About 2013

Sunrise (7:15 am) as viewed from my apartment on January 11.
(Studies show that pictures of sunrises work best when blogging about one's goals for the new year.)

Ah, 2013. As a recent NPR Sunday Puzzle pointed out, 2013 is the first year to have four unique digits since 1987, which also happens to be the year in which I was born. 2013 also has four consecutive digits, which hasn't happened since 1980. But when I decided to put together this post and to title it "About 2013," I was thinking more along the lines of my aspirations for the new year. So if you are looking for the mysterious connection between the numbers involved in 2013 and the meaning of the universe, you can take a detour at a site like this; otherwise keep reading.

My goals for the new year are meant to reflect the early stages of my (potential-but-hopefully-real) career. Specifically, while I am hardly a professional at this point, I cannot (and do not want to) be just a student forever. These objectives are intended to get the transition from student to real world started, or—perhaps more fairly—to continue it, as I have achieved a handful of accomplishments outside the classroom. Also, my role as a student is due to extend beyond 2013, so the transition is part of a bigger picture.

I have organized my goals into three different categories: routine, academic, and professional. The categories are not mutually exclusive; for instance, positive changes I make to my routine are ultimately professional goals as well. But the idea is to focus on these areas. I have decided to have three goals in each category – three sets of three has a nice feel to it, and let's face it, ten would be so cliché. (Oh, I forgot, sarcasm doesn't work as well over the internet.)

Routine Goals

These are the aspirations I have to improve my routine as a composer. Having a productive routine is where it all gets started. Historically, the more free and unstructured time I have, the less productive I seem to be. So here they are:

1. Get up early each weekday. And by early, I mean no later than 8 am. Anyone with a real job (or a real life for that matter) may be laughing or scoffing at this relatively generous definition, so two points here. The first is that I am still a student (and only a few years out of MIT where 8 am is like the normal person's 5 am). The second point is that I have very little actual class time this semester, and nothing before 11:30 am. So I'm not that lazy crazy. Lastly, there are inevitably going to be weekdays where getting up before 8 is not going to be realistic, whether I'm up late finishing a project or on vacation on some island (the former being the more likely of the two). Rather than come up with a list of excusable reasons, though, I will strive for perfection and make notes where I feel necessary.
2. Compose at least five days a week. All those avid blog followers out there (right, sarcasm) may point out that in the past I have expressed the goal of composing every day. While I have made steady progress in the regularity of my composing, I think every single day is unrealistic, at least for me at this point in time. I have a hunch that slightly lowering the bar for myself will actually work better.
3. Write at least five blog posts each month. The good news: in 2012, I tripled my blog post output. The bad news: in 2011 (and in 2010) I only wrote five blog posts all year, so that's not saying a whole lot. However, 40% of last year's output came in the final two months, so I am headed in the right direction.

Academic Goals

These are my goals that are most closely related specifically to being a student.

4. Borrow and listen to at least five new (i.e., unfamiliar) pieces from the music library each month. As a master's student, I had my comprehensive exams to look forward to, which were very helpful in exposing me to music I hadn't yet heard but should. Although I don't have a comparable test to prepare for as a candidate for the artist diploma, I don't want (ever) to stop listening to pieces I haven't yet discovered. And besides, as a student with access to a music library, there's really no excuse not to.
5. Write a new research paper. I wrote two research papers over my first two years at Hartt (one about Copland's Symphony No. 3 and the other about aria in opera) and it likely behooves me to have another one.
6. Research and apply to doctoral programs. My primary purpose for pursuing the artist diploma is to set myself up to have a good shot at getting into a doctoral program. To have a program waiting for me after I am finished at Hartt, I need to apply this coming fall. To apply this coming fall I need to be informed before this fall. Right now is before this fall, as is a good chunk of the year.

Professional Goals

Here are the objectives I have pertaining to the advancement of my career.

7. Finish at least eight new compositions. True, it's about the quality not the quantity. Por ejemplo, I only finished a few pieces in 2012, but one of them was a 36-minute symphony. But now that I have that monumental piece in my portfolio, I would like to focus more on writing for smaller groups. I also would like to up my productivity in general, so I think eight is an achievable but meaningful goal.  Subgoals! Within these eight I would like: my first string quartet, a wind quintet (for which I have not yet written anything), and an electronic piece that is not connected to any class.
8. Get at least five new recordings of pieces completed in 2012 or 2013. And to challenge myself a little, let's say that the concert recording of Huldufólk doesn't count because that was essentially set up last year.
9. Apply to at least twenty competitions. I renewed my student membership with the American Composers Forum where there is always a lengthy list of opportunities, many of which require no entry fee. (And there are an increasing number of contests/competitions where everything is submitted online.) Just like you have to buy a lottery ticket to make it rain, you have to apply for these things to win, too. (I believe the odds are roughly the same...)

To keep myself on track, I have set up a progress chart for myself. While I'll keep track of the goals every day, every so often I'll post an entry about my progress, and in the early days of 2014 I can give myself an evaluation. Onward and upward!