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.
Today I got the box of accepted entries for the EMM Festival. Now to rip them all into my laptop and organize them into concerts. There haven't been too many special programming requests so it should flow together easily (knock on wood).
I like taking widely different pieces of music and trying to organize them into vignettes. It is kind of like playing a big, musical game of Go using iTunes as the board. Okay, maybe not.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
7/29/2008
Exercise
This summer has contained a lot of exercise. Physically, I've been doing a lot. Compositionally, I've been doing some. Tech-wise, I've been having the hardest time.
Allow me to vent some frustrations for a moment, if I may.
There are two specifics architectures that I've been trying to learn. The first is Jitter. The second is SuperCollider. My motivation for learning these packages is to challenge myself and work with different tools. I'm getting bored with doing what I already know how to do. I need some challenge to push me further.
I'm a very good tutorial-doer and I've been working through their respective tutorials (with SC3 I've been using a variety of sources). The tutorials don't click with me the way that other tutorials do, though. I consult help files which seem to be geared towards advanced users. My creations, if one can call them that, make me think that I will never, ever, ever make anything artistically worthwhile with either program.
What has been the hardest is the fact that I'm not sure the end results are going to be worth the effort I'm putting in now. The same frustration has manifested itself in my physical workouts. I work hard and yet I see little or no results from that work. I follow the advice of experts and I'm just as flabby as I was before sweating my ass off five days a week.
But I keep going back, keep hitting my head against the wall, keep telling myself that it is all worth it in the long run. This summer, the thing that seems to be getting the most exercise is my patience.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
7/18/2008
Plugs
There are a few discs out there which I think should be on your radar. I present them for the following reasons: 1. They are great recordings 2. They are self-released works (mostly available on iTunes) 3. They are friends of mine (therefore I'd feel scummy putting these in the CD Reviews on this site)
Torrid Mix by Mike McFerron Mike McFerron's electroacoustic music gets featured on this disc (can we call them "discs" when they come out on iTunes? Isn't that like talking about "tape" pieces these days?). Most of the stuff is groove-oriented, especially the title track Torrid Mix for piano and tape (there I go again). McFerron is a great composer and these pieces are creative and well crafted works. Definitely worth getting.
In lake'ch by Paul Rudy This is a thirteen-track, hour long electroacoustic piece which is simply brain-alteringly awesome. The sounds are stunning and the organic growth is crazy-awesome. Some of you might shudder at the thought of an "hour long electroacoustic piece" but you gotta trust me on this. This piece needs to be as long as it is. Excerpts and individual tracks just don't do the piece justice. Put it on and soak in it for a while. You'll be glad you did.
60x60 2006-2007 by Robert Voisey (and 119 others, including yours truly) The third CD release of the Vox Novus 60x60 is out and in effect. As a "bang for the buck" recording project, you are never going to do better than buying 120 pieces by 120 composers. There are great tracks, there are funny tracks, there are tracks that are just weird. The best thing is, if you dislike a track, you only have about 45 seconds until you hear something else.
60x365 Selections by David Morneau The 60x60 project on steroids, David Morneau's 60x365 podcast concluded recently. It turns out he has made a limited number of discs containing 72 tracks from the podcast. I got one and it is really, really cool. David's choices are smart and represent the best aspects of the project. The collection is artistic, funny, cathartic, quirky, and well worth owning. If you are interested in the disc, and you should be, David told me that individuals should contact him directly.posted by Jay C. Batzner
7/17/2008
Dr. Horrible
This week only, you can watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, a web-only musical written by Joss Whedon. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion and it is woderfully entertaining. Acts I and II are out now with Act III to follow on Saturday. Sunday it goes offline (but will be for sale on iTunes and will eventually come out on DVD).
It is the only super-villain musical you will ever need. Until I write one, of course.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
7/12/2008
Juggling
After being on the road for a few weeks, I find myself woefully behind on my composition projects. Oh, I had such fancy plans when May started. So far, I've completed two things. Suddenly I realized that there are some July 15 deadlines on the horizon. The horizon, unfortunately, is Tuesday.
So what do I do? Should I #1: try to eke out the contest projects in short order? #2: forget the contest deadlines and work on pieces that others are waiting for (no deadline, though)? #3: scrap both of these and write something totally different, based on an idea I got last week?
If you have a suggestion, please make it soon. Tuesday isn't far off...
posted by Jay C. Batzner
