"... devote my life, why I'm gonna spend my second half of my senior year reading this book and listening to scores and CDs." So what were the, what were the touchstones that really meant opera, classical music to you, both in composing and writing and listening, that, like, really have stayed with you or really put you on your way?

Well, I would return to that, that library, that scene.

You mentioned that, uh, you didn't know public libraries had scores.

Most don't.

Um, but I grew up outside of Boston and a nearby town, uh, Newton, has this extraordinary library.

I think Newton has, like, more PhDs per capita than anywhere, so it makes sense that it would have this sort of public library that had an, what seemed to me like an endless catalog of, of scores, full scores of, of s- you know, symphonic music and operas and...

You know, I knew that music as a listener, and I, I loved it, and I was, you know, trying to write music myself and, and playing piano.

And I just wanted to hear you talk about that particular moment within the essay and, and within James Merrill's work.