Aphorisms for Composers – September 2016

A few words about “model composition.”

September 11, 2016

Music copying by hand = Zen (just add time pressure).

September 9, 2016

One of the highest compliments I have received was from my first important mentor, William T. Appling (1932-2008). He once said that, upon looking over some music I’d sent him about fifteen years after finishing my studies with him, the short pieces I’d written for students and friends showed just as much care and resolve as larger works composed for professional ensembles. To achieve such a consistency and honesty of utterance is a primary creative aspiration as I move forward.

September 2, 2016

Over time, could a “larger style” veer in cycles toward and away from, back away from and back toward, the abstract?