Now that Christmas is done (had to take a couple of days afterwards to recover from being around so many people!) and I need to be rampaging down the home stretch to prepare for classes the week after next, it seemed to be a good time to check in with the progress I’ve made so far:

• 5 minute piece for orchestra: titled Fear of Falling, this is now at 3’20”
• 8-10 minute piece for large ensemble: this is now at 2’45” but with a plan for the whole piece in place
• Art & Music class piece: mapped out. Most probably this content for this will be improvised – need to check performers’ comfort levels for this and if need be compose some parameters.
• Experimental piece for Rude Health concert – still not past the conceptual stage. Eep!
• Piece for organ: No chance.
• Christmas carol – have a few things still to do on this – reharmonise a verse and finalise it, really. Not hugely concerned as this is an extra and this additional work wasn’t in my original plan
• Personal project: Research is well underway. Still some bits to do to finalise instrumentation and the artworks that will form the basis of it.
• String quartet: Mapped out to 7’30” but there’s a hole in the middle of about 2’30” so it’s really only 5 mins at the moment.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with this progress. I want to have Fear of Falling’s short score complete by New Year’s Day, if I can, so I can spend next week focusing on the Ansel Adams large ensemble piece (which still doesn’t have a name) and hopefully get a chance to do something about the Rude Health piece.

Today I’ve worked on both Fear of Falling and the Ansel Adams piece and made some progress on both of them. The Adams is feeling a little lost and I need to tighten it up as it moves towards its second section. Or possibly stretch it out so I can tighten in part 2. Really need to think about how to use the guitar and drumkit in this piece. Oh, and the voice, which I keep forgetting about. Very annoying.

Fear of Falling, on the other hand, I think now has enough new material, so I just need to play around with what I’ve got. I don’t actually really have a plan for this piece, and am starting to feel I need one – need to map out the material I have, which bits to use for which section and whether the slow introduction will return at the end to make a slow finish.

This afternoon I need to get out of the house though – being driven nuts because Djeliebybi is ripping up the floor of the kitchen-to-be and the noise is appalling. So I need to get out. Going to head to the Tate Modern Members’ Lounge and see if I can get in some research for the Personal Project. Can’t wait till college reopens after New Year!