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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