David T. Little

Over the next nine months or so, I will be conducting candid interviews with some very exciting creative people, including producer Beth Morrison, composers Ted Hearne, Darcy James Argue, Corey Dargel, Leo Chadburn (aka Simon Bookish), and more.  We kick things off with a group interview on the collaborative process with filmmaker Stephen Taylor, librettist Royce Vavrek, and composers Missy Mazzoli, who each have new operas being premiered at the end of the month at

I've been hard at work getting things organized for my Digital Composer-in-Residence Video Blog.  Over the next nine months or so, you can expect candid interviews with producer Beth Morrison, composers Ted Hearne, Darcy James Argue, Corey Dargel,  Leo Chadburn (aka Simon Bookish), and

I was very sad to hear tonight of the passing of historian Howard Zinn.  Though Zinn is best known for his seminal A People's History of The United States it is his 1970 book The Politics of History that has had the most profound effect on me.  In this book he notes “Historical writings always have some effect on us.  It may reinforce our passivity; it may activate us.  In any case, the historian cannot choose to be neutral; he writes on a moving train.”  

“So, you like challenges, right?” This is how a phone call from Dawn Upshaw began, approximately 4 months ago. She was looking to commission a short—20-30 minute—opera for the Graduate Vocal Arts program at the Bard Conservatory. I’d worked with these amazing singers last year as part of the Osvaldo Golijov/ Dawn Upshaw Professional Training Workshop, co-presented by Bard and Carnegie Hall, so I knew they were great, and was excited to have the chance to work with them again.  And of course, when Dawn Upshaw is asking, there is pretty much only one right answer: yes.