Wow. Looking back at this semester, I'm not sure which surprises me more: the vast amount of information we covered in this class, or the even more massive amount of information that we didn't even get to. One of the "big picture" themes I took from this class is that there has been just SO much going on musically in the last 100+ years--so many stylistic changes, technological breakthroughs, artistic movements, etc., etc., that you have to strike a balance with your study. It's like walking through a gigantic forest in which every tree is completely unique, beautiful, and unlike anything you've ever seen. Do you stop and study every tree, or do you take in the forest as a whole? Or some combination of both? Hell, this "forest vs. trees" dilemma was an issue even when I took an undergrad elective on the chamber works of Haydn and Mozart, so I suppose it was bound to happen here.

I feel very lucky to be a percussionist, because it really helps to bring our discussions to life. When we were talking about Cage, we in the percussion studio were playing Cage. We talked briefly about Peter Garland, whose "Apple Blossom" found its way onto my recital. Martin Bresnick? Kyle and I are working on his concerto "Grace" right now. Just about any percussion studio would be deeply familiar with works by Cage, Harrison, Cowell, Varese, Reich, and a slew of other composers we've talked about. A lot of this music is "first circle" stuff for me. What really helped to push me out of my comfort zone were the presentations from other points of view. I loved Dannica's presentation on Extended Vocal Techniques, Enoch's coverage of Eric Whitacre (whose band music was very familiar to me but his choral music not so much), Susan's report on American musical theatre, and other such presentations that had little to do with what I do on a daily basis. Besides being fascinating in and of themselves, they stirred up a little internal debate in my brain: do I attempt to immediately establish relevancy between this material and my musical experience, or do I appreciate it at face value, file it away, and wait for the connection to happen organically? I'm still working on a definitive answer. I'll keep you all posted. :)

And then there was the blog. Love it or hate it, I think this thing has given us all a great opportunity to expand our horizons. Whether it was used as a place to expand on discussions from class, post new material that wouldn't fit into class discussion, debate furiously, advertise performances, or rant (my favorite post is Kyle's hilarious and all-too-true blurb about composers' photos in CD jackets), I hope you all got as much out of it as I did.

Finally, I just want to say thanks. I know it's cheesy, but you've all really changed my perspective (for the better, I hope!) and inspired me to dig a little deeper into the music we've covered. I hope you all have a wonderful summer. OK, 1-2-ready-break!