Celebrating in Koreatown

from left to right: Phil Curtis, Nina Eidsheim, Anne LeBaron, Edward Eadon, and Gustavo Aguilar---musicians, composer, and one member of our 'crew,' celebrating after our final performance of Sucktion. We're hoping that it will be picked up by non-risk-averse presenters so that we can refine the piece and have a chance to share it beyond LA.

The ideas I plan to explore in upcoming posts will mostly relate to the life of a composer in Los Angeles. After spending one-third of 2008 in Vienna, a mecca for composers and musicians, where the stars engraved in the sidewalks, pavements, and U-bahn stations are for composers (and a few conductors)---not for film personalities---I was wondering whether the culture shock of re-entry into a city at the opposite extreme (cars instead of superb public transportation; an hour's drive and parking expense for downtown concerts instead of a five minute walk to the Musikverein; the Danube instead of the desert) would send me right back to Vienna. (Rather impossible, but one can dream on.) My friend Jane Brockman, accomplished LA composer who I spoke with after the performance on Sat. night, remarked that transitioning back here must be less difficult with the all-consuming production of my opera at REDCAT this weekend. She's right, and now that we're in post-production---constructing the requisite video and press kit---all that raw energy invested in seeing the production through will be redirected into other projects---like taking a few minutes tomorrow to bask in the sun!