The Muse in Music: "Fishing for Like Souls"

By, Dan Perttu

For this week on the “Muse in Music” blog, I am interviewing clarinetist and composer Nancy Williams. Nancy and I met on Facebook, and I wanted to interview her in particular because she is both an active performer and a composer. I wanted to hear her perspectives from these different angles, and I thought the readers of this blog might be interested in this too.

As with all of my guests, I start by asking about why people love to do what they do in music. The answers, while they are often on a similar theme, always have interesting variations.

Dan: Why do you love performing? What inspires you about what you do as a clarinetist?

Nancy: Performing is one of the ways I get in touch with my core self; I communicate my deepest feelings and thoughts through my clarinet. A lot of things inspire me. Sometimes I practice just because I'm curious to see just how good I can make my tone that day. So, in that instance, I'm inspired by the challenge of creating the most beautiful sound I can. Sometimes, I'm inspired by the meditative quality of warm-ups. When it comes to performing, though, I'm most inspired by the audience. I love programming and anticipating the audience's reaction to each piece and then experiencing their energy when they hear it. Performances are an opportunity to share a journey with others and to get in touch with our humanity. Education is also an inspiration for me. I love helping students find their voice. Often something will happen in my studio which helps my own performing or gets me to see a piece through someone else's eyes. Then I can't wait to perform that piece again!

Dan: Other people I have interviewed on this blog have said that they love communicating with audiences, which is a great perspective on this. What I particularly like about your answer is how you see performances as an opportunity “to share a journey with others and to get in touch with our humanity.” This seems to go even deeper than communicating. Communicating is wonderful, of course, but sharing a journey is what deep memories are made of. That’s quite an ideal to aspire to.

So, aspirations and inspiration are closely related too. What music inspires you as a clarinetist? And, What contemporary music inspires you?

Nancy: I love music that makes me feel something: the make-your-heart-sing quality of a soaring melody, a cheeky compositional technique that makes me laugh, harmonies that make me uncomfortable, a stomach-dropping unexpected chord change or change in direction, the ache of a poignant piece, or the thrill of a technical masterpiece. I don't think contemporary music is any different. It's got to make me feel something; there has to be something I can convey to the audience. I know that's generic, but the best pieces in every style have this aspect to it.

Dan: I really appreciate your descriptions of the different reactions that music can evoke. These are all wonderful sensations when we willingly subject ourselves to them. That said, it’s a good thing these feelings occur within the safe context of art! So, digging a little deeper, do you have preferences for certain aesthetic orientations or styles in new music? What does this imply for your programming and for your audiences?

Nancy: I have eclectic tastes and enjoy diversity. If I have any preferences, it's that the music be worth my time. For example, if the extended techniques are so difficult and obscure that it takes more effort on my part than the amount of satisfaction I get mastering and performing it, I'm not likely to program it again. Don't get me wrong; I love challenging literature! I, and most other performers I know, only have so much time to practice.

After a recent concert, an audience member told me they loved the programming and couldn't believe the concert was over. That's what I'm going for - for the audience to be present (mindful) the entire time, for us to be a part of an experience together. By learning a quality piece of new literature, even if I don't like the style, I create a relationship with it that helps me to grow as a musician. I believe it's important to educate the audience, as well, so I always speak about anything potentially challenging from a listening stand-point. They will be able to understand and appreciate the music more when I reveal my personal connection to it. Even if I don't love it, I can at least appreciate some part of it. People are like that, too! How many times do you find yourself becoming friends with someone you didn't initially like very much? The more exposure you had to them, the more you understood them and recognized more common ground than you initially realized. That's why I always choose at least one piece that will stretch the audience's comfort zone. Lutoslawski was once quoted as equating composing with "fishing for like souls," and I think the same is true of performing. As a performer, though, that means I have to recognize that there are a lot of different "souls" in the audience, and it's my job to find a way to connect with them.

Dan: What a great quote from Lutoslawski! Composing is indeed fishing for like souls! Finding people to perform your music is also very much fishing for like souls. So, on the subject of composing, I understand you are also a composer. What inspires you as a composer? What kind of music do you like to write, for what instrumentation, etc.?

Nancy: This inspirational aspect is what drew me to your blog. I'm relatively new to composing, but I'm finding so much inspiration that my list of "to-compose" works is quite long! I'm inspired by people, for one. If I'm writing a piece for someone who is a friend, that person's personality and the way I feel about them is my impetus. Growing up in the Great Plains, I'm also deeply connected to the land. The "scarcity" of the landscape forces you to bring something to it. You have to make an effort to notice things like wildflowers hidden in the grass or the sound of the wind. It's not a landscape that immediately hits you with its beauty. Consequently, I've paid attention to the natural beauty around me wherever I've lived, and I frequently draw on that for my compositions. I think it's because of this connection with the earth that I particularly love folk songs and dances. Just like in performing, I draw on how something/someone makes me feel when I'm composing.

I enjoy writing for wind instruments the most, although I've recently started composing art songs. I have always preferred the earthy sound of wind instruments, especially reeds. I found composing for a reed quintet particularly satisfying. Wind instruments are technically flexible as well and can produce a lot of fun extended techniques, so that's an added bonus. I sang and played piano a lot when as a young girl, which is why I suppose I'm drawn to art songs right now. I'm composing one now, and next on my list are pieces for clarinet choir, sax/clarinet duet, and young band as well as additional wind band works and art songs. It's important to choose mediums you can get performed, particularly when you live in a geographically-isolated area. Limiting factors are the price you pay for getting to hear your music performed live. Being at live performances of my pieces is critical at this point of my career; I need to know what works or doesn't work for performers as well as to be present to gauge audience reaction. For example, if what I've written sounds great on midi, but sounds very different with live musicians, I've got to figure out what's been lost in translation and how to make myself clearer. Plus, being able to work with musicians before a premiere is especially revealing. The audience is what it's all about, though, and I want to see and feel their reaction in addition to hearing their comments.

Even though my rural location has some drawbacks, I get a great deal of satisfaction exposing patrons, and particularly young musicians, to composition as a career and to new music. Had I met a female composer when I was younger, my own career may have turned out differently.

Dan: Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting comments about composition. Can I ask you further about your remark about a female composer role model? Might you have gone into composition earlier? Did the lack of a female composer role model hold you back from pursuing your compositional aspirations, and if so, can you explain why that was? I’m sure there are a lot of people who would be very interested to hear about your experience.

Nancy: I'll never know what could or would have been different had I been exposed to a female role model. Additional factors to my late start in the field may have been my undergraduate school not having a composition degree available and simply not being exposed to composition or to many composers at all when I was younger. I do know that I didn't even consider composition to be a viable career option for myself. I had zero aspirations. Had I met a composer who was more like me, maybe that interaction would have planted a seed. This is why I value being a role model now. Unless young people see composers who are like themselves, they may not realize that career is an option. Locally, there has been an increase in number and exposure of Native American composers, but none of those, that I'm aware of, are women either. I may actually be the only female composer in the region, so I feel an obligation to get out into the community, particularly the schools. Even if I never inspire a young girl to become a composer, I'm helping to establish composition as a legitimate career for women in all of the students' minds. Subconsciously, that makes a difference.

Dan: What fascinating perspectives! I am curious to hear if anyone else can relate to what Nancy said. Please feel free to comment on this blog. In any case, thanks to Nancy Williams for joining me on this post on the Muse in Music blog. Please visit her website at www.carpeclarinet.com!

The Muse in Music - In the Key of Connection: Perspectives from Pianist Tammy Miller

By, Dan Perttu

This week on the Muse in Music blog, I am interviewing pianist Tammy Miller. Tammy and I met over the internet, and after I shared some music with her, she invited me to collaborate with her on a piano concerto project. I was and am beyond thrilled to do so. For me the dream is to write concerti, possibly even more than symphonies, because I get to write for special soloists and orchestras. This is really a dream come true. So, I am grateful to Tammy for her enthusiasm in collaborating with me.

So, a little about Tammy. Tammy is quickly gaining a reputation as a performer who is “artistic” and “highly emotive.” She has performed throughout the U.S. as well as a recent solo performance in the Esterházy Palace located in Eisenstadt, Austria, where Haydn served as a composer. Passionate about commissioning music, she is working on a large-scale recording project with composers such as Libby Larsen, Noelia Escalzo, William F. Montgomery, and Daniel Baldwin. Over the next couple of years, Tammy will give the world premiere performances of piano concertos by Daniel Perttu and Eric Ewazen as well as “Impressions of Yellowstone” for piano and string orchestra by Daniel Baldwin in Granada, Spain. Tammy has appeared in recitals and commercial recordings with principal instrumentalists from the National Symphony Orchestra, San Fransisco Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Mexico. She has given collaborative recitals at colleges and universities across the Midwest, the International Double Reed Society Conference in Appleton, Wisconsin, and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Dan: So, I love starting with the following question because I don’t think we ask it of each other enough, and we certainly don’t hear people’s answers enough. Why do you love performing? What inspires you about what you do as a pianist?

Tammy: The first thing that comes to mind when asked this question is connection—to the music and to people. When you perform a work, you have to live with it and know it to a higher level than if you are just playing something recreationally—I love having that deeper connection and understanding of music.

I have been fortunate to meet many great people from all over the world through performing. I always appreciate connecting with audiences and sharing music that I am passionate about.

Dan: I love this; what a great theme: “connection.” Music is not just about communication, and it’s not just about emotion, but it’s actually about the thread that links those two, which is “connection.” When I talk to people about this in general, similar themes bubble up, but I think your emphasis on “connection” is really resonant. So, what music do you like to use to connect with people? What music inspires you as a pianist, particularly what contemporary music inspires you?

Tammy: I’ve gone through phases with this. It started out with an infatuation with the piano works of Chopin, Liszt, and Beethoven, then Debussy and Amy Beach, followed by Ginastera. However, for the past decade, I’ve settled in to finding my voice as an artist through contemporary music (particularly contemporary American), little known and underrated piano music from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day, and music by female composers. Currently, my greatest passion is for commissioning new works. There is an even deeper connection to the music because it is being written for me with my strengths/desires being taken into account. I love being a part of the creative process from conception to premiere that you can only get from commissioning new works.

Dan: A performer who loves commissioning new works—we composers love you, of course! So often I feel like I am a leper when I approach conductors or other performers; I almost hate to say I’m a composer, because I imagine their internal monologues saying something like: “Oh, God, another composer.” Then I have to remind myself that not everyone feels that way. But, there is still a stigma against composers now, and, frankly, I think the radical avant-garde of the 20th-century was, whether intentionally nor not, responsible for this. So, on this subject, do you have preferences for certain aesthetic orientations or styles in new music? What does this imply for your programming and for your audiences?

Tammy: I have a pretty adventurous musical palate. I can think of several examples of music that is neo-romantic, impressionistic, neo-classical, atonal, serial, 12-tone, pointillistic, bitonal, or incorporates extended techniques, etc. that I enjoy listening to and/or performing. The common thread between all of these styles that determines a piece’s appeal is if it is well constructed and it paints an aural picture/tells a story. When programming, I select music that is expressive in some way regardless of its aesthetic orientation. A side note: I hope composers don’t just follow what is trendy at the expense of losing their voice and what makes their music unique. I can think of a few highly regarded composers whose music lost their charm over the sake of them emulating a trending aesthetic at the time. I believe you can find and create good music in any aesthetic language.

Dan: I agree. This kind of thinking is commonly associated with post-modernism, and we live in a friendlier, more embracing era when it comes to composers’ pursuing what they believe in. However, in the earlier and middle part of the 20th-century, there was very much an aesthetic snobbism among many of the avant-gardists. I have run into that with some composers I have met, though I must say it was earlier in my career as compared to now. I appreciate the fact that you are not a snob about aesthetics and that you are more concerned with whether a piece of music is effective within its own aesthetic language or internal logic. That, I think, is the most enduring and important way to approach such a rich diversity of music that is able to be performed. So, on the subject of performing, particularly with orchestras, what is it like trying to find orchestras to collaborate with? How do you do it?

Tammy: The age-old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” applies here. I start with my friends. I am very fortunate to have many talented friends out there doing wonderful things with whom I enjoy collaborating. When approaching new orchestral contacts, I look for organizations that are interested in performing new music and have similar goals to myself.

Dan: Yes! But this is easier said than done. At least for me, it’s so hard to meet the right people! And sometimes it feels like some people are evasive or even hide from composers. That, of course, could be just my imagination. I wonder what your perspective is on this? In what ways do you think conductors should interact with contemporary composers, and what does this imply for the future of art music?

Tammy: I think conductors should always be open to collaborating with composers through either commissioning new works or programming existing works. There is a lot of great new music out there that deserves to be performed and promoted! Audiences should be made aware that art music is very much alive and still relevant. If new music does not continue to be programmed by orchestras and performers, then the voices of composers today will not be represented like they have in the past.

Dan: Well, so much more could be said, but this is all we have time for. Thank you so much for appearing on this blog!

Tammy: Thanks!

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As Tammy leaves, Guy, the snarky imaginary journalist from the fictitious New Bostonian, enters.

Guy: Tammy is really quite open-minded as a performer. That's truly refreshing. Are you as open-minded to different aesthetic perspectives, especially avant-garde ones, as Tammy is?

Dan: Well, you certainly have a penchant for zooming in on loaded questions. [Lifts a single eyebrow.] As one of my composition teachers, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, said, "There is nothing right or wrong in composition; there are only consequences." I stick with that. There's nothing wrong with being an avant-garde composer. The consequence of writing in such an aesthetic is that one's audience might be more specialized.

Guy: Very diplomatic. But, do you like to listen to avant-garde music for pleasure?

Dan: Depends on the music. Avant-garde styles themselves are so disparate. I would have to give you an answer on a case-by-case basis.

Guy: Do you enjoy listening to Boulez's Structures for two pianos?

Dan: No. While I respect Boulez's intellect and how the piece conforms to its own internal logic, I hate listening to it. But, going back to Tammy - I also like what she said about collaborators. We all need to embrace the music of our time in various forms because we don't want this era to be lost on the map of history. I really appreciate that perspective.

Guy: She is indeed wise. Well, off to write.

Dan: Cheers!

The Muse in Music - Perspectives from an Astute Trumpeter

By, Dan Perttu

Hello! For this week in the “Muse in Music” blog, I am interviewing my colleague and friend, Dr. Tim Winfield, about his passion for trumpet performance. This is a departure from interviewing composers, but I want to know and share what inspires musicians of any kind about musical creation of any form. Tim is a trumpet professor at Westminster College, and he performs in orchestras throughout the region.

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Dan: Why do you love performing? What inspires you about what you do as a trumpeter?

Tim: One of the main reasons I love performing is that there are never two identical performances. Every performance evokes a different emotion, even if you are performing the same work several times. The dynamic of the performance venue, the size of the audience, even the temperature of the room may change how one may express the musical line. Performers work for consistency within their craft so that they can spontaneously communicate nuances that best fit the moment. This isn’t something that I practice. It is something that comes from within, and that is what I love about performing. I guess we can call it spontaneous, emotional, non-verbal communication. Whether I am performing the Star Spangled Banner for the thousandth time, or I am performing Torngat for the 4th time, both myself and (hopefully) the audience grow musically and emotionally.

Dan: Interestingly, as I have seen with composers, performers like you also want to communicate emotion. So, what music inspires you as a trumpeter, particularly what contemporary music inspires you?

Tim: I would say there are three elements of music that inspire me the most right now. Music that dances, music that sings, and music that accentuates extremes. Back when I was in high school, I was enamored with the playing of Rafael Mendez and Allen Vizzutti, and I still am! Through their recordings and performances, these musicians took solo trumpet playing to new heights, and in my opinion, they defined how to make music sing and dance even in the extremes of range, tempo, and dynamics. Having any of the three elements present in a piece really inspire me as a musician, but having all three in one piece of music is rapture. Joshua Hobbs’s work Keystone Landscapes does a great job of accentuating the singing element through the first movement, then he accentuates extremes in the second. Your piece, Torngat, demonstrates all three elements throughout, and I love how the third movement dances.

Dan: Thanks, Tim; I appreciate it! So, do you have preferences for certain aesthetic orientations or styles in new music? What does this imply for your programming and for your audiences?

Tim: When programming new music, I am looking for music that is melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically engaging or inventive. I really connect to singing and dancing. New music that contains these features are no brainers for me. This does not mean that I totally dismiss new music that is void of traditional harmony or music that does not have obvious melodic lines. When I work on music that lacks harmony or apparent melody, I work harder to make my musical intentions clear to the audience. Can I make an atonal unaccompanied solo dance or sing? Sometimes it is difficult, but I embrace and enjoy the challenge.

My audiences can then always expect to hear me doing my best to communicate the musical line in everything I do. Most of the time, if I program new music on a recital, it is going to be melodically, harmonically, and/or rhythmically engaging and inventive.

Dan: What great ideas – I appreciate your thoughtful approach to programming, and I’m sure it makes for exciting recitals! On the other hand, now, let’s talk about orchestral playing. Is orchestral playing actually gratifying for trumpeters? I know that sometimes your parts can be rather uninteresting.

Tim: This question really depends on the trumpeter. Orchestral trumpeting playing can often be like the tortoise or the hare, and also at times, everything in between. When orchestral playing is like the tortoise, those performers that are not happy unless they are playing all the time will be unhappy. When I was a younger player (all the way through undergrad), I was one of those performers who liked music that always required playing. I’m not sure if I just didn’t have the patience to sit and count rests, but I grew out of that. I started listening to what was going on in the music during my rests instead of focusing on how much of a drag it was to count 80 measures of rest during a slow movement. I realized that the music during that rest was usually very important to what I was going to do when I made my entrance. If I was out of touch with what was happening musically, I would not be able to enter with the sensitivity needed to be successful in my position as an orchestral trumpet player. So I guess I’ll get to the point of this question, is orchestral trumpet playing musically gratifying. I would say absolutely. There are times, such as big moments in a Mahler Symphony, or during Strauss Tone Poems where I get to play a large role in the music making process. It is easy to say that during these moments, it is very gratifying to be an orchestral trumpet player. Even during Mozart Symphonies, I am reminded that I am part of a larger musical organism, and at times I contribute to the success of that organism. The times that I am not contributing as a player (AKA counting rests), I get front row seats to hear some of the best music in the world.

Dan: That’s a great way of looking at it! And, I understand it totally depends on the personality of the trumpet player. So, on the subject of orchestras, I’m curious about your perspectives on conductors and new music. In what ways do you think conductors should interact with contemporary composers, and what does this imply for the future of art music?

Tim: Conductors are looking to give the music they program, their own interpretation. Composers are looking to have their music portrayed in a way that is characteristic of what they envisioned while writing the work. There seems to be a fine line here. If conductors open up to composers, and the composers dictate how every detail should be carried out, is there going to be any musical freedom? Most likely, no. This may lead to a lackluster performance. If conductors and composers stay out of touch, and the conductor takes the musical features in a different direction, it could greatly distort the initial intention of the composer. I believe conductors and contemporary composers should have a dialogue about musical direction of the piece, but they should both know that both the composer and the conductor are important to the successful performance and reception of the piece. The conductor may have an idea that may further solidify the ideas that the composer had. The composer may hear something the conductor is trying to do in the music and have an idea on how to make that musical idea even more engaging. I believe it should be a courteous dialogue where both are respectful of the music making process. Positive working relationships between composers and conductors could mean for more quality new music for symphony orchestras and other ensembles.

Dan: As a composer, I agree. I hope a lot of conductors see it this way. I have some conductors lined up for interviews soon, so I am looking forward to hearing their perspectives on this too! Anyway, thank you for talking with me and sharing your perspectives as a solo trumpet player and as an orchestral musician.

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[Tim leaves, and Dan’s snarky journalist frenemy, Guy, enters.]

Guy: Wow, I never knew that trumpet players could be so intelligent! Just kidding.

Dan: Perhaps this is one thing we actually agree on! [Smiles.] I really enjoyed listening to Tim’s thoughts. Once again, like a composer, Tim is interested in conveying emotion through music. This may not seem surprising in the big picture sense, but I think it’s easy for musicians and even composers to forget this sometimes when we get bogged down in the technical aspects of our art.

Guy: This is true. I also appreciate his perspectives on new music in general. It will be interesting to see if his perspectives are shared by other performers or conductors.

Dan: Indeed. Well, see you next time!

Guy: Cheerio.