3 Things I'm Glad I Experienced In 2023

Nothing makes your pride in posting every 2-3 weeks seem silly quite like the draining of inspiration from a busy semester. I kept wanting to post, I kept putting it off, and then I felt shame/indifference until I forgot about it for a few weeks, then the cycle started all over again.

Struggling with routine throughout the academic calendar has been common for me, and I don’t think it’s a unique problem. Deadlines tend to bubble up and call for a larger share of energy as the semester drags on, and ambition is the fuel that is burned first to see the most pertinent matters through to their finish line. What’s left from that is typically nights spent staring off into space or scrolling through your phone until it’s time to consolidate the internal forces to do it all again the next day. That said, over the years I’ve improved, and the dimension of this blogging space is just another place to establish greater consistency! So, with that said, here are three things I’m grateful to have experienced this past year.

1. The time spent on my lecture project - In the spring of this year, I took a class at BU centered around completing my lecture recital document. With guidance and careful consideration, I landed on a topic that highlighted the work done by Dr. Irvin Wagner to expand the reach of the International Trombone Association beyond the borders of the United States. Dr. Wagner’s work was critical in advancing pedagogical ideas throughout the world, but also in highlighting the talent that was already present in so many places that we in the United States were woefully unaware of. His body of work was truly unmatched in bringing us all closer together as a trombone community.
   
   I’m glad I experienced this because I got to spend time talking with one of our instruments’s greatest and most humble minds. Dr. Wagner shared his time freely and passed along wisdom that will stand the test of time. As part of the project I also interviewed several superstars of the trombone community who interacted with Dr. Wagner, including Megumi Kanda (Milwaukee Symphony), Rubén Carughi (Professor at Escuela De Música Nº 9901 and found of Trombonanza), and João Luiz Areias (Orquestra Petrobras Sinfônica). Additionally, I also spoke with Angel Subero (Professor at Berklee College of Music and bass trombonist with the Boston Philharmonic), Andrés León Rodríguez (Orquesta Filarmónica de Costa Rica), and Park Changwon (student at Curtis Institute of Music) to learn more about trombone education throughout the world. From these discussions, I was further convinced of the welcoming nature of our community, and feel fortunate to have learned so much. Unfortunately, Dr. Wagner passed away earlier this fall, but I look forward to dedicating this lecture in his honor in 2024.
   
   

2. The Concerto Recital Tour - Between October 19th and November 3rd of this year I performed my most demanding recital to date at three different universities. The prep time to the first performance was about 10 weeks, with a week between each subsequent recital. I hypothesised that continued exposure to the performance space and additional time for adjustments would translate into the strongest performance at the end of the process. What I found in actuality was that I was more mentally fatigued by the time I finished the tour, and small adjustments that I was trying to make weren’t attained as easily as I’d like. My first performance ended up feeling (from my perspective at least) as the most organic and exciting of the three. That isn’t to take away from the work I did in the last two recitals, because they were musically worthy as well, but I believe some small adjustments in approach could lead to an even greater set of performances.
   
   I’m glad I experienced this now, as a doctoral student, because it will inform how I approach similar projects when I find collegiate employment. In the future, I will likely shorten the time between performances and seek to go into a “performance mode” that cuts down on adjustments and prioritizes the mental and physical freshness needed to be successful.
   
   

3. The Professor Is In by Dr. Karen Kelsky and the job application process - One of the reasons I struggled mightily with keeping a regular writing schedule this fall has been the constant process of writing and rewriting the documents necessary for the job market. An overhaul of my resume/CV and the drafts/redrafts of supporting documents have led me to a place where I finally have a leg to stand on when applying to teaching jobs for this upcoming year. The Professor Is In by Dr. Karen Kelsky was instrumental in learning the standard practice of producing/formatting these documents, and I’d highly recommend the book to anyone seeking to better their approach in applying for teaching positions. In addition to the book, I am thankful for all the talks I’ve had with friends and mentors already working as professors and will seek to continue to surround myself in the company of those whom I aspire to emulate in our field.
   
   I’m grateful for this process because it has made me an objectively more concise writer, strengthened my network, and instilled in me a confidence that this career field is obtainable, even if there is much work to be done.

Overall 2023 was very good to me professionally, and I am excited for what 2024 will bring. None of this would be really possible without the continued support of my wife, who is an absolute rock star in her field and a fervent believer in what is possible for the both of us. I look forward to producing more content in the new year, but in the mean time I wish you and yours a relaxing end to 2023 and a Happy New Year!