AD MELIORA (Towards better things)

I’ve spent three years in a partial, self-imposed quiet in my musical career. It’s been a chance to re-examine my work and reset some habits that have long ago ceased to be helpful. The worldwide pandemic and large changes in my private life also enabled this repose.

Not all this time has been productive with artistic growth. Admittedly, my quiet has also been spurred on by generic, but real fears. Fears of releasing ideas into the world, fears of rejection, fears of being misunderstood – The list is frightfully long! — And I’ve tried to block out these fears with infinite distractions. (As a result, I suspect I have enough DIY projects to last into the next millennia.)

Lately however, I find that fears and quiet are not entirely compatible, distractions too trivial. There is too much in my heart. There is too much I want to say. There is too much need for music in the world today to remain quiet. And so… It seems it’s time to get back to work in earnest.

There’s a book I find myself returning to. It's a collection of writings by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu titled “Confronting Silence”. Among his reflections he describes the need for “a single, strong sound” to confront a silence. My understanding is that he believes music can be one or the other, “sound or silence,” but that he chooses sound.

May I too find the courage to construct a sound strong enough to confront silence and help me speak my truth.

In the next few weeks I will be updating this site with compositions and performances from over the past few years. Thank you so much for reading and for your support!

H.H.

A quiet spot, 2023 – Photo Credit: Hanako Henty