Well, it’s still January, close enough to the beginning of the year, right?
Since completing my doctorate in the spring of 2020, I’ve found myself drifting away from composing and arranging, which is definitely a bit unfortunate. Except for a string quartet I finished a while back and a few small scraps of ideas, I haven’t written much of anything recently. To be fair, a pandemic, new job, and interstate move (following by purchasing a house for the first time) does take up a lot of time and energy. However, that’s certainly not to say that music has been gone from my life. While working from home, I’ve had some great opportunities to explore different genres of music during my work day; lately, I’ve been enjoying a lot of video game soundtracks, darkwave, and 80s synth-pop. I’ll still throw in some “classical” music for good measure too!
Since moving back to the DC metro area from upstate New York, I’ve also been thrilled to be back playing the clarinet with the Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra. On top of getting to experience a terrific concert season last month, I’m also excited to be taking on the administrative role of Repertoire Editor with the organization. Between this new position and getting the wheels turning on some prospective arrangements I’d like to finish, maybe this year I’ll finally rediscover the joy of composing – that thing I spent 7+ years studying!
