updates or wall posts and they never make any acknowledgment whatsoever, and apparently never read my feed in return. I know people are busy, but damn it if Facebook didn’t make it overly easy for even the laziest of users by creating the “Like” feature. Just click your mouse and placate me for once! But I digress.

Scott Blanchard, by sheer coincidence, made contact with me for the first time in a long time. We had done an admirable job of maintaining regular contact over the phone on average of once a week for years, but then a year ago we both sort of fell out of it. Now he’s “back,” so to speak (but he still lives in freaking Massachusetts). This is a profoundly good thing… provided it sticks and we both follow through.

Today I had lunch with Noah Taylor in San Antonio. He has been there for several months, but he doesn’t want everyone knowing that. He doesn’t want people to know he’s doing what he’s doing, because he’s very carefully, very strategically promoting his music in such a way that he doesn’t want it to appear as though he’s only doing it “on the side.” Essentially he's playing two fields. I can’t really say anything further, but he’s doing band stuff and more band stuff. Anyway, he’s close by, and that’s also a decidedly awesome thing. And we’re going to do some collaborations.

And there’s still Pat Peringer, up in Dallas. Yes, I am definitely going to have to make it back up to Wisconsin again, as well. If only I could make it east, to the coast...

Despite how crappy things are right now, especially financially, I’m looking for hope to end this Drought and do some irrigating.

”I will bring you hope, old friend. I ask only one thing in return… don’t get in my way.”


Sith Apprentice

I’ve also been trying to lock in some more piano students. I met with a kid this week, whom I’ll be giving bi-weekly lessons to. He’s a sophomore in high school, sixteen, very respectful, and intent on majoring in music. He plays sax and wants to learn piano beyond the mashing around he has been doing. And get this—he’s a composer. He writes at the piano, which is a good habit. He is enamored with film music, particularly John Williams. He already has an intermediate handle of music theory, surpassing his classmates in his high school music program (a program which to me sounds pretty badass, at least compared to what I dealt with while teaching in public school last year).

Dude, this is what I wanted. A young, impressionable mind to corrupt, but also one with considerable potential for doing great, dark things. He is currently my top candidate for Sith apprenticeship. I’ll get him prepared for a college composition program. He will be plenty prepared.

And he calls me “sir,” which is somehow jarring but appreciated. Then again, I was wearing a Chinese knockoff of a designer necktie.


Crepuscolo Sul Mare

After lunch with Noah, Juliet and I explored the River Walk. It was pretty much exactly my idea of a good time: exploring a new location with no agenda, no itinerary, no obligations, no deadlines, no responsibilities, no expectations, and therefore no room for disappointment. Leisurely looking at everything, stopping in shops, imbibing the architecture. Bridges over a Venetian winding waterway lined with greenery that bleeds into and out of the Spanish buildings, spangled with lantern lights and colorful patio umbrellas. I would have edited the obligatory Peruvian flute band, though. Nah, I’m not about to gush about San Antonio, but this one specific part of it was aesthetically sound. It was like taking Luka from Final Fantasy X, the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, and all the Amsterdam stuff from Ocean’s 12, rolling them up into California rolls and served with soy sauce made of Awesome.

Though our visit was far too brief, it was good reconnaissance. When I get a posse, I know one good way to kill an entire day in style. Work hard, play hard. Work with style, play with style. Inject a little glamour into your life. The perfect supplement to being productive and prolific: being totally money.


Matrix of Leadership

We were composers once and young.

In summary, the “point” I claimed I had can best be put this way: It’s time to rekindle old alliances and get stuff done. It’s time to use the resources we have—each other. We may not all be able to just saunter over to the local hangout to look at scores anymore, but we can do a hell of a lot better than we’ve been doing.

Happy back-to-school season. Now get to work.


Listening List

Violin Sonatas Op. 5 No. 1-6 (Arcangelo Corelli)
[Violin Concertos] (Antonio Vivaldi)
Cello Suites No. 1-6 (J.S. Bach)
String Quartets No. 1-6 (Bela Bartok)
A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Vince Guaraldi Trio)
Vince Guaraldi Trio (Vince Guaraldi Trio)
The Merry Sisters of Fate (Lunasa)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (John Williams and William Ross)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Edward Shearmur)