Photo by Travis Pratt David Alterman plays piano on a recent evening at his home in Frederick. Alterman is a local composer who will have a composition performed in Nashville by the Nashville Double Reed Ensemble and played on "Studio C," a Nashville Public Radio show. Purchase this photo

But it can be difficult to earn a living with such a degree.

"It's pretty hard to have a career in music, especially classical music," he said.

Since returning to college 15 years ago, the 47-year-old Frederick resident has been looking at slides under a microscope, studying the structure and function of cells, testing for cancer in tissue from Pap smears and biopsies.

Today, he's a cytologist -- and a composer.

The Nashville Double Reed Ensemble will perform the latest piece he's written, "Pavane for Double Reed Quintet, Opus No. 59," on April 25 at the Double Reed Festival at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.

"Double reed" refers to the type of reed used to produce sound in wind instruments such as the bassoon, oboe and English horn.

The work will also have two performances on "Live in Studio C" on WPLN 90.3 FM Nashville Public Radio (http://wpln.org/?cat=5) on July 28, which will also be by the Nashville Double Reed Ensemble. Listeners should be able to stream the program live and hear it online all week.

Some of Alterman's other compositions have been performed. His "Entrada for Brass Quintet, Opus No. 8," was played by the Emory Brass Ensemble at Emory University in Atlanta. His tuba quartet was performed by University of Delaware professors' Colonial Tuba Ensemble. The Lori Ardis Ballet Company also performed two ballet pieces he composed.

When he was younger, he played piano professionally. But nothing he's done compares to the upcoming radio performance, he said.

"Getting on the radio, on NPR, I thought that was a pretty big deal," Alterman said. "I was thrilled about that."

Alterman moved to Frederick about two years ago. He's married to Theresa Alterman, and they have two children at home, Billy, 11, and Maren, 8. Plus, he joked, his mother-in-law, two Shih Tzus and an English bulldog.

He has Finale, a music composing software program, loaded onto his laptop, so he's able to write music almost anywhere, anytime. Usually, that time is after he gets home from work or on weekends, often with lots of activity around him.

"I'll hear something in my head when I'm driving or at my job, and then at home the first 17 measures come out, and I'll work with it from there," Alterman said. "With the laptop and software, it's like someone who sits and picks at a crossword puzzle."

With the software, he's able to place the notes he's hearing in his head directly onto a computer replica of music composition paper.

"I try to write music with melodies or themes and use those ideas to develop the composition through high and low points to a conclusion," he said.

He said that Nashville Double Reed Ensemble, led by accomplished oboe player Dewayne Pigg, has already requested he send along some more music.

Alterman lists Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, Stravinsky and Prokofiev among his influences. While he described the piece to be performed in Nashville as somber, he's decided the next piece he writes will be more light-hearted.

He is looking into flights and hotel rooms in Nashville for next weekend's festival. He wants to go partly for the pure joy of listening to his work performed in person, but also to garner more knowledge from top musicians and improve his craft.

"There are rules you can you can learn from books about composing for various instruments, but I'll get to talk with the musicians and find out what they can play and what they can't -- and what they like to play," Alterman said.

"I'm still learning. There is a saying that used to be for doctors that musicians use today: 'Life is short, but the art is long.' The art is infinite. There is always more to learn."