Jay C. Batzner is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida where he teaches theory, composition, and technology courses as well as coordinates the composition program. He holds degrees in composition and/or theory from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, the University of Louisville, and the University of Kansas.
Jay's music is primarily focused around instrumental chamber works as well as electroacoustic composition. His music has been recorded on the Capstone, Vox Novus, and Beauport Classical labels and is published by Unsafe Bull Music.
Jay is a sci-fi geek, an amateur banjoist, a home brewer, and juggler.
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8/28/2006
Update of updates
Well, I promise to blog more than once a month from here on out. Really. Scout's honor. Just watch.
Anyhow, life as a new faculty member is interesting. Shifting from grad student to faculty is an interesting shift indeed. People ask me for authoritative answers to things (policies, degree programs, course content) and, get this, they generally believe what I say. It is so odd to not have to check everything with a supervisor first. The chair of the department is very open to input, which is a good thing.
And, even though my gig is in music technology, they want me to develop more time in my schedule for composition. I'm teaching an orchestration/arranging course and a comp student this semester. Can't complain about that!
The biggest fear, though, is tenure. I have this overwhelming feeling that it just ain't gonna happen. I don't get enough performances. I don't know enough performers to play my stuff. I'm too busy teaching that I'm not writing a whole lot (don't ask about the Miniatures from my last post). I just see myself as this small and insignificant atom in the world of new music. I have 5 years to prove that I am at least a molecule. If I can reach protozoa stage, I'll be a full professor.
So fear motivates most of what I do. Fear that I'll be discovered as a fraud. I don't know anything. I only guess. Other than the fear, and the traffic, Orlando is okay. I like the department. I love the job. I survived the first week. And I'm still happy to be here.
In other news, I've quit my old blog. My energies are too scattered at work for me to go home and maintain a personal blog. So I am now restricting myself to musical blogging. I'm looking forward to it. More later, I have to go to a faculty meeting.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
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