Well, what is there to say about the year that was?
-I was named composer-in-residence at the church where I also serve as janitor. It’s not a paying gig, nor are my responsibilities very well-defined, but it is a nice bit of recognition. For my part, I composed two new works for performance: a piece for bell choir and another for vocal choir. I also have started providing contemplative prayer music (read: pleasant & undistracting background noise) for the weekly Sunday service.
-In addition to my compositional duties at church, I’ve dabbled in other music-related opportunites. I conducted both bells and singers on different occasions, made a few arrangements of hymns (including a surf-rock version of “We Three Kings”), and took on a greater role with the praise band.
-Outside the realm of church, I also played bass for the local high school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” I also played a couple of open mics, which was fun and a reminder of just how out-of-practice I am as a performer.
-I launched my own website (which really could use an update).
-I recorded an album of original compositions, and posted it online for all to hear and/or buy. More than six months later, I can still count the number of copies I’ve sold on one hand.
-I bought an automobile, the first I’ve owned in my own name and had to pay insurance on. Considering its age, it gets fairly decent gas milage, and as a bonus it has a tape deck! Finally, I have a use for all those tapes I made nearly a decade ago!
-That more or less sums up the good stuff that went down for me this year. On the other side of the equation, my bank account has dried up, myriad health problems are serving to remind me that I am getting old, I’m STILL living with my parents and working part time, and I’ve written virtually nothing in the past six months. Or at least, very few of the pieces I’ve started are even close to finished.
I do have higher hopes for 2012. I’m currently working out a new compositional method, something structurally unique which is providing interesting challenges. Hopefully it will help renew the creative spark I’ve been lacking. Also, it looks like Tower, the musical that I’ve provided orchestrations for, may get another performance in the coming year. Also, I’ve made it my personal goal to move out on my own by July. Where I go, I haven’t concluded yet. Could be Minneapolis, could be Des Moines, could be the oil fields of North Dakota. One thing is certain, though: I need to be somewhere else, living independent and making my own way through the world. I’m 30 years old for cryin’ out loud, time to take wing and fly.
