It seems as though I can only manage an update every week and a half, or thereabouts. I will have to get better at this blogging thing (and at that whole photo-uploading thing… and at that whole making time to reflect and decompress thing…).

I find it auspicious that the Jewish High Holidays this year coincide with the start of my school year, and with it my grad school career and my new life in Spain. With this transition comes many changes as I attempt to attune myself with the rhythm of my new life while remaining true to my own values — and determining which of the myriad of values that I possess are truly mine. The passage into this new chapter of my life has marked not a culmination of a period of questioning my identity, but rather an elision between “before” and “after,” or “old” and “new,” and determining what parts of my life belong in which category. To be candid, considering that I am not strictly religious (in truth, my lifestyle is mostly secular), I sincerely wrestled with the question of the extent to which I should include aspects or elements of my heritage in this new life of mine, and indeed, I found myself having unpleasant flashbacks to being obliged to sacrifice days of school early on in the academic year for the High Holidays, even when it was inconvenient to do so — especially when it was inconvenient to do so. All the same, my Jewish identity remains important, and I felt that I would be remiss if I did not end up observing Yom Kippur (what can I say? My sense of Jewish guilt is preternaturally strong).

In the end, I was directed to services run by La Javura in the Ciutat Vella (Old City) district of Valencia. The service was conducted almost entirely in Spanish (I honestly never believed I’d find myself davening en español), with a little bit of Hebrew as the program required, although other attendees (and the officiant) spoke English as well. The service was also conducted with simple sincerity, much like a Passover seder, with those gathered sitting around a long table, taking turns reading passages from the Spanish-translated machzor — in fact, a translation of the same one that I spent many a yontef carrying — so in spite of only having been studying Spanish for two or three months at this point, I could more than adequately follow along. The service was presented without bombast, without lengthy sermons, and certainly without the annual Kol Nidre night bond appeal. It was well conducted, and — dare I say — a little bit haymish (and therefore quite well suited for someone looking for a little piece of home).

In addition to Yom Kippur serving for me as an annual spiritual reboot, I particularly look forward to the concluding service — and not just because the sunset portends the end of the fast — because in the midst of all of the affliction and mea culpas, we ask to be remembered for good and sealed in the Book of Happy Life. That’s not to say that I end the night by just sitting back, expectantly waiting for good things to happen. Rather, the annual routine grants me a measure of clarity and focus to be able to pursue my annual goals and ambitions — and trust me, folks, I can use all the help I can get.

Having survived my first week of grad school (look down, look down, you’ve 36 to go), I am still in the process of adjusting to my new lifestyle which, as I mentioned before, is a bizarre mash-up of the Spanish late schedule with the busyness that school is heir to, along with other responsibilities. As an overview to the courses that I’m taking this semester, I’m studying Narrative Analysis, Part I in the Advanced Scoring series, with Program Director Lucio Godoy, with whom I will also be studying privately, which promises a good amount of writing and a few recording opportunities this semester with musicians from the orchestra of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. I’m also taking a course on Computer/Synth Applications for Film with Tech Manager Vanessa Garde. I am studying Video Game Scoring Techniques under Ben Houge, which also promises a fair amount of composition, but will also teach me more about the technical aspects of video game music, as well as about the industry itself. I am taking lessons in conducting from Maestro Constantino Martinez, which will be geared to help me prepare to record my own cues this semester, and rounding out my week with Advanced Dramatic Orchestration, taught by Alfons Conde, which will require a weekly output of short pieces for practically every instrument in the orchestra, to have them played by musicians of the Palau orchestra. I consider myself very fortunate to be here.

My coursework, as you may well understand, will keep me rather busy over the coming semester, but I will continue to do my best to adjust to my new life as a grad student and update this blog as best as I can. The changes to my life and routine have been quite significant thus far, but I think that — to paraphrase Marty McFly in Back to the Future — “Watch [out] for the changes and try to keep up” is a good mantra to carry with me (aptly, I’m working on a paper analyzing a cue from the score that movie with a few of my classmates).

¡Hasta luego!

My apologies for the silence over the past ten days. The rush of relocating and moving (while attempting to soak up the opportunity to be a tourist in my new home) has not granted me too many opportunities to write meaningful, thoughtful blog posts, although those of you who follow my Twitter feed have been seeing what I have been up to. Photos of my exploits will come sooner or later (potentially in a future edition of this blog post).

Today marks Erev Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year, and this is the first time that I am spending it away from my family. The High Holidays are traditionally a time of reflection, and I have much to reflect on from the past year, to be sure, but especially from the past three months, since receiving my Berklee acceptance. In the days leading up to the big move across the Atlantic, my excitement for the fantastic opportunity that lies ahead of me was tempered by the stress of packing and the anxiety of facing the unknown. My life has changed quite rapidly, and if what the staff and faculty at Berklee have already told me holds true, then I can expect that trend to continue to the point where the person I become a year hence will be apparently unrecognizable from who I am now. While I hope that any changes that I experience are ultimately for the better, the notion of being unrecognizable compared to who I am today is difficult to swallow. Trying to put this in perspective, would the person I was a year ago recognize the person I am now? What about the person I was two years ago? Five years? Ten? I am perfectly expecting to undergo tremendous growth and development in the next year, but having it put to me in that way, such that my own identity is in question, is discomforting. So, today in particular, I find myself reflecting both on my past and on the journey yet to come. I have traversed great distances this past year, both emotionally and physically, but I realize that still have a long way to go.

Now boarding!

If you’re interested in more of a travelogue, my flights to Valencia, via Düsseldorf, were nice and boring, just the way I like them. Upon arriving in Valencia, I wasted no time connecting with my future schoolmates; as luck would have it, two of them just so happened to be returning to Valencia from a trip to Lisbon at the same time, and we arranged to meet in Baggage Claim. They accompanied me from the into the city as I made my way to my hotel — a restored (and modernized) former palatial estate in Ciutat Vella (the old city, in Valenciano), near Plaza de la Reina. My first meal in Spain, of course, was squid ink paella and a glass of sangria. If I’m planning to do the Spanish gastronomic tour, I wanted to get started right!

My first two days in Valencia, however, were marred with poor weather; I was told that the rain that the city was encountering was the first such weather in four months, and that they were experiencing a rare “cold drop.” Suffice it to say, after seeing the beautiful clear skies in all of the promotional materials, I was disappointed. Yet, I took it as two important life lessons: to get the inevitable disillusionment out of the way, and that it can’t be sunny all the time. All the same, you should have seen me grinning like a fool the moment I laid my eyes on the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, home to Berklee Valencia; even in the rain, she’s still beautiful.

First glimpse of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. I may even have done a happy dance.

A couple nights after my arrival in Spain, I dashed down to the Andalusian region to visit family (Swedish expats with their adopted Korean children). Nerja and Frigiliana, near Málaga, are beautiful towns. In addition to enjoying the beautiful views of the Mediterranean and the Costa del Sol (and less rainy weather) and catching up with my relatives, I met another lovely Swedish family who are themselves in the midst of a relocation to Spain. I look forward to paying another visit to Málaga.

View of the Mediterranean from my relative’s house in the hills between Frigiliana and Nerja.

Since arriving in Spain, I have enjoyed many evenings of good food, live music, great company, and (essential to any adventure) plentiful alcohol. As it turns out, certain elements of the Spanish lifestyle, namely the penchant for a late dinner (by North American standards) and enjoying oneself well into the wee hours, are not particularly conducive to getting over jet lag. Adjusting to the grad school schedule, necessitating early mornings, however, seems to be doing the trick. Reconciling those two schedules, however, will be my next challenge. As with everything, I’ll do my best.

The past few days have been filled with Berklee Valencia orientation activities, officially meeting my future schoolmates (aside from the unofficial gatherings in town that I had enjoyed over the past week). Valencia is a beautiful city, and the Palau is a breathtaking building. One of our first activities during orientation was touring the Palau facilities, which included visiting the three auditoriums, each one bigger than the last; the Sala Principal, the main stage of the Palau, is home to the largest orchestra pit in the world.

Our orientation sessions have been a mix of celebrating our acceptance to Berklee and confronting such sobering realities as homesickness and culture shock. While at times I still question whether my skills at my craft are adequate and whether I can hold my own alongside my fellow musicians and composers, it is incredibly reassuring to hear from my film scoring professors, however, that they have confidence in us — that we are in the class of Master’s students because we are already at the Master’s level. I know that my companions share my feelings, and I am again humbled to be a part of this cohort.

In the next few days, the fall orientation period will conclude and my career as a grad student will commence in earnest. I find it auspicious that Rosh Hashanah coincides with the start of this year of grad school, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year holds for me.

When I tell people that I’m going to pursue my Master’s degree at Berklee in Valencia, I’m often asked the question, “Why Spain?”

…because that’s where the program is. That was easy.

To be perfectly candid, before I found out about Berklee in Valencia, for as much as I enjoy world travel and expanding my cultural horizons, Spain had never ranked particularly high on my list of places to visit. For some of my future schoolmates, the opportunity to go to Spain, especially in the context of one of their new Master of Music programs, fulfils a lifelong dream. For me, however, the dream is to advance my career as a screen composer and complete the transition from hobbyist to professional, and one of the best schools in the world for studying this craft is Berklee College of Music.

I found out about the program quite by accident. A year ago, as I was researching things to do while visiting my Boston-based best friend, I came across Berklee as being a notable fixture of the city. Well, of course it is. I thought, just for fun, that I’d perhaps pay them a visit and try to arrange a tour of the facilities, being a musician and composer and having been a music student in university myself. I noticed a link urging me to click for more information about their new Master’s program in Scoring for Film, Television and Video Games on their Valencia campus.

Two thoughts ran through my head in that instant: “Master’s in Everything You Want To Do As A Career, David,” and “Valencia is a nice-sounding name for a campus.”

I just about fell out of my chair.

Clicking through, I fell in love with the program. Everything resonated so strongly with me: the description, the values that were espoused by the school and the program, and the curriculum – for a one-year Master’s, I felt that I couldn’t have designed it better myself. Eagerly searching for more information, I saw that the application fee was in euros.

Euros?!

Oh, that Valencia.

I just about fell out of my chair. Again.

While I was considering that I may have to venture farther afield than Toronto in order to get the education or training I need for career advancement, an overseas sojourn like this had honestly not been on my radar. New York or L.A.? Sure, but Spain?

To be sure, this would promise to be an incredible, life-changing opportunity, to say nothing of taking me about as far out of my comfort zone as it gets. Even though it felt like such a long shot (a Master’s in film scoring from one of the best schools in the world? Seriously?!), I resolved to do whatever it took to make the best application possible and give myself the best possible chance of passing the audition. It has already been such an incredible boon for both personal and professional growth in the past year as I have made my preparations to take this next step. I look forward to what lies ahead as I embark on this grand adventure.

Still, at the time, dumbfounded as I was, I asked, “Why Spain?”

…because that’s where the program is. That was easy. 🙂

Welcome to the podium!

I intend for this blog to feature a mix of accounts of my travels, personal reflections, and, as circumstances allow, the latest samples of my music.

In a year that has already been filled with significant change, things are about to make an even more dramatic transition. Tomorrow, I am moving to Spain to begin my career as a Master’s student studying scoring for film, TV, and video games at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. I look forward to learning an immense amount under the guidance and tutelage of my instructors there while being challenged to grow as an artist – all while navigating the challenges of living abroad.

I look forward to having you join me on my adventures in Spain, and beyond!