Masterpiece Syndrome

Will This Bassoon Concerto Be Ready in Time? A bassoon concerto moves from the road draft to performance score as I revise melodies, test the solo part, and prepare for the October premiere.

Can you compose a concerto without instruments? Road trip without instruments, leaning on scores, memory, and notation tools to shape a bassoon concerto draft.

I hate the Music I Wrote, Disliking a first draft does not mean the idea failed. Sometimes the music needs a new structure before the real piece starts to speak.

A look inside the collaborative process of shaping a new solo violin piece through performer feedback, extended techniques, and shared experimentation.

A month of composing new music: finishing Riding the Dragon, notating clarinet multiphonics in Dorico, and preparing new solo works.

Progress on a woodwind quintet: overcoming setbacks, rewriting lost material, and shaping fragments into form using circle-music and rhythmic ideas.

Taiwan, Beethoven, and a New Quintet Early sketches for a woodwind quintet inspired by Chinese & Taiwanese folk music, hocketing rhythms, and an altered folk melody—while the piece’s structure is still forming.

How Dorico 6 Unblocked My Creative Workflow Porting an old orchestra-and-choir score into Dorico 6 forced me to confront box notation, cutaways, and long-avoided workflow problems. What started as a technical challenge ended up clearing mental space—and opening a path forward. Download library ZIP

Closing 2025, Looking to 2026: A New Year’s Reflection A candid look back at missed goals, unexpected progress, and the realities that shaped my composing year. Reflecting on 2025 helps me reset expectations, carry projects forward, and plan a more honest, sustainable path into 2026.

A simple woodwind-quintet idea spiraled into a battle with “Masterpiece Syndrome.” Here’s how perfection pressure quietly kills creativity—and why even Beethoven’s so-called masterpieces weren’t perfect. A reminder that your music deserves to exist long before it becomes great.