Who or what are the most significant influences on your musical life and career as a composer?
My musical roots embrace a variety of influences; I’ll answer chronologically.
My earliest musical influence was the sweet Celtic lullabies my father would sing, and Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music that kept our family gatherings lively, my father on the mandolin with my accompaniment on guitar. Both of my grandfathers were self-taught country fiddlers. There is a sweetness and charm in that music that I have drawn from in some of my composing, often not realizing it until after a piece is complete. More direct references appear in my Three Dances for violin, flute and piano, and the Hoedown movement from my Symphonic Dances.
Thankfully there was an old upright piano in my home that I began exploring from about the age of five. But I began lessons on snare drum from 4th grade, playing in the school band through middle school, and as the saying goes “once a drummer, always a drummer.” I changed my focus to piano during high school, and composing thereafter, but have continued to play drums and percussion throughout my life in various settings, as a secondary instrument. In my composing, rhythm is often a central aspect of the music; I write many pieces exploring odd time signatures and polyrhythms, and some of my piano writing is percussive in approach. Rhythm is endlessly fascinating for me, and I have often been told that it is one of the defining characteristics of my style. Of the nine pieces in my latest solo piano album Tapestries, six of them use a meter of 5, 7 or 9.
In high school I discovered jazz, and this has been a profoundly influential part of my language. Though I made the choice during my college years to prioritize classical composition as my central focus, jazz has been a secondary musical love throughout my life. During my stay in Tokyo (1989-2013) I made a living as jazz pianist and arranger for many years. As a listener, the most influential jazz musicians would include Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans. That said, I compose plenty of music that is not jazz-flavored, and plenty that is. It comes and goes.
From the western classical tradition, and through my academic studies, there are so many, but tremendously influential figures would include Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartok, Gershwin, Barber, Copland, Steve Reich, Arvo Part.
As for experiences that have shaped my music, my seven years in New York City–with all the contemporary music performances I attended—was a wonderfully stimulating period. And my subsequent 24 years in Tokyo further shaped me as a musician and a person. Being away from my country of birth gave rise to a two-fold process of letting go of some things, and deeply cherishing others. Also, the Japanese sensibility is part of who I am now. I did not study traditional Japanese music, but an aesthetic of space and non-dramatic gesture has broadened my horizons.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
I think the greatest challenge of my career has been promoting my work. I love to make things, but when it comes to the promotion that needs to follow that process, I have tended to move on with the next creative obsession. I’ve made progress in recent years, but overall I wish I had understood the importance of networking and promotion earlier on. My latest undertaking in this regard is—finally giving in to my daughter’s urging—trying some posting on TikTok, as a tool to introduce listeners to my music. And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
What are the special challenges/pleasures of working on a commissioned piece?
The pleasure is the main thing—you have a musician who wants your music and is waiting for it, and you’ll get a performance by someone who will likely do a great job–and you’ll get paid! You also have a specific player so you can create music that is a good fit for that person’s strengths. It’s all quite inspiring. As for the challenges, the main one is when the commission is for a piece you aren’t thrilled to compose, like for instruments that don’t excite you. That’s a tough one, although to my surprise I have found that after I get past the initial resistance, the instruments usually win my heart over and I enjoy the process. It’s like the way classical performers need to love whatever music they are performing, in order to play well.
Of which works are you most proud?
History has shown us that composers often favour works that the public does not. And it’s a tough question, but I do feel that certain works I’ve composed are stronger than others. To list a few:
American Suite (flute and piano)
Suite for Horn, Trombone and Piano
Sonata for Piano
Suite for Cello and Piano
Symphonic Dances
Tapestries (album of 9 pieces)
To A Child’s Heart (piano collection in two volumes)
Variations for Piano and Strings
Serenade for Strings
How would you characterise your compositional language?
I strive to make things that “sing and dance” in a fresh way. Lyricism, beauty of harmony, vibrant and engaging rhythm, all of these things are important to me. I write in a primarily tonally/modally-based language, however I embrace a broad harmonic palette, from tonal to modal to non-tonal. For me the more dissonant harmonies are more interesting if used sparingly, for spice, if at all. In some pieces there is a jazz influence both rhythmically and harmonically. Odd meters and polyrhythms are often present. I primarily compose instrumental music.
How do you work?
Ha-ha…such a brief question that requires such a long answer—if I could! There isn’t a template, but I’ve been composing for many years so I see patterns of behavior that tend to accompany the creative process.
When composing for piano, I use the piano extensively—it is the lifeline. I usually begin by improvising until I come upon something that seems worthy of pursuit. Then the work begins.
When composing for other instruments, including large ensembles, I do a lot of composing while taking walks, or sitting outside with my laptop and its convenient notation playback function.
I often have several false starts before something takes root as a worthy idea. After that, Mark Twain’s quote comes to mind: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” I just keep going until I’m satisfied with the music. The only thing that tells me I’m finished with a passage is that it doesn’t bother me anymore–it satisfies, it feels good. Persistence is the key, but sometimes taking a break is exactly what gives our brain the opportunity to produce a solution, a new spark, an understanding of what needs to be done. I also like to think of it as stepping aside and letting something come to me (not thinking).
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
This is a multi-faceted area that I cannot answer in a singular way. Artistic success is when I am achieving my artistic goals, like creating a work that is strong and engaging, and feeling that I have mastered the materials at hand and composed something good, offered something of value to the world. However, because I write for other musicians, the confirmation of artistic success comes when hearing the music well-played by excellent musicians. There is also career success, and the financial success that comes from it. All of these things are part of my definition of success.
What advice would you give to young/aspiring composers?
My advice is two-fold: 1) study well, study hard, learn some tradition. You need to earn your creative license through knowledge, and ideally going deep into two traditions will serve you well.
2) make the important choice of either pursuing the traditional creative artist’s path, which will likely require making a living doing other things (teaching, performing, non-musical jobs), or devoting yourself to being a commercial composer for media such as video games, film, etc. They are different paths, with different mindsets, so you need to make a decision that sits well with your character, and not get too caught up in practical considerations.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?
The level of polish and visual production that popular music offers people is astonishing, and we have all come to expect that, though classical budgets cannot compete with popular stars. As much as possible, classical musicians need to continue to raise their game regarding presentation and polish. The other thing I would mention is that classical musicians need to keep alert for new and engaging classical music composed by living composers! It takes time and effort to keep looking, but if we can’t discover and champion good new material, there is no expansion, no future for the art form.
What is your most treasured possession?
My family.
What is your present state of mind?
There is a beautiful thing about choosing the path of music. It brings with it an opportunity for tremendous personal growth, baked right into the DNA of the career. If you can navigate the ups and downs of a life in music with growth and increased self-love and love of others, and an ever-increasing knowledge of what is important in life, then rich or poor, successful or not, life can be rewarding.
Keeping the inner child alive and healthy is a prerequisite for music makers, so care must be taken to protect and nurture that. I am more comfortable in my own skin, and I have a greater capacity for happiness, than ever before. And as my dad used to say, “I ain’t no spring chicken”. I still feel very creative, like there are many more pieces to be composed, and no shortage of ideas. I’m thankful for my creative vitality each day. Having something I really love doing ever since I was five years old—what a tremendous blessing that mustn’t be taken for granted. Life is good.
Belle-Kane Publications (digital and hard copy of scores available)
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