Resonant Responses

Listening and responding constitute a different attitude from planning, doing, and calculating.—Hartmut Rosa, The Uncontrollability of the World, 2020

Aesthetic identity—I like that. I’m like that. —Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style

"All things are not shining, but all the shining things are."—Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly, All Things Shining

In my teens and twenties, I composed and arranged music in a variety of styles — from rock and jazz to extended classical traditions and modernistic atonalism. I was searching for musical materials to work with that I found deeply resonant. A lot of my explorations led to cul-de-sacs, dead ends I realized could not sustain my interest.

But I also found some materials that for me were deeply resonant. I learned I prefer composing music that has a clear sense of propulsive direction in melody, counterpoint, harmony, and rhythm.

I discovered that exteriorized expression is a key value for me. Like Verdi, I sometimes want to throw knockout punches when I feel a work’s dramatic intent calls for them. My mature style began to develop only when I started focusing on materials and techniques I intuitively found resonant — that “felt like me”