Quick update

Things started up at the composers symposium yesterday. For the last couple of weeks, in absence of an advance schedule, I have been speculating that we couldn't possibly be kept busy every minute of every day. I was wrong, incredibly wrong. I'm booked nearly solid, from 9am until late at night, every day including Saurday and Sunday. It's a good thing I took July 5th, the day after I get back, off from work. Because of the full schedule, I don't have a lot of time for online stuff, so posting may be spotty, more along the lines of general impression than a linear narrative.

But I am having the best time. The people here are great - friendly, interesting, fun to hang out with. And there are several women. I think this is one of the first times I've been in an educational setting with compsoers and not been the only one. And I actually know one of the other participants, sen_no_ongaku. We had a great talk about the Boston music scene last night.

I had what's called a "focal group" yesterday afternoon - a private session with Dr. Kyr and two of the other participants, where we each play a work and get feedback on it. I think it went pretty well. I played two of my Four Love Songs. I received more commentary of an instructional nature from Dr. Kyr than the other two guys. It wasn't heavily critical, but it was a lot more like what I would get in a private lesson. He did seem to like the work overall, though.
My presentation is today. I'm quite nervous, but I at least prepared properly.

Random Observations

The dorm we're all staying is is surprisingly nice. I opted for a single room, and I'm really glad I did. We're so busy all the time that it's nice to be able to get a little privacy at the end of the day. Each room has it's own bathroom attached, sort of like in a hotel. I was not expecting that at all, even in the nicer dorms at Wesleyan, such a thing would have been unheard of. The food is good, too. Maybe they bring out the higher-grade food service for the summer programs. Best of all, they have soymilk! And lots of options, considering that it's a fairly small dining hall.

I think I'm a bit overdressed. I brought mostly nice, business casual-type clothes. Most everybody else is in t-shirts and jeans. So I feel a little bit out of place, but on the other hand, I do look quite good in these clothes, even if I do say so myself. And that makes me feel a little more confident.

Some of the people here are amazingly accomplished. But because of the atmosphere here, that's not intimidating.