Well, I’m on my way! I’m heading back to school, working on another Master’s degree. This time in Music Composition (my Bachelor’s was in the same thing). I figured that since I’m getting free tuition I might as well put it to good use. I can take up to 6 credits per semester with full tuition remission. Pretty cool! Definitely one of the perks of working at a university.

The Master of Music degree here is 30 credits and I’m taking 6 this spring. Hopefully I’ll be walking in May 2010. Today I got registered for classes, took care of the paperwork, and bought my textbooks (for which I get an employee discount of 10%!). I’m taking a “Music of the Baroque Era” class and a “Seminar in Choral Literature” which is focusing on the Classical Period this semester (Haydn, Mozart, etc.). Plus I’m singing with the University Chorale, which will be fun. It’s been three years since I’ve sung with a university chorale and this time I’ll be doing it as a student again. :-)

Some other classes I’ll be taking will be based on the requirements for degree (go figure!), including a couple of electronic music classes, composition lessons, Music research, and some other Music Theory electives, ensembles, lessons, etc. The “thesis” for a Composition degree is a score of an original work “of a major nature” along with a performance recording if possible. There’s also an oral defense of the thesis/score and a separate comprehensive oral exam that covers all the classes you took in the program.

I think it will be a fun couple of years, since everything I’ll have to do, take, learn, etc., is stuff I really enjoy. I’m still working full time and ringing with the Circle City Ringers (plus being president of the Board this year), so I’ll be keeping pretty busy, but at least it’s all enjoyable. That makes me more fortunate than many people who don’t like their jobs or find schoolwork unpleasant or difficult.

Current music: Soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl