Dissertation-gate, Day 12

It's day 12 of dissertation researching/writing/thinking.  I know this because I counted the days on my calendar and excluded the days I took off.  I spent 3.5 hours this morning organizing all the Russian scholarship I have into a handful of categories: Biography, Scholarship with significant information on choral works, scholarship with limited information on choral works, Scholarship that I am unsure what it is talking about, Scholarship I probably don't need translated, and Scholarship I don't have yet.  From this last category, there are perhaps only two pieces of scholarship I don't have yet: A journal article about the tonal characteristics of Taneyev's figues and a journal article about his chorus cycles.  I need to re-evaluate the list and eventually I'll send it off to another scholar on Taneyev for her help with translating.  In addition, she gave me a heads up about a Taneyev event happening next year in her area of the world.  More to come when I know more.

Speaking of more to come when I know more, I was offered a job.  I took that job.  I am very, very excited about said job, which I'm not publicly sharing until it's officially announced.  I do have to write a bio, though.  Next week we are heading to the town that the job is in and looking at apartments.  I'm busy planning for that job!

Here are some ideas I brainstormed earlier today (when I should have been working on my dissertation, which is why I don't have 4 hours of work in yet): My large, non-auditioned chorus will sing something with organ, likely Festival Te Deum by Britten.  I want to program some Taneyev and Martinu with my Chamber group.  I'd like to try my hand at a Bach cantata with my chamber group, too.  I'm interested in doing a double chorus piece (maybe Rheinberger or Pachelbel) with my large, auditioned group.  Also, I'm very interested in doing some Michael Haydn.  Perhaps Franz Haydn Mass of St. John with the large-auditioned group.  Oh, and maybe the Cherubini Requiem with my large, non-auditioned choir!  I could do this all day... really I could.

But, I have at least 30 minutes of dissertation thinking to do.  Likely longer.  My goals for today, then: Write my bio and send to my new job (with a picture) so they can update the faculty page.  Read an article and take notes on Taneyev.  Read a chapter in a book about Russian choral music (take notes).  Look at the handful of pieces that we do have access to and make some notes of characteristics, idioms, motives that Taneyev uses.  And maybe try to find someone to translate some of this scholarship.

I better get to work...