Learning from Giants
When a giant figure like Steve Jobs dies, everyone feels a need to comment. Of course, writing or commenting often helps us process our grief and shock in sad moments like these. But, sifting through the volume of comments and articles can be overwhelming.
I don’t have anything new to say about Steve Jobs’ death of legacy, however I think I found just the right article for artists, composers and any entrepreneur. It is by David Cutler, author of The Savvy Musician. You can read his article here: What Artists Can Learn from Steve Jobs, but I wanted to just highlight a few of the lessons David so aptly summarizes:
#2: To create the future, you can’t do it through focus groups – When most businesses envision new products, they interview consumers to see what these folks want. But not Steve Jobs. He relied on his own inner compass. The masses were unlikely to imagine the phone or music playing device of the future. But he could.
Most artists also have a focus group, whether they realize it or not. It’s made up of teachers, colleagues, family members, and friends, who all have their own ideas about how life should look, what career you should have, and which art you should create. But what if they’re wrong? Innovators find their own way. Following conventional wisdom is rarely the best solution.
This next one is true of life in general:
#4. You can’t connect the dots forward – only backward – Also from the Stanford speech. His point here is that things don’t always make sense in the moment (a terrible car accident, getting fired, etc.). In the future, you’ll be able to see how these important events helped shape you, but not always in the moment.
There are 10 total quotes from Steve Jobs which David then relates to musicians. It’s well worth reading and pondering.
Read MoreThe Paradoxical Musical Life
I just came back from our KMTA conference where one of the college faculty on a panel answered the question, “How do you prepare a student who wants to study music?” with a “Well, I honestly don’t know if I would recommend a career in music these days.” While what she said might have been shocking to some, she went on to say some very valuable things about developing all the interests you have when you are college age and then seeing where that takes you rather than choosing too early to only focus on just one thing. Jobs are hard to come by now in the arts was her main point.
So, I was very excited to get this article by Bradley Sowash who speaks to this exact point. Please read this excellent article to help your own career as well as the career path of your students.
The Paradoxical Music Life
Sometimes the seemingly random path we travel as musicians comes around to reveal a larger, more organized pattern in hindsight. Let me illustrate how my own experience came around sideways to lifelong goals. My childhood dream was to be the next Aaron Copland or George Gershwin – an American composer that doesn’t just live here but in the fuller sense, writes concert music influenced by our American traditions. After college, I was naively surprised upon moving to New York City with a music degree and a box of compositions that the job category of “full-time freelance American composer” didn’t exist. So, I worked as a jazz pianist and dance accompanist for the next 20 years building a reputation along the way as a “concert” concert and recording artist who played in art centers and churches and not just behind fica trees in restaurants and lobbies.Of course, I continued to compose during this time – mostly solo piano for myself but also for choreographers, independent filmmakers and church musicians, but the bulk of my music making necessarily centered around gigs in order to make a living.
Read MoreMemory Slips of the Pros
I was so encouraged when I read the article “Lapse” from New Music Box. It seems that composer Kevin Puts was performing as the soloist for his own premier of his Piano Concerto when he lost his place! Kevin writes,
I don’t know where I am…
Suddenly and inexplicably I am lost. In the orchestra to my left, the piccolo plays a staccato high C, the highest one possible, then a low B-flat spat outsforzando by the contrabassoon, some parallel triads orchestrated with winds and strings pizzicato. I can’t remember how my part fits into that. Marin Alsop stops conducting; the audience is utterly silent. I think I say, “Sorry, I have to start the third movement again.” Marin for sure says, “Really? It was going so well.”
I gather my nerves and start again…
You must read what happens next and how he deals with the resulting flood of thoughts that plague him as he begins the piece yet again. I think that anyone ever having any kind of memory glitch will find this article encouraging and will give us something to share with our students who might be afraid of such things.
And with conviction, I can finally say to my students: “It happens to all of us!”
Read MoreASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize
ASCAP has announced its competition for the Rudolf Nissim Prize for Composition.
PRIZE: $5,000
FOR THE BEST ORIGINAL CONCERT MUSIC SCORE REQUIRING CONDUCTOR
Dr. Rudolf Nissim, who served as head of ASCAP’s Foreign Department for four decades, also established the Concert Music Department. Prior to fleeing to the United States in 1940, Nissim had been Managing Director of the Austrian Performing Rights Society (AKM) for seven years. Dr. Nissim’s dedication to Concert Music and its creators was an inspiration to his colleagues, and his generous bequest to The ASCAP Foundation is a reminder of his legacy in perpetuity.
GUIDELINES
ELIGIBILITY: All living concert composer members of ASCAP. Prior winners of this Prize are ineligible.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Postmark no later than November 15, 2010.
MATERIAL TO BE SUBMITTED: The bound score (copy, not original manuscript), of ONE published or unpublished original concert work (no arrangements) requiring a conductor, scored for full orchestra, chamber orchestra, or large wind/brass ensemble (with or without soloists and/or chorus) not previously premiered or scheduled for professional premiere at any future date. A work with a performance history will be eligible only if earlier performances were, in the judgment of the Committee, clearly non-professional. For this exception to be granted, information regarding performances such as programs and anouncements, must be submitted with the score. Please note that performances by College, University, Conservatory, Community and Youth Orchestras are non-professional and eligible for this competition. Works commissioned by a professional ensemble or scheduled for a professional premiere are ineligible. Works which set a text protected by copyright must include permission of the author or the author’s representative.
Please download the application below. Unbound scores will NOT be accepted. So that submitted material may be returned, you are required to provide a large self-addressed postage-paid mailer. A separate letter-sized envelope containing the Application and Composer Biography must be included with the bound score. Please indicate duration on the score. You may include an electronic realization or a recording with your submission.
ANONYMITY: All works must be submitted anonymously, with a pseudonym appearing on the score. Except for your pseudonym, remove all references to your name, the publisher name, as well as all dedications and/or acknowledgements from the score. If you submit a CD, please clearly indicate your pseudonym, and the performing ensemble and conductor.
JUDGES: Three conductors will serve as jurors.
Download Application Materials in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
ADDRESS INQUIRIES AND/OR SUBMISSIONS TO:
Frances Richard
Vice President & Director of Concert Music}|
The ASCAP Foundation/Rudolf Nissim Prize
ASCAP Building – One Lincoln Plaza
New York, New York 10023
212.621.6329
Email inquiries: mspudic@ascap.com
Mona Rejino’s Life Outside Music
Too often, when we only know someone in one context, they get stuck in our minds existing only in that specific context. Sometimes we see a teacher as someone always teaching, not someone who enjoys competitive cycling. Sometimes we see a pastor as someone dressed up always helping people, not someone who works out at the local Y. Since this frequently happens with me, I thought it might be good to ask our featured composer, Mona Rejino what she likes to do outside of teaching and composing music. (Don’t forget about the opportunity to submit an interview question to Mona.) Here is her response:
Keeping Up with Current Events
I feel compelled to keep up with current events, so I read the newspaper, Time and Newsweek magazines faithfully. To me there is nothing more interesting and enlightening than excellent journalism.
Cooking
My husband and I love to cook together! We make everything from “Flatiron Steak with Avacado-Corn Relish” to “Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette.” He loves to roast ancho and guajillo peppers to make homemade salsa, and I enjoy trying all sorts of seafood recipes since they tend to be more healthy. I tend to follow the recipes fairly closely, and he is a better improviser in the kitchen. All in all, we turn out some pretty good chow!
Traveling
Traveling is something our family looks forward to when we are able to get away. The most fantastic vacation we ever took was to Italy in 2005 with our two children. We spent about ten days in Assisi, Cortona, Siena, Florence, San Gimignano and Rome. The artistic and historical masterpieces we observed were unbelievable, and we enjoyed gelato usually more than once a day! We have also taken some breathtaking trips to the Pacific Northwest, Colorado and Alberta, Canada where we explored the mountains and valleys in awe of the natural beauty. We have taken a couple of short trips to New York City which were great fun! There is so much to see there, and the pulse of that city is like none other. For Richard and I, who grew up in very small farming towns in West Texas, these vacations have afforded us great adventures that were so much fun to share with our children.
Don’t forget to submit your interview questions to Mona here by September 27th.
Read MoreWho is Mona Rejino? Things you may not know…
I hope you and your students are thinking of some questions to ask Mona for our composer interview! Please submit these in the comments section of this Composer Interview post. Here is a brief preliminary interview with Mona which discusses interesting things you may not know.
What are some things about yourself that teachers and students may not know?
I have been a lifelong pianist, and that is literally a true statement. Around age four I began to try to pick out tunes by ear on my grandmother’s piano. They were simple nursery rhyme tunes, folk songs, and Sunday school songs that I was familiar with. Luckily my parents noticed my musical interest and bought me an old upright from a farmer’s family who lived in our small hometown in west Texas. I can tell you even now that it was love at first sight for me and that clunker piano!
Neither of my parents were musicians. But my granddad played piano, guitar and “fiddle” by ear, as well as having a wonderful tenor singing voice. I spent many happy hours jamming with him on tunes as varied as “Way Down Yonder”, “Under the Double Eagle”, “I’ll Fly Away” and “What a Day That Will Be”. Our family and friends would often gather for what we called “sing-songs”. Anyone who could play a musical instrument of any sort or could carry a tune was invited to join in. My grandmother did neither, but she was a loyal supporter and always listened to us with a smile on her face. In hindsight I realize that this was great training for me as an accompanist, church musician, and even a jazz pianist, all musical pursuits I would encounter later on.
My parents were able to find a good teacher who taught me how to read music. I have always felt that being a competent sight-reader and playing by ear [See the great "Myths of Playing by Ear" by Bradley Sowash] has been a real blessing for me. The combination of the two has opened many doors, especially as a composer and arranger.
Tell us about your job as a piano teacher.
I have been a teacher ever since I graduated from college in 1983. Sharing my love and knowledge of music with others is one of the greatest joys of my professional life. Right now, I have students ranging in age from five years old to seventy, and each of them brings something special into my life. My husband and I have run the Rejino Piano Studio out of our home for twenty-seven years, and we still have eleven students who study with us here.
In 2000 I began teaching private lessons at the Hockaday School in Dallas. It is a very fine school for girls including Pre-K students through seniors. Most of my thirty-two Hockaday girls take lessons during school hours, so this gives me more time to spend with my family and to work on arranging and composing projects at home.
What is your favorite part of the composition process?
I love that “light bulb” moment when you get an idea that you know will work well. Honestly, these ideas often come to me when I’m in the shower or driving to school! I always keep a pencil and paper handy to jot down the basic melodic theme or harmonic structure that can be fleshed out later.
I’ll give you one example. Over ten years ago our family was hiking in Oregon on our summer vacation. It was a calm, quiet morning, and the vistas were breathtaking. As we climbed higher and higher, a melody and Aaron Copland style harmony flooded my brain. We stopped to take a rest and I asked my husband if he happened to have paper and pencil in his backpack. Since he tends to carry everything but the kitchen sink on hikes, he did indeed! From that bit of sketchy notation I was able to complete “Mountain Splendor” upon arriving at home, and have enjoyed teaching it to several students over the years.
Many years of experience in teaching helps me know how to make particular thematic material accessible to piano students, and taking that basic initial idea and molding it into a final shape that works well is rewarding. I think that being very familiar with the different levels from early elementary through late intermediate is a plus when writing and arranging. You know how to tailor a piece into something playable for students on that specific level.
When did you start composing music for students?
Let me start by saying it is never too late to learn something new. In fact, I’m convinced that “You can teach an old dog new tricks.” Outside of college assignments I never composed anything until age thirty-five! My colleagues and I were working on the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library method books, and there were a few holes to fill with very early level compositions. I remember having a day when two sisters who studied with me canceled their lessons at the last minute. Having some free time, I decided to compose a few little pieces to send in. I was amazed that they were accepted, and that gave me the confidence to continue composing more. A couple of years after that I sent in a few arrangements of popular songs, and that began my career as an arranger, an equally rewarding musical task.
Thank you, Mona for telling us so much about yourself and your composition process!
Don’t forget to submit your interview question for Mona on this blog post!
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