Happy May!
I hope you are enjoying all the spring flowers!
I have officially graduated! And now, one of my summer projects is to write two syllabi for classes I will be teaching at AppState in the fall as an adjunct professor. Thankfully I know some professors who have taught these courses and are more than willing to help me out!
I will be teaching a music appreciation course for non-majors and a fundamental theory course for majors and non-majors. I am really excited about this opportunity and to explore creativity in a new way!
Last week, my piece Jubilant is the Day was premiered by the Greater Tiverton Community Chorus. We spent the week in Rhode Island camping amidst a lot of rain and some wind (thankfully we left before an actual nor-easter came through!) But despite it being chilly, we had a good time seeing friends and especially hearing the course perform my piece!
The Greater Tiverton Community Chorus has been so supportive of me over the years, commissioning and premiering new work! Even though they didn't commission Jubilant is the Day it was so helpful to me as a composer for them to take a step of faith and try out something they have never heard before! I am very grateful!
One of the purposes of camping for the week in RI was to try out an idea I have about doing a DIY artist residency. Artist residencies are a place where artists can go to work without the distractions of everyday life. Residencies can occur anywhere, but the ones that interest me most are located in wild places, like National Parks.
However, there are "issues" with artist residencies. One is that they are very competitive. Another is that they are often too long. I would have to take away time from my work at the church - or at the school - in order to do an artist residency. Most are at least two weeks long, and even up to two months! You also don't have complete control over when you might attend an artist residency.
They also do not normally allow spouses to come. On one hand, I understand that. Spouses can sometimes be a distraction! But, on the other hand, I have a hard time justifying taking precious time off to go away without John.
What I began to wonder is: Can I combine my love and experience for camping with composing so that I can do a DIY artist residency on my own schedule, in the places I want to see, and take John with me?
Many artist residencies include a public-facing event. So, when I travel to these places, which will often be out-of-the-way communities, I will seek to work with the town council, local chamber of commerce, library, or county arts council to set up either a talk about my work or a performance. The "public-facing event" in my trip to RI was, of course, the premiere of Jubilant is the Day!
John is a musician, too - a guitarist and song writer. So, the DIY artist residency will benefit us both. Stay tuned as I start making videos about this ongoing project!
