November 2020: I’m six weeks into a sabbatical from the University of Surrey. I’ve now got the time I need to complete my project with cellist, Madeleine Shapiro, and to get underway with (who knows, even complete) a piece for guitarist, Katalin Koltai, which is going to be based on Bartok’s folksong transcriptions. I’ve also been virtually resident in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia courtesy of Professor of viola, Maggie Snyder and composition lecturer Dr. Emily Koh. Despite the limitations of Zoom I’ve enjoyed talking to faculty and students about collaboration, revision/reworking and borrowing. My final session is on 6th November, three days after the US Presidential Election…! Finally, pandemic permitting, I’ll be presenting a paper at the inaugural Midlands New Music Symposium in December that explains how I’ve used the techniques and music of Tom Johnson to rework my piano piece, Dance Maze.
