Getting the Priorities Straight  One of my most respected
mentors in matters of music pedagogy once initiated our weekly
gathering by asking all of her students to make a list of their
top three priorities in life. While most responded with answers
such as “my family”, “my religious beliefs”, or “my work”, our
mentor quickly pointed out that while these concerns are
undoubtedly important, they weren’t really priorities in the
crucial sense; and then (with no small amount of wry enjoyment)
she reminded the class that the list of a human being’s literal
priorities might be more accurately topped with things like
food, shelter, and breathing.  This little joke was intended to
make us think about our priorities when working with students,
but in my own composing efforts as well I’ve found it useful to
consider my musical priorities—defined as that which, if
lacking, would cause the whole effort to cease being worthwhile.
Some of these priorities reflect basic goals I have in most of
my music, while others only pl