Lefty, I don't have access because I'm a student and they don't give letterhead to students. I asked a professor and he said he has access, but it's difficult to get to it (they don't want them applying to other jobs) so he told me to ask the business secretary. She acted surprised and put off and replied that they don't give letterhead to students. I should just send a plain letter (based on what I've read that's the last thing you want to do if you're associated with a university). Which is horribly wrong. I just think no one knows we're supposed to have access. The only positive thing I can think of is this is unfortunately common and I'm applying to a position that students are going to applying for and I won't be competing against established professors who have letterhead. But still...

I shouldn't be surprised though since I go to a university that makes professors pay an exorbitant amount for a parking space that they are not allowed to use on football game days (they are rented out for even more exorbitant prices to tailgaters).

I think it will be beneficial to list traits of some of my music so as to brainstorm the best way to word them in a letter:

I was primarily a performer originally and I still play when I'm able to. Whatever I'm playing seems to seep into what I'm writing.

I use a lot of humor, mostly dark humor in my writing.

My dissertation could be described as Stravinsky meets Mingus and they decide to have a demented burlesque show with songs based on the poems of A. R. Ammons. Maybe that's how my entire style should be explained? Sans the Ammons part of course; that's only one piece. I just don't know if comedy is a good thing or not on this sort of letter.

I guess I could use descriptions from the pieces I'm considering submitting with the letter. One is Stravinsky-inspired because it was written for the Rite of Spring centennial. Another one came from writing a piece for the two unfortunate instruments left off of an orchestra concert: the tuba and harp. I added a male vocalist who sings poetry I wrote which confused the English professor on my committee. I must have been making a statement with a guy singing a girl's poetry! Or maybe I just like the male voice and he was a professional singer I could easily get and had worked with before...leave it to English professors to try desperately to find meaning in meaningless artistic decisions. The third piece is just a jazz ballad, written as a reply to a jazz ballad that was written for me. The fourth piece is a somewhat pointillistic and surprisingly consonant (given my usual output) saxophone quartet.