I guess I can chalk the trip up as a success even before I leave the country. Sunday morning I got an e-mail from D. Rothman asking if I wanted to do a program on his series, based on my Japan project.  D. Rothman is the founder and Artistic Director of Beyond Baroque's Beyond Music Series. It happens the last Saturday of the month from September through June. Beyond Baroque is an historic independent literary arts center located in the old Venice, CA, city hall building. They have hosted Rothman's new music series for several years now. I performed a concert with my ensemble Judicanti Responsura in the inaugural year of this series dedicated to new music. On April 26, 2014, I'll be back presenting a program of, I don't know what. I only know that it will have something to do with this trip to Japan. With any luck, I'll be presenting some new compositions composed there or after I come back based on the sojourn. 

So, have you figured it out by now? Yes, I'm going to Japan as a composer. My proposal was to set some poetry to music. I will do this. I will also do a lot cultural experiencing in the process. Whether I actually set the poetry to music or create music based on and inspired by the poems remains to be seen. I'll see how the ideas come once I have been there for awhile. I am always a little dubious about these kinds of projects. The deal is that you win the award based on an idea, a concept of what you would like to do, something you might do. Then by some miracle you win the award and all of a sudden you have to produce. The idea has to become a reality. Well, here I am again. I have to come up with something. Doubly so, because I accepted the concert offer. Guess I had better buy some manuscript paper, pencils and lots of erasers.

Beyond Baroque: http://www.beyondbaroque.org/about.html

Beyond Baroque's Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/BeyondBaroqueMusic

Judicanti Responsura: http://roperarts.com/judi.html