2024 has been one of the most intense and challenging years I have ever had in my life. To be sure, it has been a year of many accomplishments; but I have to confess that, many times along the way, I thought things were going to fall apart. One of the reasons why 2024 was so challenging is because the rollercoaster started moving in June of 2023, and it never really stopped. So, let me start this “year in review” from the middle of 2023.
The summer of 2023 began with health challenges in my family: an experience that brought us a deep awareness of life’s fragility. The fact that I was also finalizing my application for tenure and promotion made things much, much harder. Those of you in academia know very well how cumbersome and time-consuming the tenure process can be. By the time the Fall semester of 2023 arrived, let’s just say that I wasn’t in my best emotional shape. Fortunately, my teaching job is quite healing to me; perhaps because teaching music requires me to be a very attentive listener at all times, it works as an effective distraction from my own problems and it allows me to engage with the abstractions of art making. Note to students: healing is highly enhanced by your dedicated practice! 😉
In preparation for my tenure application, I had been applying for several arts grants to fund a variety of potential musical projects. So, it was in the Fall of 2023 that I was notified of my selection to receive two grants: one from the Tacoma Arts Initiative Program, which funded the composition and performance of a multi-movement piece for an 8-piece chamber ensemble (woodwind quintet + jazz trio); and another from a PLU Professional Development Grant, which would partially fund the composition and recording of my next jazz orchestra CD. Receiving these grants was a real blessing; however, the two separate, unrelated projects with 2024 completion deadlines were going to present a very big challenge. There was no time to waste. Typically, I set aside my Summer breaks to work on such large composition projects, but this time I would have to compose during the academic year.
By the time the calendar year 2024 officially started, I had heard from the PLU Rank & Tenure Committee that I had been approved for both tenure and promotion. The news brought me relief and immense joy, but I didn’t have much time for celebration: the deadlines were fast approaching. In January of 2024 – a time when I typically have a small break to get organized for the Spring semester – I taught my first J-Term class at PLU: an intense, one-month class on the History of Jazz, 4-days a week, 3 hours a day. At the same time, I was writing the chamber music project, while also composing a few charts for the jazz orchestra CD and dealing with the logistics of the recording!
When Spring semester began in February, I was very much looking forward to our PLU Jazz Festival featuring guest Eric Marienthal in March. My CD recording was to take place one week after the PLU Jazz Festival, and I had decided to record only half of the album, so that I could write more pieces later in the Summer. As for the chamber music piece, I set its premiere to May 4.
At the end of the academic semester in May 2024, I had no energy left, but I had a pleasant sense of accomplishment. The premiere of the chamber piece was a success, and the first recording session with the jazz orchestra was a real blast! I was excited to write more charts for the group, so I set the final recording session to mid-August, right before the beginning of the next academic year. At this point, I reached out to Eric Marienthal and invited him to record one of our tracks.
My family had a few short Summer breaks – particular highlights were a nice week in Banff, Canada, and a few days in Mount Hood, Oregon – and I played a few gigs here and there; but writing and organizing the production of the album was my major Summer project. I composed/arranged four charts over the Summer: “Tocando a Vida” (Eric’s feature and the track that opens the CD), as well as “In Her Garden,” “Choro for My Boys” and “Mistlike,” and I was able to keep my promise to send the music to the musicians by the end of July. This was the shortest amount of time I’ve ever had to write big band charts without any chance to try them out with the ensemble before getting in the recording studio! Note to students 2: things do get easier and more enjoyable with practice!
When the recording session finally took place in mid-August, it was already time for me to get ready for the new semester. Along with all the teaching, I also had to finalize the CD: editing, mixing, mastering, cover art… logistics and more logistics – all of which took place between September and December.
Of course, all of this wouldn’t have been possible without the help of many amazing people: the 28 outstanding musicians who performed on my two projects, the friends and fans who generously supported my CD crowdfunding campaign; the organizations that believed in my work and helped fund my composition efforts (shout out to the Tacoma Arts Commission, PLU’s Karen Hille Philips Advancement Award, and the Artist Trust); my colleagues who encourage and support me in my teaching and scholarship development efforts; the fans of my work who continuously purchase my music, listen to it carefully, and send me messages of appreciation and reflection; my mentors who cheer me up and give me invaluable advice. It’s a long list of people who connect with me and my work, and to whom I am grateful! Last – but definitely not least – my wife Bethany, who patiently and tirelessly takes care of what matters the most in my life.
It’s been a fabulous “18-month year,” and I’m grateful for all the opportunities this long year has brought me, but I’m already looking forward to a much-needed sabbatical next Fall!
Feliz 2025 a todos!
-Cassio