Lawrence Dillon@Sequenza21.com

"There are no two points so distant from one another that they cannot be connected by a single straight line -- and an infinite number of curves."

Composer Lawrence Dillon has produced an extensive body of work, from brief solo pieces to a full-length opera. Partially deaf from birth, Dillon grew up in a bustling household with seven older siblings. He began composing as soon as he started piano lessons at the age of seven. In 1985, he became the youngest composer to earn a doctorate at The Juilliard School, and was shortly thereafter appointed to the Juilliard faculty. Dillon is now Composer in Residence at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he has served as Music Director of the Contemporary Ensemble, Assistant Dean of Performance and Dean of the School of Music.

Dillon's music, in the words of American Record Guide, is "lovely...austere...vivid and impressive." His works are recorded by Albany Records, Channel Crossings and CRS, and published by American Composers Editions. He is represented by Jeffrey James Arts Consulting.


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Friday, August 18, 2006
Done

My second symphony is finished.

But don’t ask me to show it to you.

At this point, it is finished in a mess of pencil scribblings and notation files. If an opportunity for a performance comes about, I will pull them together into a completed score in a matter of a few days.

If the opportunity never arises, then they will remain unintelligible to anyone but their perpetrator. Which is how it should be.

Progress in this profession requires a lot of luck, but you also have to be ready to be lucky. Any success I’ve had has been a result of putting in the prep time, getting the material together before it was needed. The trick is in investing everything you have in your work, without leaving yourself vulnerable to disappointment. A narrow line to walk, but walking that line is the only way I know to stay sane and productive.

So, the symphony may be as done as it will ever be. I won’t harbor any further hopes – there are too many other pieces to write.