Program Note:   

Jot! was the first piece commissioned by the Virgil Thomson Foundation and the first chamber piece commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony. The music is based loosely on the first movement of Hagen's Flute Sonata No. 1, richly developed with new countermelodies and "break-out" points for the mallet and clarinet players. The title comes from a quip that composer and author Virgil Thomson made to Hagen during the year that Hagen worked for him as a copyist and arranger: "Honey, all we do is jot. The audience decides." It was first performed on 1 June 1989 at Merkin Hall, in New York City, on a New York Youth Symphony Chamber Series Concert.

Selected Review:

Hagen's Jot!, commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony, is a rhythmically delightful work with melodic writing reminiscent of Hindemith.

— Joan Thomson Kretschmer, New York Post, 6/3/89