Greg Short, Dell Wade, Lockrem Johnson 1973 - 1977

Greg Short was the first composer I ever met in the flesh. He came to one of my piano lessons late in
1973 or early in 1974, a very tall young man with close-set eyes, a remarkable nervous intensity, and a large stash of scores. Mr. Smiley (I believe it was Mr. Smiley throughout our lessons, never "Vic" as it was later), probably through a local music teachers association, had met Greg, and somehow I was chosen to learn some of his simpler pieces as part of my program that year. "Knuckle Rag" was a fun and showy number featuring cluster chords hand slaps finger snaps leg slaps faceboard slaps and knocking. "Little Rose", "Rigadoon", and "The Fox", as easily as they fit into the student piece mode, are replete with Greg's deep knowledge of pianistic detail. In the spring of 1974, or perhaps the next year, I played some of them at a music teacher's association recital featuring Greg's and other local composers' music. I remember that one of those other composers was Lockrem Johnson, though I don't remember meeting him then. That meeting occurred through the auspices of Dell Wade.

Dell was composer in residence at the orchestra camp I attended, probably in the summer of 1975. He was, at that time, all of 19, but already hustling performances and collaborators. I shared some of my early pieces and ended up taking composition lessons with him. I learned about pens, inks, pencils, and staff paper, and picked up some nuts and bolts habits that are still with me today. I prefer, for example, sketching music on 12-stave 8.5X11 buff paper using #3 pencils. I don't know how much of his compositional personality rubbed off on me, though I'm sure there was a fair amount of style mimicry in my pieces from those years. At any rate, he taught me enough to make a favorable impression (I had a portfolio of music for various ensembles, orchestra, and some little piano pieces) on the composition faculty at the UW when I applied there in 1977.

In late 1976 or so Dell thought that I should enter one of my piano pieces in a statewide contest, but since he wasn't in the sponsoring teachers' association he brought me along to meet his teacher, Lockrem Johnson, who was. Lockrem listened while I played my piano piece (oh that Grotrian-Steinweg he had! magnificent!) and we looked at an orchestra piece I was working on. We listened to some music by others (it was through Dell and Lockrem that I learned about the astounding Swiss composer Frank Martin, and I remember a drop-the-needle game featuring one of Sullivan's concert overtures (Dell, if I recall, guessed it correctly, much to Lockrem's annoyance) and then he played a recording of his First Symphony while I read along in a copy of the manuscript score.

The fact that I was able to keep up, turning the pages at the right time, made an impression on him. He gave me a score of his 5th Sonata, and had suggestions about where I might want to study. He agreed to sponsor me in the contest (though he graciously called Vic Smiley for permission, since Vic could have done so also), and then called my parents, while I was still on the way home, to assure them that I really did have something going for me as a composer, and that it should be encouraged.

And, although he didn't want to take Dell's student from him, he felt that I would benefit from a more experienced mentor, offering to take me on the next year. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly, far too young, before that could happen. At his memorial concert, at Cornish, I heard some of his 24 Preludes, and took some pains to acquire a full score from his cousin. I have performed the cycle all through once (8 at a time) and am hoping to finish the cycle again in a few years (4 at a time, in my recital series "Preludes in Seattle") along with those of Greg Short and of my first teacher at the University of Washington, Ken Benshoof.