This was one of the first things that my colleague and friend Corey Dargel asked me after I'd been awarded the DCR.   At the time, I was still in London (his question came via twitter) and I hadn’t had much of a chance to think about specifics.  I know during the competition, Chiayu, Aaron and I had answered this question as part of our podcast interviews, but in that case being vague was fine.  Now I needed an actual, specific answer!  It’s sort of like being asked what class you want to teach, but then having to create a syllabus.  It's all details.  So there I was wondering: what do I want to do in this space?

Well, I’ve had a chance to think about it some more, and I’ve finally got an answer for Mr. Dargel, (and you too, if you’d been wondering).  It’s simple and perhaps not as specific as it should be.  It’s also sort of corny, but here it is: I am going to share.

I’ll write about pieces I’m working on, and about what my ensemble Newspeak is up to.  But I’ll write about other people’s work, too.  Though some might disagree with me, I really believe that there is such a thing as a community in what we do, and I intend to help foster that through my blog posts, vlogs, podcasts and who-knows-what-else.  This extends beyond the realm of the composer, too, and includes people from all aspects of the profession: performers, critics, administrators, etc.

Through this, I’ll hopefully provide not only a window into my own compositional process, but also into the business of being a composer in the 21st century and to the broader context in which my many colleagues and I create our work.   (Everything is listening, sharing and stealing, after all.)   Also, I'll probably talk about rock music, amplification, the use of drum-set in classical music, and the relationship of music and politics, all of which directly relate to my compositional life.

And I hope that you'll share with me too!  Tell me about composers or pieces that you're into; stuff I might not yet be aware of.  You all are a part of this community too, and I am all about learning new cool stuff.  I very much look forward to the exchange we'll all have.