Balance...

January 04, 2017  /  Tom Baker

It has been a year!

Welcome to 2017 - and to my new website. I am excited to have this site up and running, with a blog, calendar, and a catalog of work and projects. Please take some time to poke around! (Some areas are still being worked on, so more to come soon...)

I am proclaiming that 2017 is going to be a year of BALANCE. 2016 was a strange and challenging year for me, both artistically and personally. But since BALANCE is the word of the day/year: I wanted to take this opportunity to recalibrate. Some elements of recalibration:

1) My father's death in June has had a profound impact on my life and work, with many implications and manifestations still to come. I miss him every day, and I am grateful for the years I had with him.

2) At Cornish College of the Arts, I have moved out of administration (I was serving as interim chair of the Music Department) and into a full-time teaching position as professor of composition. I am grateful for our new chair (my new friend James Falzone) and extremely grateful for my creative and hard-working students and for my faculty colleagues. Here's to a new year of BALANCE for CCA.

3) The harsh and unsettling election season has ended, and we are going to have a new president. For now, my coping strategy is to be hopeful that the truth will win the day, to practice being more kind than is necessary, and to make work. 

4) I am quickly transitioning back into composing/performing. I have several things coming up (see the calendar page). I hope to have a very full 2017 of PLAYING.

5) Last, but really first, I am looking forward to a BALANCED life with my partner, friend, compatriot, collaborator, and collectively-agreed-upon-better-half, Alissa. I am grateful for this partnership, and hopeful that I can keep up my end of the bargain.

I hope to see some/all of you in the coming year - out at a show, listening together, improvising together, performing, talking about music and art, films and sports, love and life. Mostly, I hope that you will see a more BALANCED Tom in the coming year! 

Cheers!

Tom