This posting is in support of my presentation to the Theory and Composition Symposium, given at 12:30 PM at the John Jacob Niles Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of Kentucky, on Tuesday, November 28, 2023. This brief outline provides a sketch of the presentation. I focus on five areas which substantially impact my composition work:

• Pathology: all composers are just a bit crazy. I briefly discuss a few of the inner struggles I bring to my work.
• The Black Box: One could simply call this the composer’s “ear.” I use an example (the first movement of my string quartet) to illustrate that dynamic in composing.
• Program: My music is increasingly becoming “programmatic” — music which has a meaning beyond being just music. I leverage the opening of my choral suite’s first movement as one example.
• Mathematics: An excerpt from “September” serves to illustrate how I use mathematical ideas in my writing.
• Learning: All my compositions have learning goals as well as artistic goals. I use an excerpt from my “Brass Variations” as an example
• Connections: I discuss how well (or poorly!) my work has connected to other people, and what I hope to do about that.

All of these ideas are brought together for an examination of my ongoing work on “The Coast.”