BTW

I'm funded next fall and optimistically, next spring as well. And yes, this truly will be my last year as a student. Like, for real this time.

So my brother graduated today (or rather, yesterday)

Yet another Camacho with an arts/letters master's degree. Hooray beer!

That's him next to my finger.

Why Does Everyone Ignore Tempo Markings?

I've going through this year's rep for SYS-CMW and it seems that no one wants to believe the composer and their marking. Should there be some flexibility with regard to rubato within a tempo? Sure! If it's 60 instead of 62 or 58 is that a big deal? Not really. But to go dotted half-note at 56 when marked 70 is too big of a difference, especially in a waltz!

In the scherzo movement, there are egregious tempo modifications where the composer hasn't indicated any. What should feel like an exciting fast movement throughout feels split unnecessarily into several sections that sound much slower than simply "taking a little more time for lyrical sections."

But when it's marked dotted half-note equals 52, please don't take it at 40. Or if a valse feels more like a slow minuet, you lose the feeling of the piece. It clearly reads 70 to the dotted half, but most conductors will take it closer to 56! Unbelievable! Too many conductors I've found in the scherzo movement of the Dvorak take the coda several clicks under tempo when there is no marking for such a drastic change. A reading of tranquillo doesn't justify taking the tempo from quarter equals 132 to roughly quarter equals 84!

Had to get that off my chest...I guarantee you I will be taking the tempi as marked.

So...got a new Mac

My ol' faithful Dell laptop was beginning to do weird things and error messages kept popping up saying "error 28800440583133.dll: I'm too old for this" and instead of waiting for it to just die at the worst time possible, I went ahead and upgraded. Only way to run Cubase and Sibelius 6...if I never needed to upgrade, I think I would be able to use my Dell forever.

To be a Band Composer

This used to be insulting, but now it's far from it (at least in my opinion).

Point of fact:

John Adams, probably today's most performed living composer, had 50 total performances of all of his orchestral works. John Mackey, a fast-rising young composer had 70 performances that same year...for one band piece.

Great wind bands will sound just as good if not better than their orchestral counterparts at the same school.

Average hours spent on a new orchestral work by a professional orchestra: 2 hours (at best). Hours spent on a new band work: 15 or more. (These are just estimates, but the point is a wind ensemble will actually carefully rehearse a work by a contemporary composer).

The wind band repertoire is starving for new music.

The wind band is not the snob orchestras can be about music. Or at least the expectations for a wind ensemble work is not nearly as snobby as it is for orchestral music.

Bottom line, I don't think we should stop writing orchestral music, but I do think the wind ensemble is still highly underrated. And can sound GREAT.

Congrats to Jennifer Higdon

For winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for her Violin Concerto, with probably my favorite violinist currently, Hilary Hahn, as soloist!!

Higdon Wins 2010 Pulitzer Prize

I QUIT SCHOOL

Marched right over to the Graduate Office and told them "I've had enough" and submitted my official request to withdraw form.

Oh, well, 11 years post-high school education down the drain, but man do I feel free.


Now I wonder what I'll do next...