CREDO, TEACHING PHILOSOPHY,
&
PHILOSOPHY of COMPOSITION
I believe music is the result of a complex relationship that exists between three interconnected characters: the creator, the interpreter, and the listener. This relationship is music, sine qua non. If any one of these characters is removed from the nexus, then there can be no musical result. I believe that each of us embodies one, or more, of these characters in a variety of social circumstances.
As a composer, I am responsible for the creation of an abstract sound environment. I am an architect who provides the blueprints that are to be interpreted. I perform these blueprints for myself throughout the creative process. I listen to each interpretation with a critical ear, bringing the full weight of my experiences to bear as I pass an aesthetic judgment upon my music. I believe that I am simultaneously writing music for myself and for a specific community of individuals: one that is willing to actively engage in this creative process, bringing their own musical experiences into play as performers and listeners.
My music is not representative of any one style. I view every artistic device, process, and technique as a discrete tool, which can be utilized to satisfy my aesthetic desires within a given composition. Through the creation of music, I enjoy highlighting similarities shared between several, seemingly disparate, disciplines, artistic endeavors, and stylistic trends. I am drawn to, and intrigued by, interdisciplinary collaborations and extra-musical influences. Whether governed by mathematical functions, a complex data set derived from spectral analysis, or the transmutation of tonal, atonal, and serial techniques, the sonic background of my music is rigorously structured, providing the scaffold for a rich, spontaneous, musical surface that is capable of expressing a wide range of emotions.
As a composer, I am responsible for the creation of an abstract sound environment. I am an architect who provides the blueprints that are to be interpreted. I perform these blueprints for myself throughout the creative process. I listen to each interpretation with a critical ear, bringing the full weight of my experiences to bear as I pass an aesthetic judgment upon my music. I believe that I am simultaneously writing music for myself and for a specific community of individuals: one that is willing to actively engage in this creative process, bringing their own musical experiences into play as performers and listeners.
My music is not representative of any one style. I view every artistic device, process, and technique as a discrete tool, which can be utilized to satisfy my aesthetic desires within a given composition. Through the creation of music, I enjoy highlighting similarities shared between several, seemingly disparate, disciplines, artistic endeavors, and stylistic trends. I am drawn to, and intrigued by, interdisciplinary collaborations and extra-musical influences. Whether governed by mathematical functions, a complex data set derived from spectral analysis, or the transmutation of tonal, atonal, and serial techniques, the sonic background of my music is rigorously structured, providing the scaffold for a rich, spontaneous, musical surface that is capable of expressing a wide range of emotions.
General Teaching Philosophy
For every course that I teach, regardless of subject matter, I strive to follow three fundamental directives:
As an educator, I value the process of learning. Striving to instill this value in every student that I teach, I encourage self-reflection, intellectual honesty, the synthesis of multiple perspectives, and critical, creative thinking. Making students aware of how they learn, instead of simply focusing upon what they learn, offers them an opportunity to develop skills beyond what Lev Vygotsky called the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Students may only become life-long learners if they are able to acquire, synthesize, and reflect upon new ideas and skills while outside the presence of an instructor.
In order for students to value their education, and continue to explore beyond their ZPD, they must acquire the ability to transfer skills obtained from one environment to another. When teaching musical analysis, I am not simply teaching the proper identification of terms related to the realm of music theory. I am teaching students how to parse a complex idea and find patterns and relationships between discrete elements of a unified whole, while encouraging them to articulate their findings in a clear, cogent manner. These are skills that can be put to use long after a student has studied music theory. By abstracting concepts and demonstrating their application in multiple settings, I can provide students with versatile tools that will enable them to solve a variety of real-world problems.
- I will always value the student's journey, not their destination.
- I will always encourage life-long learning.
- I will always teach for the transfer of knowledge.
As an educator, I value the process of learning. Striving to instill this value in every student that I teach, I encourage self-reflection, intellectual honesty, the synthesis of multiple perspectives, and critical, creative thinking. Making students aware of how they learn, instead of simply focusing upon what they learn, offers them an opportunity to develop skills beyond what Lev Vygotsky called the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Students may only become life-long learners if they are able to acquire, synthesize, and reflect upon new ideas and skills while outside the presence of an instructor.
In order for students to value their education, and continue to explore beyond their ZPD, they must acquire the ability to transfer skills obtained from one environment to another. When teaching musical analysis, I am not simply teaching the proper identification of terms related to the realm of music theory. I am teaching students how to parse a complex idea and find patterns and relationships between discrete elements of a unified whole, while encouraging them to articulate their findings in a clear, cogent manner. These are skills that can be put to use long after a student has studied music theory. By abstracting concepts and demonstrating their application in multiple settings, I can provide students with versatile tools that will enable them to solve a variety of real-world problems.
Composition Pedagogy
Any individual interested in pursuing an artistic vocation already possesses a voice. As Michael J. Bugeja illustrates in his book, The Art and Craft of Poetry, the challenge is not in the search for a voice; the challenge is developing a voice (i.e., having something interesting and honest to say with your individual, creative voice). I believe that it is important for apprentice composers to be well versed in a wide variety of artistic devices, techniques, and styles. I encourage the completion of short musical exercises, in addition to large-scale creative projects, to facilitate the acquisition of skills related to the craft of composition. Apprentices must synthesize a large quantity of music, by actively listening to anything and everything they can, and become familiar with many historical and contemporary perspectives, while their teacher monitors this activity to ensure that the student's voice is never obscured in the process.
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