Seven Dreams

Definitely tops on the list: The challenge of writing an opera has been both invigorating and frustrating, but I think the results so far are worth continuing.  It would be nice to think that I will have this finished by the end of the year.  Nice, but not probable.

3 Old Men

Another success from this year that I want to continue to work on.  My experience at Alchemy with the 3 Old Men gang was profound, and I want to find ways to enhance/expand our theme camp.  [Hint: it involves a deer stand and a megaphone.]

Five Easier Pieces

Maybe.

Christmas Carol

I spent the first half of this year rebuilding the original piano score for A Christmas Carol so that it could be played by a small, live ensemble.  That proved to be an un-possible task for Newnan Theatre Company, and the results were not pretty.

So I will spend this year a) finding an affordable software music sequencer that works like the old EZ•Vision sequencer did; b) learning to use it; and c) completely rescoring Christmas Carol again with a full orchestral accompaniment.  And d) directing the show next year.

SUN TRUE FIRE

Definitely a back burner project, since I have rather enough to be going on with.  But I’m determined to develop better work habits, so that if I don’t have anything else on my plate on any given day, I can just pull this project out and spend an hour or two on it.  (vid. sub.)

design & construction of labyrinths

I began a notebook earlier this fall wherein I began a serious study of the topology/design of labyrinths.  It is oddly harder than it looks, but I’m beginning to crack the code.  I want to keep digging into the process so that I can easily respond to any landscape or user need with a design that fits the bill.

general work habits

My usual process is to focus very hard on a single project, with just enough Lichtenbergian distractions to avoid being placed on the far end of the autism scale.  I’d like to change that.  I’d like to be able to turn my attentions to several projects in rotation, or even at random, without grinding my mental gears.  I’d also like to be able to say that I have kept working instead of sitting around twiddling my thumbs when one project is at a standstill.

In other words, when Seven Dreams bogged down, why didn’t I simply write an Easier Piece?

Astute readers will have noticed that I did not include the symphony on my goals.  Maybe I forgot about it, maybe I didn’t.