A.K.J - On the Way

As I sit here anticipating my plane’s departure from Dayton, I am looking forward to the next three days immensely. I’m looking forward to meeting the other composers, participants and mentors, the conductor, and musicians from the BPO. I’m looking forward to hearing some great music. Most of all, I am looking forward to an opportunity that was a pleasant surprise, and promises to provide some valuable and difficult to acquire experience. I am reminded of an orchestration course I took in which the professor remarked early on that he wasn’t

entirely sure what the point of the course was, since it was likely that none of us would ever have an opportunity work with a professional orchestra. This was a good dose of realism for sure, although none of us took the hint and dropped the class! In any case, I am happy to be beating the odds this week.

photo caption:
Austin Jaquith during the first orchestra reading with the Buffalo Philharmonic
photo credit Enid Bloch