Happy 2020!
I did not realize how much time has passed since I last wrote on this blog. Three and a half years. So much life has transpired since that time-- I don't know where I could even start with that.
In brief, after the American Viola Society Festival of 2016, I started refocusing on my dissertation about Günter Raphael, got married, did a leave replacement for a semester, moved from boroughs, started an album, started a duo, started teaching at an awesome festival in Utah, all while teaching and freelancing throughout the Northeast US (and beyond). I attended another American Viola Society Festival in 2018, and my first International Viola Congress in Poland last year. I can't sum three and a half years in one paragraph, and as much as I wanted to write retrospectively about all that happened in the last decade, I am very excited about grabbing this upcoming decade by the horns, and planting as much as I can. We are going to need a lot more trees to keep this world moving forward (uh oh, Greg is getting proverbial on us!) and I would rather help with the planting and shaping of the future, and don't want to lament about what frustrated me about the last decade.
I think I went mute on the blog at a point when I was getting burned out with writing, and my efforts and concentration had to go into writing the dissertation. And after finishing the dissertation and graduating from the Graduate Center, I needed to do a complete 180 degree turn and dive head on into all things playing-- a lot of gigging, recording The Raphael Project (more about that another day), and getting the Golden Williams Duo off the ground. I have never been known for being a perpetual journaling type, and I don't know if I will start now. However, a few developments have occurred in the last few months that have prompted me to start wanting to write again. One of these is that I was recently asked to take on the role of New Music Editor with the Journal of the American Viola Society, which will have me reviewing and reflecting on new music a lot more. I also ended up getting a new laptop last month (I was getting frustrated with the old laptop as it was sputtering out of control). The new laptop and the new role started to get me journaling and free-writing again, and even composing again!
Perhaps learning the other night that one of my adult viola students has been blogging (about theatre and film mostly) prompted me to think about starting this again. The name will remain the same (even though the Archipelago Quartet which initially inspired the name has long since disbanded) because the community of violists with our own unique quirks, career paths, interests, and styles of playing, are a vital part of the sea of musicians. I am thinking that I will probably do this on a weekly basis, or try to at least. I plan to mostly write about things related to viola, chamber music, orchestral music, new music, but this might change from week to week, depending on what is burning on my mind.
Feel free to reach out if you have a piece of writing, music, recording that you want to share. I am hungry to learn more from the community around me, and would love to hear from you!
-Greg
I did not realize how much time has passed since I last wrote on this blog. Three and a half years. So much life has transpired since that time-- I don't know where I could even start with that.
In brief, after the American Viola Society Festival of 2016, I started refocusing on my dissertation about Günter Raphael, got married, did a leave replacement for a semester, moved from boroughs, started an album, started a duo, started teaching at an awesome festival in Utah, all while teaching and freelancing throughout the Northeast US (and beyond). I attended another American Viola Society Festival in 2018, and my first International Viola Congress in Poland last year. I can't sum three and a half years in one paragraph, and as much as I wanted to write retrospectively about all that happened in the last decade, I am very excited about grabbing this upcoming decade by the horns, and planting as much as I can. We are going to need a lot more trees to keep this world moving forward (uh oh, Greg is getting proverbial on us!) and I would rather help with the planting and shaping of the future, and don't want to lament about what frustrated me about the last decade.
I think I went mute on the blog at a point when I was getting burned out with writing, and my efforts and concentration had to go into writing the dissertation. And after finishing the dissertation and graduating from the Graduate Center, I needed to do a complete 180 degree turn and dive head on into all things playing-- a lot of gigging, recording The Raphael Project (more about that another day), and getting the Golden Williams Duo off the ground. I have never been known for being a perpetual journaling type, and I don't know if I will start now. However, a few developments have occurred in the last few months that have prompted me to start wanting to write again. One of these is that I was recently asked to take on the role of New Music Editor with the Journal of the American Viola Society, which will have me reviewing and reflecting on new music a lot more. I also ended up getting a new laptop last month (I was getting frustrated with the old laptop as it was sputtering out of control). The new laptop and the new role started to get me journaling and free-writing again, and even composing again!
Perhaps learning the other night that one of my adult viola students has been blogging (about theatre and film mostly) prompted me to think about starting this again. The name will remain the same (even though the Archipelago Quartet which initially inspired the name has long since disbanded) because the community of violists with our own unique quirks, career paths, interests, and styles of playing, are a vital part of the sea of musicians. I am thinking that I will probably do this on a weekly basis, or try to at least. I plan to mostly write about things related to viola, chamber music, orchestral music, new music, but this might change from week to week, depending on what is burning on my mind.
Feel free to reach out if you have a piece of writing, music, recording that you want to share. I am hungry to learn more from the community around me, and would love to hear from you!
-Greg
