Pittsburgh take 1/2015

I've been in Pittsburgh since Tuesday night, and I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. I don't want to. This place is too awesome. It'll still be great to get back to NY and pick up my work there again, but wow. All of these times I've been away since moving, I've mostly been in familiar places (Boston, VT, etc..). Having visited both Ohio & Pittsburgh within the span of a couple of weeks, I'm feeling like I have a refreshed view of things, and I'm realizing that it could be beneficial to get out more often.

The biggest reason for this extended trip has been to look at doctoral programs in composition. I haven't talked about that too much, but in the midst of HONK and preparing for the Zorn concert last October, I realized that having the freedom to commute long distances this year, there was a good reason to finally apply to some of those programs. I also finally feel that my work since leaving NEC is representative of what I can bring to the table in a scholastic context, and I can't say that I was feeling this way last year (many things have happened in this time).

Pittsburgh has once again proved to be an incredible place. It's not difficult to navigate by bus, and that certainly helps. I'm playing a set at a suburban gallery tonight, and the people who organized the show have been wonderful to work with. They've really been promoting it, and I'm looking forward to meeting some local improvisors, and seeing what their audience is like here.  

There's so much interesting an crazy stuff that has happened in the last month that I need to blog about in detail. I will, but for now I'm still exploring, and will get to all of that soon.

The entryway to my hosts apartment in Squirrel Hill