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Why You Should Be “a Composer AND…”

Unless you managed to have your composition career well underway by the time you graduated, you, like me, will need to get an additional job.

The nature of that job is up to you—but it is something you must anticipate and plan for.

These comments are not meant to discourage you from becoming a composer. Just understand that, no matter how successful you are, you will likely always be a “composer AND.”

Reason 1: Career Development Takes Time

This is all the more the case depending on the music you intend to write.

If you are happy writing music for school bands/orchestras/choirs or for film/TV/games/media, then it is possible — after 5–10 years of networking, getting performances, and building your reputation — to work full-time in the field.

If you strictly want to write chamber, dramatic, experimental, or orchestral music, then you MUST plan on having a trust fund or bill-paying spouse/partner, having an outside job, or living (very) frugally for decades.

Reason 2: Other Experts Also Give This Counsel

For almost a decade, podcaster Dr. Garrett Hope has been interviewing successful composers from diverse genres to talk about career development.

Initially, he named his podcast “Composer on Fire.” However, after years of interviews, Garrett renamed the podcast “The Portfolio Composer” to spotlight this crucial idea: successful composers assemble their careers from a portfolio of activities.

Likewise, notable music critic Ted Gioia has also written about this topic on his Substack: “My advice to students interested in the arts is . . . that they should pursue their craft but also develop at least one money-earning skill before they reach the age of 30.”

Reason 3: History Affirms It As Fact

Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, et al. were performers and teachers. Philip Glass did a number of odd jobs. Your professors are all professors (and most of them had other, non-professorial jobs before they landed a university job).

Take these further examples:

  • John Williams: composer and conductor
  • Augusta Read Thomas: composer and professor
  • Julia Wolfe: composer, presenter, and professor
  • Mark O’Connor: violinist, composer, and educator
  • etc.

Again, I defy you to find someone who makes their living strictly, 100% as a composer. That person will be in the vast minority, even among the most lauded and successful.

Therefore, What Should You Be Doing Now?

Start considering what you want your “and” to be. Your mix will be personal to you:

  1. Do you also love performing and conducting? Really master your instrument and learn what it takes to put together a performing career.
  2. Do you love teaching? Begin now to put together a private studio.
  3. Do you love recording and music technology? Become an assistant at a recording studio or for live music productions.
  4. Do you (or can you) have other non-musical skills or interests, particularly in in-demand fields? Minor or double major in those.

You get the idea: as a composer, you can and should branch out. That’s not only okay; it’s near universal.

And it will empower you for music to be your endgame will far less stress and anxiety than were you to put all your eggs in one basket.

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Behind the Scenes on “Motion Lines,” from the PRISM Quartet’s latest album

As you may have heard, the PRISM Quartet’s latest album, Surfaces and Essences, came out this past week. I’m thrilled that my piece “Motion Lines” was on it—along with a bunch of other great music by Christopher Biggs, Victoria Cheah, Viet Cuong, and Emily Koh.

First things first, if you haven’t listened to the album yet, go do that!

Then, be sure to purchase it from Apple Music or Amazon and support the PRISM Quartet.

You can also find the sheet music here.

Now, Join Me Behind the Scenes

That’s the shiny professional part. I wanted to take you behind the scenes, though, to give you a peek at what the composing process was like. Ever since 2004, I’ve kept a steady journal. Every week I write something. Most weeks I write a lot more. So I dug into my journal to pull out some scenes from the process of writing for and collaborating with the PRISM Quartet . . .

From the Project Notes: (Undated)

For every composition I write, I keep a text file of musical ideas, revision notes, possible titles, etc. Here is the original outline I wrote for the piece:

And here’s me talking more about these notes on YouTube:

While Composing: December 6, 2016

I didn’t end up writing a lot about the composing process itself, but hands down (pardon my pun, as you’ll soon see), this was the most eventful thing that happened during it: my first time ever getting stitches.

“I got stitches today after proving how sharp Cutco knives are while cutting an apple. Oops. The cut didn’t seem bad, but it soon became clear that the band-aid was no match for it. So on went a gauze pad over the band-aid and over I went to the urgent care center. $20 and an hour later, I had my stitches. . . .

“After coming home, I ate some, and eventually took a nap. I couldn’t focus. When I woke up, I eventually composed some until I went to the movie (Dr. Strange) with some friends.”

In addition to keeping a journal, I also save backups of my work every day. So I can show you, here, after getting stitches, is what the piece looked like by the end of December 6:

At the Rehearsal: January 27, 2017

Most rehearsals of new music sound like a partially carved statue looks. With the PRISM Quartet, the experience was different:

“The rehearsal went well. I was delighted that ‘Motion Lines’ is sounding as I had hoped it would. It’s fun to hear it first shaping into something musical. It’s funny, too, how there’s totally a sax player personality, and they all have it, refracted through the lenses of their individual personalities.”

I only wish I were cool enough to have the sax player personality.

After the Concert: January 29, 2017

In addition to how much I loved the PRISM Quartet’s performance of my piece, something else that stood out was how different the pieces were that we Brandeis students wrote for them. Despite this diversity of styles, PRISM knocked all the performances out of the park.

“The concert was fantastic. My piece got a great performance, and I received some really positive feedback from Eric and Davy as well as from my peers, including Richard, Talia, and Jeremy. Davy’s piece ‘Compass,’ which followed mine and concluded the concert, was easily the most like mine. Jeremy’s was the next closest, having a linear narrative, but its surface was way more sound- (rather than harmony-) focused, like the other five pieces. I liked them all a lot. As I was telling Talia and Alex after the concert, I find my peers really inspiring because they all do such different things at such a high level. That and they’re friendly, articulate, and supportive.”

PRISM Quartet at Brandeis. Image courtesy of Emily Koh

Afterword

After the concert, I assumed that was that. I had a great time working with the PRISM Quartet, and they made a great recording of my piece. But ten months later, Matt Levy emailed me asking if they could include “Motion Lines” on a forthcoming album. Of course, I said yes.

Although the album started in 2017, most of my contributions to it—preparing an initial mix, putting together program notes, and so on—didn’t happen until the second half of 2019. Almost all of that correspondence happened through email, and, well, now you can see and hear the result.

If you haven’t yet listened to the album, go check it out at all the usual places: Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, PRISM’s website. Then, if you want the the sheet music, it’s available here.

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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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Boise State Visit

2017 in Review

Welcome to the end of another year! It’s been a great one for me. Let me share the highlights below.

tl;dr

Just listen —

Pieces Written or Premiered

Places Went

  • Residency at Boise State University
  • New Music Gathering at Bowling Green State University
  • Fresh Inc. Festival in Wisconsin/Illinois

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Sam Richards, myself, and Jared Knight up the canyon from Boise

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The composers at Fresh Inc 2017

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Coming in 2018

  • A new piece for Collage New Music
  • My dissertation piece for sinfonietta
  • A new setting of “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”
  • And more!

Thank you all for sharing the joy of music with me. I wish you all the best in 2018!

 

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“. . . Ring in the new”

Bells2012 was a good year, but 2013 promises to be even more exciting.

Certainties

In 2012, blogging was my neglected step-child. This year, expect a steady and frequent stream of posts as I keep you in the loop about how my music is progressing, what I’m listening to, and what other thoughts and cool things I find over the coming year.

The next couple months I launch into my largest project ever: an hour-long Easter oratorio for choir, soloists, chamber ensemble, and dancers. The text comes from the Bible, primarily the four gospels. I’ve already started work on the music, and in the coming weeks, I’ll blog more details about the work and its upcoming performance.

Once that piece is done, I have several other projects on deck. For the AWEA Duo, I’ll be integrating fangled contraption into a set of bagatelles for flute and saxophone. I’ll also be writing a flute duo for Amber Seeley and Nicole Okeson. Later on, I intend to dust off my performing chops and write myself a piece for violin and electronics. All this composing should take me through spring, which brings us to . . .

Possibilities

In addition to those for sure pieces, I have at least half a dozen other ideas and requests. In the coming months, I need to sort out how serious they and I are about those plans. Could this be the year I finally write the tuba ensemble piece I’ve been imagining since 2007?

So far I’ve attended three different summer festivals: EAMA, Brevard, and highSCORE. They’ve all been great, but I’m still not sure where I’ll be headed this summer. Will I go back to one of those? Will I go some place new?

This year I also hope to expand my exposure by applying to more contests and calls for scores and by reaching out to create more collaborative opportunities. This year might be the year I start my doctoral work. In any case, it’ll certainly be my year of “how to stay happy and fed while establishing a career.”

So, stay tuned for news on these and other escapades. Do you have any suggestions for the coming year? Pieces I should write? Places to go? People to see? What are your dreams for 2013?

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“Ring out the old . . .”

“It's the most Janus-like time of the year.”
“It’s the most Janus-like time of the year.”

It’s been a good year for composition. It hasn’t been such a good year for blogging, so it’s time to highlight the best of 2012 and the opportunities coming in 2013. I’ll start in this post with 2012.

Second Performances

My biggest milestone this year was finally having pieces enter performers’ regular repertoire. I wrote “Icarus and Daedalus” in February for Arianna Tieghi, who since performed it twice this summer.

“night flocks of angels trumpet” was an excerpt from A Field Guide to Natural History that I arranged for violinist Katie Jensen, who performed it earlier this month. It’s my favorite movement from an otherwise long, difficult, and unusual quartet (read “unlikely to be performed”). Field Guide was performed twice in 2011 in its original form, and now with this arrangement for violin and piano, I hope the music will have a continued life. (Violinists, I will soon post an excerpt from the performance. Seriously. Check it out: it’s really pretty.)

Finally, “fangled contraption” continues to be my surprise hit. It was performed only once in 2012 but already has 5 performances scheduled for 2013 by the AWEA Duo, at which point it will have been performed 10 times. Sure, the New York Times won’t be picking up the story any time soon, but it’s sure cool (and reassuring) to see my music starting to have a life among performers.

Master of Music

In other significant news, in April I finished my MM in Composition at Brigham Young University. Seven years of study later, my time as a BYU student is finally over. Studying at BYU gave me exceptional performance and teaching opportunities and honed both my musical perceptions and my ability to articulate them. Perhaps in another post, I’ll give more highlights.

Since then I haven’t really gone anywhere. I still work for the College of Fine Arts and Communications as an editor. But being on campus doesn’t feel the same when you’re staff. Considering the lack of finals (or any assignments), great checkout priveldges at the library, employee discounts at the Bookstore, etc., it’s better.

highSCORE Festival

Over the summer, I attended the highSCORE Festival in Italy, where I made some good friends, heard their great music, and got to have a new string quartet performed. I also got to have some inspiring lessons from Amy Beth Kirsten and Dmitri Tymoczko.

Collaborations with Neil Thornock

Some of the most fun I had this year was in collaborating with Neil Thornock. Dr. Thornock was my composition teacher for part of my undergrad and much of my grad work. He’s also a great organist and carillonneur. In January, he commissioned me to write “Marginalia” for organ, which was premiered on a Salty Cricket concert in March. Later in the summer, I wrote “Under an Orange Sky,” which we recorded in November.

All in all, 2012 was a good year for me. I was able to work with some great performers, expand my network, and grow as a composer. Stay tuned for what’s coming in 2013.

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