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Full name: Stephen David Beck

Title: I am Professor of Composition and Computer Music at LSU. I lead the AVATAR Initiative in Digital Media at LSU, and currently serve as Interim Director at the LSU Center for Computation & Technology

Company: LSU

Age: 49

Hometown: San Diego, California

Why do you do what you do?

Music is my passion. I began to play the piano when I was 3 years old, and I simply do not remember when music was not an integral part of my life. But I am equally fascinated with science and technology, and in particular how music and science intersect in so many ways. I am incredibly fortunate that I have been able to combine both into a career.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

It is really two-fold. As a composer, it is winning the 1999 G. Schirmer Prize. As an LSU faculty member, my greatest professional accomplishment has been the work I’ve done on the AVATAR Initiative. Over the course of two years, we were able to transform digital media research and curricula from a “wouldn’t it be nice if we could do this” idea into one of the University’s campus-wide priorities. But, this would not have been possible without the help and assistance from many others on campus.

What was your first job?

My dad owned a couple of clothing stores in San Diego, and I worked there, stocking shelves, operating the cash register, and eventually helping customers.

What is the best advice you've ever received?

My father told me to “do what you love, and love what you do. Do it to your very best ability and you will be successful.”

Who do you most admire in the local business community and why?

Jacqueline Beauchamp of Nerjyzed Entertainment. Nerjyzed is the first video game company to set up shop in Baton Rouge. She saw an opportunity to move her company from Dallas to Baton Rouge, to take a chance on our city. She saw the potential of what we at the LSU Center for Computation & Technology can do as a research center, of what LSU and Southern can be as great universities, and of what our city could ultimately become. It takes guts and determination to move a company like hers. But she did, and she’s been successful.

If you could have any job other than your own, what would it be?

I’d skipper a charter sailboat for tours through San Diego harbor -- any excuse to be on the water.

What is the greatest personal or professional obstacle you've overcome?

As an undergraduate, I transferred in my junior year from UC San Diego to UCLA, where I was to study piano performance. Within a few months of starting the program, I began to develop pain in my right arm and hand. By the end of the year, I had no strength or stamina in that arm and I was unable to play the piano. Six months later, my left arm began to suffer the same problems. Doctors were unable to figure out what was going on. One thought I had a rare form of rheumatoid arthritis. Others just had no idea.

After suffering with this for almost 18 months, it was determined that I had severe tendonitis in my lateral epicondyle, more commonly known as “tennis elbow,” caused by my return to studying piano. A new surgical technique was used to correct the problem, and I was playing the piano (albeit very slowly) pain free in three days.

During this time, I began to explore composition as a path for my musical passions, and was offered a graduate assistantship to continue in composition for my graduate studies. That decision led me to study with some of the world’s most important composers, as well as my Fulbright Fellowship, and the career that I now have.

If you started over, what would you do differently?

Nothing. It’s not that I don’t have any regrets. Of course I do. But if I did anything differently, I would likely not be doing what I’m doing now. And I love what I’m doing now.

What is your prescription for life?

Listen to Mozart, Mahler or Messiaen and call me in the morning.

What book are you currently reading?

Musicophilia, by Oliver Sacks

If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be? (Authors? Leaders?)

Barack Obama, Daniel Barenboim, and Billie Jean King

Who would play you in a movie?

Dustin Hoffman.

What do you do to unwind?

I love to sail. There is something so magical about gliding through the water without the sounds of a noisy engine. It’s a perfect marriage of man and machine working with nature, not against it. But I don’t get to do that very often. Day-to-day, I love to cook. It allows me to be creative and to try new things, while finishing with a lovely meal when I’m done (hopefully.) And of course, listening to music.

What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?

My house.

What is your favorite weekend activity?

Spending time with my kids.

What's your theme song?

“Isn’t It A Lovely Day”

What's your favorite spot in Baton Rouge?

The roof terrace atop the Shaw Center for the Arts

How do you take your coffee/tea?

Splash of cream, no sugar

What is your favorite movie? TV show? Band?

I’m still a sucker for Star Trek, the original series. As movies go, there are so many. But the performance of Zero Mostel in the original The Producers is the funniest I’ve ever seen.

What is your favorite gadget?

My iPhone

What is something that you can't live without?

Music

If you could change one thing about Baton Rouge, what would it be?

Less humidity!

What is your greatest hope for Baton Rouge?

That it truly becomes the “next great city in America.”

What is your greatest fear for Baton Rouge?

That we’ll simply revert back to old habits and old attitudes.