Jay C. Batzner (b. 1974) is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida where he teaches music composition and technology courses as well as coordinates the composition program. In his first year, Jay received two prestigious grants: one to create collaborative works with visual artist Carla Poindexter and the second to initiate electroacoustic music concerts in Orlando. Prior to this position, Jay was an active adjunct professor at several colleges in the Kansas City area while he completed his D.M.A. in Composition at the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory. While at UMKC, Jay received honors including a Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship and a Dean's Doctoral Scholar Fellowship.
Jay's music ranges from instrumental chamber works to electroacoustic compositions. He has participated in numerous national and international festivals including the Wellesley Composers Conference and the International Young Composers' Meeting in the Netherlands. His music is published by Unsafe Bull Music and has been recorded on the Capstone and Vox Novus labels. Jay is a frequent contributor to the new music website Sequenza21.com and a founding member of the composers organization The Collected.
Jay is a sci-fi geek, an amateur banjoist, a home brewer, and juggler.
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11/02/2006
Radio Effect
Have you ever noticed that, when you listen to the radio with a lot of stuff on your mind, the lyrics of the song often match your mood?
Prime example: Yesterday I was in a fairly serious car accident. Some idiot cut across traffic and did a left turn right in front of me. I slammed into him, basically totaling his van and wrecking the hell out of my front end. He was found at fault, of course, for an unsafe turn. Anyhow, "my" car was a rental car because my wife was in a fairly serious wreck last Monday (rear-ended at a stop light, the other car was going 45 MPH and didn't even slow down). Our car sustained $7k of damage and will be out of the body shop no earlier than Thanksgiving. So, each of us were in car accidents about 10 days apart.
And, at work, one of my colleagues came down with pneumonia/plural infection and was out all last month. He had lung surgery yesterday and will be out for the rest of the semester. Since he teaches 2 music technology classes, I am having to cover those in addition to my normal full load. Quite a bit of stress happening. Other faculty are in the same position, too, so I'm not complaining that much. It is a lot of extra work and stress for a first semester.
There are other things going on, too, but you get the drift: October was a stressful month and there is no end in sight until the semester finishes.
Anyhow, back on task. When the tow truck finally came (4 hours after the accident and did I mention it was raining yesterday?) I got up into the cab and the radio was blasting. It was that song by O.K. Go called "Here it Goes Again" and the lyrics at the time were:
I know there has to be
a break in the monotony
but, Jesus!, when it rains
how it pours!
Totally appropriate, I think. And the song I was listening to when I got in the accident? "Tryin' to Keep the Customer Satisfied" by Simon and Garfunkel.
Totally appropriate, I think.
posted by Jay C. Batzner
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