Being chosen for the Earshot/CSO readings has already provided enough excitement for me that I might be too tired to actually go to Colorado. The piece that I submitted was my masters thesis, finished in 2007 and cleared of two years worth of dust before being stuffed in an envelope. I figured before I received the call that I would probably never get to hear the piece, so I guess that my internal naysayer doesn't believe in the concept of delayed returns. Needless to say, I feel incredibly lucky to have been chosen to participate.
And I surely could not ask for a better potential learning experience with regards to composing for the orchestra. To work alongside experienced composers, conductors, and a seasoned, professional orchestra will help me understand the mistakes I undoubtedly made when I composed the piece (I have spent the last two years looking for someone else to blame, but no one ever came to mind). All of this mixed with an altitude of 5000 feet will surely leave permanent imprints, so I have ordered a crash helmet with a built-in powdered wig.
Part of my own personal whirlwind surrounding this opportunity has been the preparation of the parts for performance. There was something strange about going through the score and the parts again, a re-connection to what I was experiencing when I was actually writing the piece. I made a promise to myself that I would not edit any of the content of the piece while extracting the parts, and I am glad that I stuck to it. Maybe I am getting a little too mystical or indirectly acknowledging the existence of elves, but I feel like I would have tainted something by altering what I composed back then (kind of like revving up the DeLorean to try and create a slightly less frustrating Senior Prom memory). I am certainly not the only composer that has experienced such a connection whilst editing, so share and share alike (c'mon folks: we're bloggin' here).
Anyway, mine computer arm tireth. T-minus fifteen days. Thanks so much to John Glover, ACO, the CSO, and everyone else that made this possible. More to come.
by Jeremy Podgursky
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