"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.
I had a dream last night I was contacting ICM, one of the top artist management firms, and the logo on their website said, “Less Entertainment -- More Fun.” And I thought, Yes, that’s what I need.
Unfortunately, when I clicked on the link in the website, I woke up -- and the world was as it is.
But the idea of seeking Fun as opposed to Entertainment stayed with me.
A lot of what I’m told is entertaining – Hollywood blockbusters, elimination games, red-carpet interviews – I find terribly dull. But the slow movement of the Debussy quartet that Miró Quartet played the other night as an encore? Sheer Fun.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a diatribe about Art vs. Entertainment. Those are two overlapping regions on the same continuum; it’s often difficult – and pointless – to distinguish between them.
But just as there is much Art that doesn’t live up to its lofty billing, there is a ton of Entertainment that only makes the world a more disspiriting place to live in.
And neither Art nor Entertainment has a monopoly on Fun.