It is now the twenty-first century. The previous century was a tumultuous time in which, despite wars and other upheavals, fantastic advances in technology were spawned. The phonograph, radio, cinema, television, and finally, digital technology, created a fertile path for the continued evolution of Western music. What we call “popular” music grew to enormous proportions, resulting in a multitude of commercial styles for an increasingly diverse population, while what we call “classical” music crawled into a nineteenth-century cocoon, resistant to any meaningful change although, perversely, giving lip service to only the most radical kinds of change.

The language of Western music, as it has evolved over the past four centuries, is a complexity of tonal/rhythmic relationships and meaningful formulas that has power to stimulate strong emotional responses in listeners who understand it. As a non-verbal, non-representational mode of expression, it can fill deep emotional needs not met by other kinds of experience. But because of its complexity, a composer wishing to achieve mastery of the language faces a daunting task - one made even more difficult by the fact that many academic institutions still push the would-be composer away from such mastery by discouraging meaningful involvement in its established language and conventions. Thus, many talented young musicians are led to believe that musical significance is synonymous with rebellion against the language itself.

The concept of self expression is central to all art forms, including music. As human beings, we strive to express and communicate our deepest feelings. Languages are the means we create to enable such expression and communication. The more highly evolved a language, the greater its ability to convey thoughts and feelings, and the greater the variety of expression it offers. But although a language can evolve to encompass new forms of expression, its conventions must be mastered if it to be used effectively. This is why virtually all the great composers of the past began their careers by learning and imitating the craft of their predecessors.

Those who have striven to master the intricacies of Western musical craft in the latter half of the twentieth century have too often been neglected and dismissed as being “old-fashioned,” while many a bright “star” has flamed and then quickly disappeared from sight and sound. As a result, composers rooted in the tradition have too often lacked opportunity for meaningful interaction with a responsive audience.

Now, in this new century, there is hope that the Web may make it possible to bypass the musical status quo and reconnect artist and public in more directly meaningful ways. I invite you to sample the variety of my wares, and if so moved, to share your responses with me through this website. Thank you for your interest.

Dr. Jack M. Jarrett

Four blogs have been created with sample contents:

• Blog A: You are currently looking at it. It contains a few sample posts, using simple features of b2evolution.
• Blog B: You can access it from a link at the top of the page. It contains information about more advanced features.
• Linkblog: By default, the linkblog is included as a "Blogroll" in the sidebar of both Blog A & Blog B.
• Photoblog: This blog is an example of how you can use b2evolution to showcase photos, with one photo per page as well as a thumbnail index.

You can add new blogs, delete unwanted blogs and customize existing blogs (title, sidebar, skin, widgets, etc.) from the Blog Settings tab in the admin interface.

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