It’s nice to have a chance to reflect on the events of the last two months, spent mostly stateside pretty much in full composer mode.

Tight rehearsal time is nothing new, but what is your list of groomed-for-zoom strategies?

In Fort Worth, I saw—and heard—a gregarious and lively group of birds which produced some of my most enjoyable sonic moments in a long while.

After some years of being quite out of vogue, “tape” concerts seem to be coming back.

Lots of opportunities come with strings attached, and sometimes that’s not such a bad thing.

Can you compose in a café or on a park bench? Or do you need to be in your favorite chair at your desk, with a cup of your favorite pencils (freshly sharpened), and a cup of your favorite coffee, freshly brewed, by your side?

Nothing is more effective in getting the creative juices flowing than some time spent in a foreign country where large parts of the language and culture are new.

No artist starts the day’s creation tabula rasa.

Lessig celebrates “amateur culture,” where people produce for the
love of what they are doing and not for the money; but where does that
leave professionals, those of us who seek to be in the happy position of
actually making a living doing what we love?

The Japanese have a word for the feeling at the end of the year, shiwasu (teachers running), and it all leads up to a climactic December 31 eve when…everybody stays home.