What's in a bio?

First off, before i get this discussion rolling, this is not an attack on the program office involved. They are a very traditional establishment and i accept that. They produce quite nice programs that are edited quite well. This is just a difference of opinion on what makes a biography, not any sort of attack. Just so happens my view is quite different.

So, i know i've discussed my views on bios before on this blog. Today, i received an "edited" version of a bio i sent to a festival. This is what I sent:

John Chittum drinks water, but could probably stand to do so with more frequency. He is a composer, multi-media artist, sound engineer, and occasionally plays trombone. He has had works performed all over the universe, including EM-NY's IEAMF, DePauw Univeristy's Chamber Orchestra's 2006 West Coast Tour, and the anthem to Rigel 7's "Intermorphic Games 2009 (Earth Year)." His music has been described as “microtonal post-neo-litho-mini- Max/Msp-moderno-anticonservative-primitavisitic concert music and film scores.” When not writing music, John enjoys wrapping speakers in foil so the government (any and all) cannot steal his music, staring at blank walls, and working with UMKC's Composer's in the School program, and teaching at KCKCC (CCKCCKCKCCC), and UMKC (CCKCCCKC), helping to teach the next generation of poor starving artists. He has a fine leather bound degree from DePauw University in a box somewhere, an MM from Brooklyn College in an envelope on his desk, and is attempting one more "because i couldn't get a real job" at University of Missouri Kansas City. John also has a sense of humor, laughs a great deal, and refuses to take life too seriously. He’s known for being “the kind of guy who will watch 8 hours of Futurama and read Proust at the same time.”

and yes, that final quote is a quote. It's actually from Russel Thorpe who authored an amazing bio about me for the Black House Improvisors' Collective. Absolutely amazing.

I expected edits. Oh yes, indeed i did. The program office here is very traditional. They've been known to edit professor's bios if they mention things that are too "out there." If you read this blog, you've probably noticed i'm not exactly a strict tradition guy. Well, this is the bio that came out of this...

"John Chittum is a composer, multimedia artist, sound engineer and occasional trombonist. His works have been performed at EM-NY’s International Electro-Acoustic Music festivals and the 2006 West Coast Tour of DePauw University’s Chamber Orchestra. When not writing music, Chittum enjoys working with UMKC’s Composers in the School program and teaching at the Kansas City Kansas Community College and UMKC. He holds degrees from DePauw University and Brooklyn College and is currently a doctoral student at UMKC."

well then, that took all the fun out of it...and it became just a meaningless list of accomplishments. Yep...pretty boring. and it says nothing about me. nothing

This bio, when i read it, tells me nothing. So, he's had performances and he teaches, has a couple degrees, and does all sorts of shit. Who cares? That doesn't mean anything. The bio i sent really tells you who I am. You read that, you know EXACTLY who John Chittum is. The edited version has absolutely no life to it at all. I definitely would have preferred they just say "this is unacceptable. Please write something more traditional."

In light of the massive edits that sucked the soul out of the bio and left only factoids, i wrote a new bio to send them. i hope this revision goes in

"John Chittum (1984) is a composer, educator, multi-media artist, trombonist, and audio engineer. As a composer he has had pieces performed across the US with groups such as Remarkable Theater Brigade, DePauw University Chamber Orchestra, and in association with KcEMA. As an educator, John has taught audio engineering courses at Kansas City Kansas Community College and University of Missouri-Kansas City, music appreciation at Brooklyn College, music appreciation through the S.T.A.R. program associated with Brooklyn College, and as a Composers-In-The-Schools fellow at UMKC. John still actively performs on trombone, most recently playing with Black House Improvisors' Collective and is planning a trombone and electronics concert for 2012. Working mostly as a monitor engineer for Concert Quality Sound, John has enjoyed experiences with L.L. Cool J, The Trammps, The Blue Notes, Chubby Checker, and Tony Orlando. In the electro-acoustic scene, John has worked as a lead engineer and system technician for the International Electroacoustic Music Festival (IEAMF), KcEMA, The Composers Guild at UMKC, and Musica Nova. While John has many varied musical experiences that have influenced his work, his non-musical experiences, such as driving a large delivery truck in Philadelphia, traversing long distances in his 1995 Jeep Cherokee without a stereo, his regular trips to the Atlantic City and Ocean City, NJ beaches, and his forays into culinary experimentation, are of equal importance in his musical development."

At least that one still has some of the whimsey, and, let's face, if you want me to LIST ACCOMPLISHMENTS, BRING IT ON! I've got a few. I'll name drop, i'll put down professional credit, whatever. However, it's the final sentence, now couched in more formal writing, that still says more than anything...

and, knowing the office, there's a chance it gets cut.

So, here's the question: what are people's takes on bios? should they stick to tradition or break the mold? What says more about a person; a list of accomplishments or a something really composed in their own style? For those that know me (and read this blog), which of the three really does tell you about John Chittum?

This is NOT a knock on this office. I know they are traditionalists and i took a chance sending the zany bio. I do wish they had just asked for another rather than editing it though. I am capable of writing a traditional bio, just dislike to use it unless I am required. But, they do mean well and produce fantastic looking programs

which reminds me, i need to send them a program for the Guild concert in April.

K.A.H!

First off, i've hit 1000 views. doesn't seem like that large a number, but when i started this back in...um...whenever i started it, i never thought that'd happen. or that i'd start averaging over 100 views a month. thanks all. i do wonder how many of you really exist. lol

The trombone concerto has been tabled for the moment. Got a phone call from a buddy of mine demanding i finally finish SOMETHING for him by May. he preferred it be an unaccompanied piece. Aight, i can do that. bye bye concerto which has given me acid reflux. Hello unaccompanied trombone solo!

It's title is K.A.H! I don't normally hit titles first, but this was a must. I'm also a huge fan of acronym names. This one is a double homage- first, to the greatest robot ever fictionally created; Bender. secondly, written in solidarity with everyone else getting royally screwed by the government in the US. Solidarity with Wisconsin in their fight to actually be able to collectively bargain their whole contract, not just their wage (i'm sure they'll lose all benefits soon "to save money." Austerity is BS.). Written in solidarity with those in Michigan that face the possibility of losing local government entirely ("oh, a 3rd party firm decides your town is in a crisis? I (the governor) shall appoint a person in charge of said town, dissolve the government, and give this person totalitarian rule of your town till the 'financial crisis' is over. Bye bye local government, voting, and all public workers!" I do hope they keep one cop around, maybe a fire engine...maybe...).

You can decipher what K.A.H! stands for. I've given a large hint

Later i'll post on content. It led to quite the disagreement. The suggestion was made that i use material from this in my concerto. my answer "that's not really going to work..." this led to about a 15 minute discussion that seriously just went in circles. I hold to my opinion, as it also stems from how i feel about large ensembles (unwieldy cumbersome beasts with coordination issues.). when your theme/basic material is so hard that an elite soloist has difficulty then transferring that to a large ensemble seems...well, pretty damn hard.

especially when you open with multiphonics through a harmon mute. lol

we pause for these brief announcements

Ah, spring is nearing. the sun is shining today after another couple weeks of miserable weather. I can already feel my energy starting to pick up a bit. It's amazing what a little sun and some warmth can do for you.

Now, if only i could get my mind working creatively. Like now. On Monday's I have an open slot from about 1-5. for the first chunk i often answer emails as many roll in Monday morning. after that, it's free time. And i spent mine watching Onion videos.

I think i might have to table the trombone concerto for awhile. Sometimes the best way to make progress on something is to not work on it. Take it out of my bag, set it down somewhere, and let it sit, move onto a different project.

I've been working in CSound a great deal this semester. Learning from a "master" is pretty amazing. To get a project from James Mobberley and work through it as a class is pretty outstanding. I've also learned where the holes are in my knowledge of digital audio and programming. Editing is a huge problem for me, so misplaced numbers, commas, words (things like writing "go to" instead of "goto" for conditionals has been a major problem...) just destroy my world. Hopefully, I'll move much quicker eventually.

Finally, I'm toying with going back and revising "Cake." Upon a review of it about a month ago, i was...disturbed...there's a lot of really poor writing. a lot of things in the piano that were meant to be orchestrated (something that never happened.) Vocal lines that lead nowhere and have nothing to them...At the same time, independently, Eileen Wiedbrauk, the writer of the wonderful text, was also toying with rewriting "Cake." heh. It's amazing what a few years away from a piece and a few more years of knowledge do to you. So, perhaps, there will be a "Cake v.2." i'd be game...

Holy Wild Performances, Batman!

For the first time in my "composerly" career, i have performances lined up.

And not performances where i'm pulling everything together to do at an "end of the year" concert by the comp department for the comp department. Nope...all three are about one step up :)

I'm still nailing down all the specific specifics, but the piece is accepted, so if all goes well, i'll have 3 performances over 2 months. with real groups.

groups i don't have to fully form myself. performers who can rehearse without me.

and, in other news, i'm playing with UMKC's RAT ensemble as a part of the Zerospace Conference on Friday night, working on KcEMA's "Back to the Source Code" concert at La Esquina, Saturday, and generally working myself into a frenzy.

Finally feeling all that hard work paying off!

Milton Babbitt, take 2

First, this is one of the most lovingly created and introspective biographies i have ever seen. Considering it clocks in at just over an hour for a 94 year life, that's really saying something...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2011/02/02/133372983/npr-exclusive-new-documentary-on-the-late-composer-milton-babbitt

In memorial of Milton Babbitt, I am taking "Milton Babbitt listening, day 2." I original did one the weekend of his death, and am now undertaking a second.

I am listening to most of the same exact pieces and albums i hit the first time.

Babbitt was a staggering genius. His works are comical, powerful, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. They are brain food.

My brain does not always "get" them. But i don't think it's Babbitt's fault. I really believe it's my fault. I'm listening incorrectly. I'm listening to him the same way i'd listen to Mozart, Beethoven, or any number of other composers throughout the ages. I'm listening for repetition, for form, for sign-posts, for a motive or theme...These do not exist as such in Babbitt.

His music is not about repetition in a strict sense. So while my ears still "don't get it" even if my mind can look at a work and perceive its structure, it doesn't mean i dislike Babbitt. I dislike Babbitt because i cannot be Babbitt. He was a genius extraordinaire. His music is deep, incredibly deep. It isn't something you put on in the background and "enjoy." This isn't music for someone who is not invested in music.

Babbitt didn't write what he thought people wanted to hear. I think he wrote what people should hear. and just like our mom's telling us "don't eat the pizza right away, it's still a little too hot," but we all did it anyway as kids and got burned. As is his music. There is beauty there, and whimsy. And slowly, i'm getting to the point of hearing it.

As one person states in the documentary "It touches my brain, and makes me think. And then through my brain it touches my heart..." (openly paraphrased from a bad memory...).

It is an odd path, reaching the heart through the brain. But then i jump with joy (literally) when i program sounds that get named "Reginald" and identified with a stodgy old Englishman with a cane and hat, opening his mouth, and these random gliding tones pop out of his mouth...so obviously my heart can be reached through my brain.

Perhaps we should all give Milton another try. and then a dozen more. And really listen. That's what i'm doing.

RIP Milton Babbitt

getting stuck again

So, as has become a general theme in my compositional life, i am, again, full of commas.

wait, no, that's not it

OMG, THE COMMAS HAVE INVADE, ummm...MY HOUSE!

I'm stuck. Got about halfway through a movement, thought it was pretty good. Took it into the Dragon, and was shown various errors. Mostly pacing errors, a little bit of weak orchestration and rhythmic development. Nothing major. Since showing the piece (a fledgling little trombone concerto) at the beginning of the semester, I've done a fairly good job re-orchestrating portions, changing up the pacing a bit (basically giving a lot more room to breathe, longer calms with short high paced moments of action.), and did a little re-orchestrating. at last, i reached the point where i had finished the previous semester.

and stopped.

Confused, bewildered, full of "wtf." every day, i'd look at the score, go over all my past work, take copious notes. I drew form pictures, picked out developed themes i like, pushed around the notes of the different collections, inverted, retrograded, mirrored, made fun shapes...hell, i even toyed with making a tonnetz of the three pitch derivatives i used at the beginning.

And i'm still stuck. Usually running through all this sort of busy-work, breaking things down, moving things around, analyzing what i've done, tossing tons of material on paper and sorting through things...usually this pops me outta my funk. I redid my formal plan based on what has already happened (compared to the original plan. those never last.). I did some Theory of Maxima. (which i thought i had blogged about, and appears i have not. hmmmm....well...later...)

I took these things to the Dragon. His suggestion: write differently. Ok ok, that is really glib. What was suggested was to work out the solo line and work in short score. Then, move onto orchestration.

We all work differently. For some, melody is king and most important. for others it is the rhythm or the form. Me, it's all about timbre.

I come up with basic melodic ideas and themes at the onset. These usually remain pretty set, no matter what. From there, it's about developing those couple ideas extensively. When i come up with a variation, i almost always have an instrument in mind. working in short score has never made sense to me. The one time i've done it was with my opera, written as a piano score first with the idea to orchestrate later.

too bad i wrote it for piano at that point. whoops. turned into a pretty crazy hard piano part, but it's definitely piano-centered. i orchestrated one movement for the original intended orchestration (string quartet, flute, piano, percussion...and i think a brass of some kind. i don't remember). It's alright. but the piano is better.

Still, I am stuck. Quite stuck. So, even though it is pretty much counter to how i normally work, i will try it. I will work on it hard this week. Because i need as many tools as possible when i'm no longer in a place where i can take a piece into a lesson. Need every single different trick possible to get outta funks and write the best music i can.

And, who knows, maybe i'll do it better this time.

Ruminations on another semester

Well, i'm one year into DMA studies at UMKC. It's been a helluva year. I thought i'd sum up the finer points

1) i learned the power of beer. good beer. and cheap beer. beer i like and beer i don't like. i dislike more than i like still. having good microbreweries in town helps.

2) life is a popularity contest. And i'm miss congeniality

3) Fixing laptop hardware can be beyond my abilities. As my currently flickering screen proves.

4) I still seem to have a knack when it comes to working with younger students. Hopefully i don't break too many hearts.

5) Guilt is an emotion i feel, but not over things you'd expect. Playing video games = guilty. not calling my family on holidays ≠ guilty. Perhaps i am a bad person...

6) one can learn a great deal about composition through trial and error. And even more from your colleagues. Lessons fall ranks fourth behind having someone play your music

7) Art is inherently philosophical.

8) I can still play jazz. and, in fact, i can solo better than i have before. Quite astounding

9) having a good dentist is incredibly important. if you do not have a good dentist, or do not a have any dentist, then problems will arise.

10) not all Steak n' Shakes are 24 hours. seriously.

11) Lists are so 2001.

12) Missouri Department of Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation are two of the worst maintenance services ever. 1.5 inches ≠ a blizzard. there shouldn't have been 1.5 inches of snow ON THE ROAD when it accumulated over 8 hours!

13) hidden chateaus may be the greatest invention ever.

14) life is neither simple nor easy.

15) relationships are even harder than that

16) life is worth living even when it's not

17) music is worth writing, even if there will be no performance

18) i love food

19) reaching even, easily divisible numbers is a bit of an obsession of mine

20) half of everything i say is BS in some fashion.