New beginnings

Dear readers - I'm sorry I haven't written in so long! Life has been especially rich and full for the last few months. My final weeks in Vienna were wonderful, and the last lesson with Chaya found me feeling great about the progress I made during a year of focused study. The path ahead is much clearer than it was before; I have a sense of some of the specific areas I'd like to explore in my compositions and more understanding of what defines my unique musical voice.

We had a quick trip through Italy - some of the highlights were the art in Florence (including Leonardo's Annunciation, Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and Michaelangelo's David, which are all much more powerful in person than I imagined they would be), the countryside in Tuscany, and quite possibly the very best ice cream in the world, in a little gelateria in Florence.

After visiting with friends in Paris and London, we returned to Colorado, spent a month unpacking and repacking hundreds of boxes, loaded up a moving truck and drove across the country to our new home in Bloomington, Indiana. Now Rosalind is looking for work in environmental education/youth gardening and I'm starting a Masters Degree in Composition. I will be studying with P. Q. Phan, a fascinating composer born in Vietnam.

I'm so excited about the opportunities here! IU has one of the country's top conservatories, with an astounding 1600 music majors. I will be much busier now than I was last year, but I'll post here from time to time, to share some highlights from my ongoing journey. Best wishes to you all!