EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings: Composer Spotlight - Nathan Kelly

Composer Nathan Kelly's music reflects his eclectic mix of musical experiences, from playing gospel piano in East Texas churches, to Broadway in pit orchestras in New York City, to bands on cruise ships around the world, to working in Hollywood with music producers and film composers. He has orchestrated for artists such as Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart, Jackie Evancho, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Lopez; Broadway shows (Gypsy, Curtains, The Tony Awards); TV’s Macy's 4th of July Fireworks on NBC, Audra McDonald on PBS and more; and was recently a Visiting Artist at The American Academy in Rome.

Nathan was selected for the EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings for his piece Redwood, which will be workshopped and conducted by Music Director Andrew Constantine in a final read-through on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. Details here.

Nathan spoke with us about the piece and what he looks forward to at the readings.

Composer Nathan Kelly

American Composers Orchestra: In addition to composing contemporary classical works, your career includes orchestrations for many major artists, Broadway, and TV productions. Can you talk about how your composing process differs when composing in these two very different settings?

Nathan Kelly: ​Orchestrating for other people is a lot of guessing what the composer's intentions are - if they really mean these pitches, these durations, these instruments, this key or is anything you're given just an approximation of an effect or are you supposed to enhance it, to re-write it and to what degree should you add or subtract.  It's a big guess and you do better, the more you work with the composer, as opposed to when writing my own things, you I don't have to guess.  

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings?

NK: ​I'm looking forward to hearing it and seeing how it comes to life and what things I did really work well and what things take more work or could be better.

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ACO: What aspects of Redwood do you hope to improve or fine tune?​

​I anticipate possibly rewriting one section that is aleotoric notation with a deliberately thick orchestration (done so, because it's easier to subtract instruments than write them in on the stand).  There are a few spots with some cues written in that say "Cue: Play if asked" and if time allows, I might want to hear some passages on other instruments. 

The EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings culminate in a final read-through which is free and open to the public -- Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7:30pm. Details here.

Learn more about Nathan at www.nathankelly.com

EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings: Composer Spotlight - Sohwa Lee

Korean-born composer and theorist Sohwa Lee (b. 1987) received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in composition at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul. She currently studies music composition and theory at Mannes School of Music in New York City.

Sohwa was selected for the EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings for her piece Palindrome, which will be workshopped and conducted by Music Director Andrew Constantine in a final read-through on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. Details here.

Sohwa spoke with us about the piece and what she looks forward to at the readings.

Composer Sohwa Lee

American Composers Orchestra: Your biography says that you strongly embrace a sense of humor in your approach to music. Can you talk about the ways that this manifests itself? What specific musical elements might the audience recognize as humorous? Is humor a feature of your selected piece Palindrome?

Sohwa Lee: Shortly after moving to New York, I had a big realization about myself. I used to work alone and I think I made myself pretty isolated. It was bringing a sense of inflexibility to my music, almost like a textbook. Now, I have come to realize the importance of interacting and being inspired by other people and with that, how humor is always a good way to break the ice. Music is one of the languages that I can speak, so as a composer, I have found that humor is an important tool in that language as well. I want people to feel happy and to have fun when they listen to my music. In the middle of Palindrome, there is a moment to me evokes the image of toy soldiers, almost like video game music. Overall, it is a serious piece of music – a palindrome is a complex form to write a piece based on – but I wanted to include some fun and relaxed moments.

ACO: You have created a new arrangement of Palindrome for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra EarShot Readings from the original version premiered by the Mannes School of Music Orchestra. Can you talk about some of the orchestration decisions you had to make? Is there anything that you are particularly excited (or nervous) to hear when FW Phil performs this version for the first time?

SL: The new arrangement was created just for a practical reason: FW Phil has no piano (which is common) so I had to change that part of the piece. Other than that it's not very different than the version Mannes Orchestra premiered. I’m sure that FW Phil will perform it wonderfully.

ACO: Can you talk about the Gamelan music and Asian themes you use in Palindrome?

SL: I used these elements to make a contrast with the first section. I get a lot of inspiration from music from the early 1900s, when a lot of composers were being influenced by music from Asia.

ACO: What are you looking forward to about the workshops and readings? What aspects of Palindrome do you hope to improve or fine tune?

I look forward to seeing the other composers in the workshops. Meeting other composers always give me inspiration and motivation because composers always work hard.

I know my strengths and weaknesses in music. Palindrome is the first symphony piece that I’ve written so far. My process for composing Palindrome was meticulous and thorough, but there are always areas you know could be better. I wish I had more clear score for performers. I think that's the most important job as a composer in my side.

The EarShot Fort Wayne Philharmonic Readings culminate in a final read-through which is free and open to the public -- Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7:30pm. Details here.

Follow Sohwa on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Soundcloud.