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.
Ten years ago I went to the Czech-American Summer Music Institute and studied with Ladislav Kubik for three weeks. I was reminded last night of a Czech saying that he told me in a lesson: "Silence cures." It couldn't have been more appropriate than it was last night. My piece was really on the verge of being good but lacked something. Silence was the cure.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
4/28/2009
Just
This month I turned 35. That makes me ineligible for many calls for scores and many would see this moment as if my palm was flashing red. There is this idea that if you aren't already famous by the time you are 35, you ain't gonna be. Whatever. Having been born in a fly-over state, spent most of my maturation period in fly-over states, and received most of my education in fly-over states, it seems that the fame deck is stacked against me anyway. Why should it matter how old I am?
But that is not my point. It occurred to me that most prefixes that were commonly ascribed to my compositional status are now null and void. I haven't been a "student" composer for a few years. Now I get to cast aside the moniker "young." I suppose "emerging" still works, but I must say that I take great pride in just being a composer. All I have to do is be who I am, write what I write, and the rest will take care of itself.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
4/21/2009
SEAMUS vs. NASCAR
The rest of SEAMUS went well, some great pieces and great performances happened on Saturday morning. I had university obligations that prevented me from hearing the Saturday afternoon and evening concerts, but all in all the whole weekend went extremely well.
It strikes me that there is a similar urge between electronic musicians and NASCAR fans. We secretly want to see crashes. We enjoy it when the technology does what it is supposed to do, but we also have a sick fascination with seeing/hearing wreckage strewn about the arena. Sometimes it might be schadenfreude. You don't like the piece and therefore you rejoice when it goes poorly. Or you think the composer is a hack and then their electronics implode and you secretly enjoy it.
I think the more generous idea is watching the battle of art vs. technology. These two forces are not always on the same page yet we try to harness one for the other. Sometimes tech is the perfect pairing for our art. Sometimes tech fights back and that struggle is worth watching. Who will win? The art or the tech? As musicians, we are entranced with the struggle that yields art's creation. It is sad when Max/MSP takes a composer to the wall and leaves their composition a flaming pile of audio carnage. When they composer can max out the tech, push the barrier beyond safety but STILL be able to make good music, that is the transcendent moment we want.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
4/17/2009
My First SEAMUS
Well, I'm at my very first SEAMUS. It was an interesting day. The whole thing is being held in scenic Fort Wayne, IN, at the Sweetwater central facility. It is a lot like the Google workplace, but smaller and with audiophiles running around. Neat.
I flew in this morning about an hour before my sound check. Scratch that, two hours before my sound check, but one hour before my sound check was scheduled. It seems to be traditional that SEAMUS concerts are both long and behind schedule. I have talked to many SEAMUS vets and they corroborate this trend. It doesn't really bother me, since I strive to be a patient person. What is unfortunate is to only get 3 minutes of tech time when someone else got about 40. Luckily my piece was low on complexity and we were able to get things started and checked in, like I said, 3 minutes.
My piece for flute and tape, Mercurial, was on the early afternoon concert. Lisa Bost, my performer, did a fantastic job. She drew out shapes and gestures in my work that I didn't know existed. That was all kinds of awesome. I got a few people telling me "great piece, lousy program note." I concur and will revise said note. And, even more important, find more venues for Lisa Bost. She plays a lot of great music for flute, is a devotee of the alto flute, so if you have, say, a 45 minute solo alto flute piece, she might want to see it.
The concerts all sound good, lots of good equipment and skillful tech hands. The quality of pieces is your typical "some great, some not, most are okay" blend that festivals like this seem to draw. Tomorrow is, as a woman once said, another day. I can go to two concerts before having to catch my plane. If anything of interest happens, I'll jump up and tell you about it.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
4/01/2009
Some foolin'
I couldn't resist pulling some gags on my students today. In theory class I told them we were going to do some sightsinging and promptly put up a page from Superscripto.. I gave them the starting B-flat and told them to watch out for the 2/12 time signature in the second measure. They panicked slightly, then realized it was a joke.
I ran out of time, but I was going to pull the ultimate theory student prank. We shifted to melodic dictation and I was going to play different subtle versions of the melody on each repetition. First in major, second in minor, third with some note tweaks, fourth on a different starting pitch, etc. Next year I'll manage time better.
Lastly, in Orchestration, I rickrolled my class. We were talking about percussion writing and I used an excerpt from Scheherazade. I know, I know, Rickrolling was last year, but it was the best I could do on short notice. The class appreciated it.
