Performer Blogs@Sequenza21.com

Jay C. Batzner is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida where he teaches theory, composition, and technology courses as well as coordinates the composition program. He holds degrees in composition and/or theory from the University of Missouri – Kansas City, the University of Louisville, and the University of Kansas.

Jay's music is primarily focused around instrumental chamber works as well as electroacoustic composition. His music has been recorded on the Capstone, Vox Novus, and Beauport Classical labels and is published by Unsafe Bull Music.

Jay is a sci-fi geek, an amateur banjoist, a home brewer, and juggler.





9/29/2008
Landslide

Well, last weekend began the landslide of activity that will carry me to Thanksgiving. I was in Atlanta for the National College Music Society conference the past few days and had some great experiences. I like CMS in that it is a general music organization. I got to talk to composers, performers, educators, theorists, the whole range of college music types. My involvement with the conference was a poster presentation on the podcast (83 weeks and still going) as well as numerous career counseling sessions. I also participated in a Oxford focus group which was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

So what's next? I'm off to Southeastern Louisiana University for a guest composer slot next week. Mid-October takes me to the annual Electronic Music Midwest festival at Lewis University. As their programming director, I get to see if the concerts work as well as I hoped. And also to see if anyone notices that I snuck in my animation collaboration Carnival Daring-Do. CDD gets some more play at Third Practice in November and again at the Electroacoustic Juke Joint the next weekend. Mercurial, for flute and tape, will get its premiere performance at the hands of Lisa Bost at the Juke Joint. Throw in a local electroacoustic music concert, and November will be over.

Oh yeah, and teaching four classes. And finishing a work for cello and piano. And writing grants. And sending out more scores for next semester. I'm suddenly feeling very tired...