Celebrating Ten Years

    • Ten years ago, on March 31, 2010, I launched josephsowa.com as the home for my music. At the time, I was a few months out from graduating with my undergraduate degree from BYU.

    A lot has happened since then! Here are some of the highlights:

    I attended Brevard in summer 2011. Here John Shin (violin), David Dzubay (cond.), and the Brevard Orchestra read through the first draft of my violin concerto, Myths and Legends, which ended up being my master’s thesis.
    After the premiere by the BYU Chamber Orchestra, several months later (Fall 2011). (L-R: Stephen Jones, my thesis advisor; myself; Jared Starr, violinist; Kory Katseanes, conductor)
    In April 2012, I graduated BYU a second time with my MM. (L-R: Steven Ricks, Michael Hicks, me, Curtis Smith, Christian Asplund)
    I started my PhD at Brandeis in Fall 2013. While there I get to collaborate with fabulous musicians including, here, Keith Kirkoff and Jeralee Johnson . . .
    . . . here, Ensemble Dal Niente (who premiered An Integrity of Clouds)
    . . . and here, Ludovico Ensemble for my dissertation piece, Glimmer, Glisten, Glow
    While at Brandeis, I also took a couple of continuo courses that lay the foundation for my mature understanding of harmony. Here is a screenshot from that time of me exploring different harmonic relationships
    Of the many pieces I wrote for summer festivals, I had the most fun writing Blossom Music for Fresh Inc. in 2017. In that piece, I got to write for flower pots while setting some of Emily Dickinson’s poems about flowers.
    Also, in 2017, I had my first guest residency, at Boise State. I was invited by student Jared Knight (R) and composition faculty Sam Richards (L). This trip was also my first time in Idaho
    In March 2019, I successfully defended my dissertation, graduating that May. (L-R: Yu-Hui Chang, David Rakowski, Eric Chasalow, myself, Erin Gee, Martin Brody)
    Most recently, earlier ths month, I finished the first of two pieces this year for Hub New Music: this one, 3,000 Miles for flute and harp.

    . . . what more will happen this decade? Stay tuned to find out! I’m just as curious as you are.

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