In my current role as supportive husband and adjunct faculty, I’ve got plenty of time on my hands. So much time in fact that I feel that I need to find a few more diversions to keep myself motivated and busy. After all, opportunities often come at unexpected times and as I’ve recently learned, the old saying about making one’s own luck is a good piece of advice, and the business of manufacturing good fortune just can not wait until tomorrow.

Throughout my life, I’ve always observed that when I feel the busiest and under the most pressure I have also been the most productive. With the end of my spring semester last week and without our normal trip to Europe to occupy my time, I’ve got even more downtime than usual so I intend to throw myself into a few projects in the hope that it helps keep my mind engaged and spurs on my creativity.

Although I have several compositions to finish and a collaborative project that’s been on hold for over two years that needs to be addressed, I want to take on some research in theory pedagogy that has been bouncing around my melon for a few weeks and also seriously consider getting out into the community and doing some volunteer work once school resumes in the fall.

In the future I’ll have some more on the research I’ve been thinking about, but in the meantime, I really wanted to get a sense of what sort of community service my peers and colleagues are doing out there. What are some good ideas and good ways that you’ve brought music to your community, especially those that involve education, children, and don’t require the infrastructure and financial backing of a university or college to be successful?