For years, small musical ideas – melodic fragments, textures, and colors – have occasionally visited me, but until very recently I had never considered writing them down or formally attempting to compose. However, in Spring 2025, I decided it was time to sit down with viola, pen and paper (and eventually microphone and laptop) and see what might emerge. To prepare, I took a global, scientific approach: learning as much as I could about the creative process and documenting my findings, in the hope of learning what might be possible for myself and inspiring others along the way. My exploration has unfolded in three overlapping phases:

1. Reflection: I studied my own personal creative process by completing a 12-week journey through “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron (in a cohort led by professional oboist Merideth Hite Estevez), informed by two other modern creativity texts: “The Creative Act: A Way of Being” by music producer Rick Ruben, and “The Creative Habit” by legendary dancer/choreographer Twyla Tharp.
2. Listening: I gathered insights from others who have journeyed from performer to composer, via interviews with active violist-composers such as Kenji Bunch, Christina Colberg, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Jessica Meyer, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Melia Watras, and others.
3. Creating: I explored my own creativity as a composer through producing a set of miniatures for solo viola to perform myself.

A former resident of the area, I am deeply inspired by the landscapes of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina; I was also deeply affected by the devastation wrought there by Hurricane Helene during late September 2024. I felt drawn to respond with meditations on the hills and valleys, vistas and waterfalls of this special place. A lecture documenting the results of my “creativity studies” will be followed by a performance of “Blue Ridge Sketches,” a set of original miniatures inspired and accompanied by images and words created by my longtime friend, photographer and poet Adam Tyson.

Presenter:
Ames Asbell