Vast, Sparse Areas of Possibility: 1960–1969

This chapter documents more experimental changes in Wolff's compositional oeuvre, as well as certain new milestones in his life. While working in the army, Wolff continued to develop his musicianship through prose polemics and new compositional strategies. In 1962, he reached a new threshold in his experimental evolution, as he began a two-year span of writing only pieces with unspecified instrumentation. In addition, Wolff's academic and family moorings had begun to shift. Family-wise, he would marry Hope (“Holly”) Nash at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Royalton in 1965, develop an interest in electric guitar, and witness the birth of his firstborn, Christian Mayhew (“Hew”). Career-wise, Wolff's teaching contract with Harvard would not be renewed, which later provided him with the opportunity to apply for a position teaching classics and music at Dartmouth.