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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9/28/2007
Question
Okay, I sent out a score to ERMMedia to see if it would get picked up for one of their CDs. I know other folks who have done it and figured I had nothing to lose. They chose my string quartet for their next disc. That is pretty cool, since I like the piece a lot and I've convinced that it will get a great recording.
Naturally, this is a "pay to play" project in which I contribute a substantial amount of money towards the finished product. I've done CDs like that before, but the amounts were considerably smaller here. The disc will be carried by Naxos and therefore I think the higher costs might be justified. It may be a case of "getting what you pay for." I don't know.
So, I ask the Learned Internet Folks With Opinions About Such Things. Are these CDs for real? I don't mean, "do they exist" but I'm wondering if they accept almost anything as long as the composer pays for it. I'm skeptical. Or this is simply a manifestation of low self esteem? I assumed I wouldn't be selected for the CD, now I have been, therefore something must be wrong with the CD.
What do you all know about this?
posted by Jay C. Batzner
9/13/2007
As others have done to me...
Yes, I write CD reviews. It turns out that I also get reviewed. To those I've spurned, I am with you in Rockland.
Things around the old homestead are crazy busy. I'm off to Vermillion, SD next week to talk about how Pierre Schaeffer influenced Run-DMC. Not directly. It wasn't like Jam Master Jay spent time at GRM or IRCAM, but Schaeffer's influence is there.
The subtitle of my lecture should have been "you gotta love zeitgeist."
posted by Jay C. Batzner
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