I'm Jose Clavell-Acosta. Director of music and Traditional Worship at Ankeny First United Methodist Church in the Greater Des Moines, Iowa area. I am a Western Illinois University & Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico alumni. I am a Choral Conductor, food writer, avid foodie, coffeeholic, wine and corgi enthusiast, and a blogger. I currently serve as part of the social media, marketing, and development team for the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble in Des Moines, Iowa. I am the Owner and CEO of Boricua in the Midwest, which is a food blog and a home bakery based in Grimes, Iowa.
Collapse the mirrors of your soul
walk through the valley and inhale…
Recite the numbers in your head
walk through the pastures, but wait…
Cliffs of Varengeville – Claude Monet
A wind flurry is stirring ahead
feel nature at its best
recite the numbers out loud
– one, two, three- I’ve found
a gust of wind caressing my skin
as the valley closes and I, breath
At the edge you’ll find
tension rising
catharsis releasing
wind billowing, stirring, and whirling
If you step off,
the wind will embrace you,
inhibitions will falter and
peace remains
A dear friend of mine, who shall remain in anonymity, once showed me e.e. cummings’ i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart). As clichéd as it sounds, I loved it. In the course of this past semester, I enrolled in a composition class. In this class put my big boy pants, and I set this poem to music. It was an uphill battle (choosing the singers, rehearsal time) in short, a battle. I won the battle and the war! Here is the finished product, while not perfect, it is pretty darn close. I hope this a start of a new, complementary chapter in my life.
“Secrecy is the ultimate form of tension. A writer should hide the essence of his or her work. In doing so, the reader can fight in finding their own truth about the authors legacy. It is only that way that the author can reach literacy immortality.”
As the song entails, school is officially over. But, not really. As the end of the semester windles down, I decided to take the nerdy way out and register in a summer course. This semester has ben a hectic one. I’ve had a lot of stress, mostly papers to write, concerts, and not to mention, more papers. It has been a good semester. I wasn’t fond of the grading I received, especially in my music history course, but you can’t always get what you want. In this semester, I have also pondered on the two possibilities I have after I finish my Masters. I could stay here in the United States or go back to my home country, Puerto Rico, and search for a job there
As the song states, schools out for the summer so I won’t think about it… too much. ‘ve also toying with the possibility of pursuing a Doctorate degree in Musicology (a PhD), instead of a DMA in Choral Conducting (for all of you who do not know the acronyms a DMA is a Doctorates in Musical Ars). The root of this moral, career dilemma, is that with a PhD in Musicology, I can assess Latin American repertoire and unveil the mysteries and all of the inaccuracies that’s out there (this is technically called ethnomusicology. With a DMA, I would just focus on an ensemble and how to create a professional sound out of them. Both of the things I would love, but time will tell which one I will choose.
Speaking of musicology and the mysteries it implies, specifically ethnomusicology, my independent study will focus on what ethnomusicology is, how it has evolved, and how it has been reflected in Latin America. I will hope this new adventure provides itself to be truthful! Also, in this summer I will add to my agenda to update this blog (more than I have been lately). So I will stop with my binge watching of anything that is on Netflix (although Scandal Season 3 is really tempting, I kid you not) and focus on maintaining this blog in tip, top shape.
And so the third week of class is coming to and end. It’s been… hectic to say the least. This semester I have a composition, music history (fin-de-siècle in the 19th century and the 20th century), choral conducting, graduate theory and analysis, and ensembles. For this semester I have the following projects (for now):
Choral Conducting:
-Songs of Nature by Robert Young
-Brahms’ Song of Fate
-From Light to Light by Aaron McDermind
Graduate Theory and Analysis
For now I’ve been analysing Chopin Preludes and Bach chorales from left to right, it will be fun to see what other stuff I get to do
Music History (fin-de-siècle in the 19th century and the 20th century)
-Duka’s Ariane et barbe-bleue (Opera analysis). I know… I have to continue with my French obsession.
-Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Bilitis
(among a million readings)
Ensembles:
-Music, music and more music!!
Composition:
-Text by e.e cummings. Poem: “i carry your heart with me”. Voicing: 8-10 part mixed chorus.
Also, fun facts:
The university is doing a Choral Conducting Competition! I am going to participate. This reminds me of the anime Nodame Cantabile (a 20-something conductor who goes out of his hometown in Japan to pursue his dreams in Europe). Let’s see how this goes!
I already have 1/3 of my composition done, and I have the skeleton for the rest of it!
It has been -25 degrees (or at least feels like it) for two days… maybe three. I thought I liked the cold, but this is ridiculous!
This semester is going to be a hectic one, but I know I can tough it out. On a bright side, I do have a lot of ideas for future posts. I only ask for you to be a bit patient for I don’t have much time to post as before!
ate form of tension. A writer should hide the essence of his or her work. In doing so, the reader can fight in finding their own truth about the authors legacy. It is only that way that the author can reach literacy immortality.”
The art of musical poetry 