Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer Sivan Eldar, Part 2

Berkeley Symphony Music Director Joana Carneiro reviews composer Sivan Eldar’s score for A Thousand Tongues at a session at the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings.

SoundAdvice catches up with composer Sivan Eldar, who is participating in the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings on May 4 and 5, 2014 at the Osher Studio in Berkeley, CA. Sivan shared with us her experience of working with Berkeley Symphony Music Director Joana Carneiro, mentor-composers Robert Beaser and Ed Campion, and the musicians that performed her piece, A Thousand Tongues, at the first Readings session in February.

American Composers Orchestra: How would you describe your experience at the first Readings session back in February?

Sivan Eldar: Everyone involved was extremely enthusiastic, curious, thoughtful. And also extremely generous. It was a great experience.

ACO: What did you learn from the experience of working with the mentor composers, Maestro Joana Carneiro, and the musicians of the Berkeley Symphony on your piece? Have your interactions with them impacted your composition? If so how?

S.E.: I really enjoyed working with Joana Carneiro. During the reading I jotted down comments on my score: a gesture that needed to blend better, a texture that needed to be brighter or more delicate. But before I had a chance to say anything, she was already rehearsing those parts again, and getting the balance just right. She seemed to understand our music in a very intuitive way.

I also thought that Robert Beaser and Ed Campion – our mentor composers – were a great pair. During the feedback session, when one would focus on form, the other would fill in the gaps about orchestration, and vise versa. They were full of energy and very passionate about helping us make our pieces as good as possible. To me the sessions with them were inspiring, not only as a composer, but also as a teacher of young composers.

As for the musicians of the Berkeley Symphony, I was very motivated by their willingness to think critically about our music and share their thoughts and comments. My piece opens with a flute/clarinet duet accompanied by percussion. The feedback I got from these three players, both before and after the reading, added character to the opening, and a new kind of depth. I have already incorporated their suggestions into the score!

ACO: What was the experience like to hear your piece read by the Berkeley Symphony? Has listening to your piece performed live provided any insights into how you will further develop your work?  

S.E.: To be honest, I was very nervous about the first half of the piece. The texture was sparse and a little unusual for the orchestra: breathy bass flute, very soft bass clarinet, inhales in the brass section. I was afraid that it would come across as “too thin” rather than intimate and dreamlike. Interestingly, it turned out to be the most interesting and haunting section of the piece. And also the material that I ended up developing most for the second reading.

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer Nicholas Omiccioli, Part 2

SoundAdvice checks in with composer Nicholas Omiccioli, who is about to participate in the second installment of the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings on May 4 and 5, 2014 at the Osher Studio in Berkeley, CA. Nick brings his work burning to the Readings with the Berkeley Symphony conducted by Joana Carneiro. We catch up with him to find out how the first Reading session went back in February, what he learned, and how he's preparing for the next and final Reading sessions next week. Read on to find out what he's been up to and listen to push/pull (2013), the piece he describes as "an exploration of rock music's influence on my compositions," and the precursor to burning.

American Composers Orchestra: What is the most valuable piece of advice that you received at the first reading session with the Berkeley Symphony in February?

Nicholas Omiccioli: The most valuable advice I received was concerning the individual parts for the musicians. I ended up having too many cues and it was suggested that I take most of them out and give the musicians multi-measure rests instead. They seemed more comfortable counting than trying to follow along with who was playing.

ACO: What was the most surprising or unexpected experience of the session?

N.O.: Some of my experiences with orchestras in the past have been less than ideal, so I went into this situation with some reservations. Fortunately though, I was happily surprised with how supportive and helpful the musicians were with their feedback. It felt like a true collaboration. I thought the rehearsal was extremely productive and the orchestra surpassed my expectations in every way. They nailed the character of the piece and all the difficult passage-work I wrote for them. The piece came together rather quickly and wouldn't have taken much more rehearsal time to be performance-ready.

ACO: Have you made many changes to your piece since the reading?  If so, what has changed?

N.O.: I only had a draft of the piece back in February, so there have been a number of edits and additions. The initial draft was missing a transition and an ending. For the performance in May, I'm happy to say that the piece is completed, although, I anticipate a few small edits after the reading before I officially call it "done." Other than the additional material, the most drastic change is the deletion of almost a hundred measures of music. During the February reading, I thought one of the sections was too square, repetitive, and quite frankly, "cheesy." It worked out surprisingly well to delete this section and I think the overall shape of the piece improved because of it.

ACO: Is there anything you'd say to other composers about the process of working with an orchestra? Any insights you would like to offer?

N.O.: I was truly inspired after working with Joana and the Berkeley Symphony, they made this one of the most rewarding musical experiences I have ever had. I think it takes composers a few test runs with an orchestra to learn how to write for them and what's expected in rehearsal. You have to be good at thinking on your feet. Having written mostly chamber music before this opportunity, the best advice I have for composers is to simplify your ideas and present them in the clearest way possible.

Listen to Nick Omiccioli's push/pull (2013):

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer B.P. Herrington, Part 2

SoundAdvice checks in with composer B. P. Herrington, who is about to participate in the second installment of the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings on May 4 and 5, 2014 at the Osher Studio in Berkeley, CA. B. P. brings his work A Region Lovelier Far, which he describes as a poem about his native region in East Texas, to the Readings with the Berkeley Symphony conducted by Joana Carneiro. We catch up with him to find out how the first Reading session went back in February, what he learned, and how he's preparing for the next and final Reading sessions next week. Read on to find out what he's been up to, and listen to him sing the original version of a folk song he references in A Region Lovelier Far.

American Composers Orchestra: What is the most valuable piece of advice that you received at the first Reading session with the Berkeley Symphony in February?

B. P. Herrington: I mostly needed advice to get my "fiddling" sections right. The riskiest aspect of my February test-run was the integral incorporation of fiddling techniques, especially the shuffle of the bow and the ornamentation. This was risky aesthetically since I’m absorbing the techniques into my own language which is not tonal or characterized by steady pulse (the last thing on earth I want is a literal representation or an evocation of Americana). In addition to my own inborn sense of ornamentation and color, and messing around with my own fiddle, I picked the brains of Texas fiddler Howard Rains.

He played tunes for me (to my delight) and I asked him question after question in order to understand the technique from the inside-out. In the first EarShot reading, I strove to see how much intricacy I could involve the entire string section in: that turned out to be very tricky! After reading the musicians’ feedback forms and talking to the string section leaders and my EarShot mentors Robert Beaser and Edmund Campion, I tackled this problem. I’ve since thoroughly revised these sections with ample use of divisi strings, so the first couple of stands take the truly intricate material and the other stands have pared down material (but still with the shuffle!).     

ACO: What was the most surprising or unexpected experience of the session?

B. P. H.: The way I’ve refracted these native (folk) materials caused an unexpected cognitive dissonance for some of the string players. One of the sections is called “Ike Ard’s Fiddle” named for a fiddle that came down through my family from my great grandfather, Ike Ard (in the photo to the right, with my grandfather LG Ard near the Tyler County line in Texas). I suppose this heading set up expectations for something that would sound like Mark O’Connor’s music, and some of the players, though they all played the heck out of it with great commitment, found my abstraction and fragmentation to be a drawback. On the other hand, many loved it and asked for more. In the end, I didn’t change my tune, so to speak, but I did learn a lesson about communication of intent! At any rate, the audience will be able to pick out certain tunes that spill out while I’m writing – all of them from my home area in the Big Thicket of Texas.

Listen to B.P. singing the original folk song That Blood, which is referenced in his orchestral work A Region Lovelier Far:



ACO: Have you made many changes to your piece since the February Readings? If so, what has changed?

B. P. H.: The first reading featured only four distinct episodes of the musical narrative, and all of these relied on chamber texture. I’ve now spun out the entire musical story. Well, it’s more of a poem, really. There are now full-bodied orchestral sections (introduction, transitions, and conclusion) that give the narrative some kind of sweep. Though many of these new sections are very tightly contrapuntal, I relaxed and wrote a laid-back Gospel section called “Altar Call” that evokes slow highly emotional Pentecostal music I heard growing up in our small church – a type of music meant to compel folks to come down to the front of the church and get the Holy Ghost.  (And, in fact, a section near the end captures the ecstasy of speaking in tongues.)      

ACO: Is there anything you'd say to other composers about the process of working with an orchestra? Any insights you would like to offer?

B. P. H.: In writing orchestral music, there seems to be a happy medium between dreaming big and being practical. But it starts with the big dream. After that, you can work (through humility and common sense) toward the practical solution.

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer Nicholas Omiccioli

Composer Nicholas Omiccioli 

Tapping into his roots in performing in heavy metal bands, composer Nicholas Omiccioli gives us a glimpse into his composition process for his latest work, burning, and also what he is most looking forward to in participating in this weekend’s Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings! 

American Composers Orchestra: What was the inspiration for your composition? How would you describe your composition process? 

Nicholas Omiccioli: My original goal was to write a piece inspired by my early musical roots playing guitar in heavy metal bands. As the piece developed, the literal translation of what I was going for turned more abstract. While I chose to forgo adding a drum kit and metal-style riffs, the tempo of the piece is still extremely fast and has an aggressive edge. Alternatively, moments of repose and atmospheric-like textures made their way into the work, offering more of a relaxed feel.

In a nutshell, my compositional process begins with improvisation, score study, and a considerable amount of time thinking before I write any music. Most of the time, I know what I want so my improvisations are guided to fine-tuning the raw material. After arriving at a handful of motives, melodies, chords, pitch content, and a formal outline, I jot ideas down and work out more substantial sections. While I try to always start at the beginning of a piece, it is not always the case. I plan extensively about where I want to go with the material and set up a number of processes to help accomplish those goals. By this time, I have probably discovered something new about the piece, or I change a parameter—such as a motive, theme, or pitch content—and typically start the entire process over again. This step takes the longest to figure out because I find myself at a fork in the road with just about everything I write. What path do I want to take? Do I have enough time and/or technique to take this path or should I go with what I know works? Once I have decided on a direction, the music essentially writes itself. After I notate the piece, I print it and re-notate it all again. This is when I fine-tune and hopefully correct all of my mistakes.
For burning, rather than deciding on which path to take, I took both of them.

ACO: Since the selection of your work for the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings, how have you further developed your piece in preparation for the readings? 

NO: I chose to write a new piece for the Berkeley Symphony. All the material is fresh and has not been recycled from other works. The two-and-a-half months I had to arrive at a draft was spent frantically writing as much material as I could. Because the tempo of my piece is insanely fast, there are a ridiculous number of notes. This reading, therefore, will be the deciding factor in how the work develops over the next few months in preparing for the May run-through.  

ACO: What do you hope to get out of this experience of having your piece read by the Berkeley Symphony and in working with the mentor-composers? 

NO: For me, having the chance to hear a work in progress live is an incredible advantage when writing a new piece. I hope that this opportunity for me to experiment outside of my comfort zone will help me grow as a composer and affect future decisions I make. These can include taking more—or even less—risks and having a better grasp on what works and what does not. The feedback from the mentor-composers, as well as comments from the other composition participants, musicians, and conductor will have a significant impact on how I make final preparations

ACO: What are you most looking forward to in participating in these New Music Readings? 

NO: I'm looking forward to the entire overall experience! I'm excited to get to know Joana Carneiro and the musicians of the Berkeley Symphony. It is incredible that they've offered their time to help out so many young composers in developing pieces over the years, and I'm humbled to be a part of it. I'm also looking forward to meeting the other composers and hearing their music, as well as working with mentor-composers Robert Beaser and Edmund Campion. It also goes without saying that I can't wait to hear these two excerpts from my piece, which have all but taken over my life since October!

ACO: What would you like to say to other composers who may be interested in applying to future New Music Readings? 

NO: As I tell all of my students, apply, apply, apply! This program promises to be a great experience for developing a new orchestral work, especially if you have not had much experience writing for orchestra or the opportunity. 

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer Ruben Naeff

Composer Ruben Naeff   Photo: Elsbeth Tijssen

In this interview with composer Ruben Naeff, find out how a great literary work inspired his latest composition, Danse Macabre, which will be read at the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings this weekend.

American Composers Orchestra: What was the inspiration for your composition? How would you describe your composition process? 

Ruben Naeff: Moby Dick! This year I worked with my friends from West 4th New Music on an oratorio about Moby Dick that will be performed by Contemporaneous during the MATA Interval Series on February 21st in New York. I decided to select a few passages from my movements and develop the material into a larger, unified work for orchestra. The composition process is always a mysterious activity: I am changing musical fragments that I already have into as many variations as I can come up with and then I select the ones that get me tick. I am basically chasing the most beautiful or exciting musical moments. It remains very abstract what beautiful or exciting actually means. It happens very often that my initial starting point -- Moby Dick in this case -- is not present anymore at a later stage. That doesn't matter: I care about the notes, and the rest is secondary. In this case I ended up with something that reminded me most to a dance with death, or a Danse Macabre, as it is called.

ACO: Since the selection of your work for the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings, how have you further developed your piece in preparation for the readings? 

RN: Ask a composer for an existing piece and he will give you a new one -- that is what composers do, right, compose new music. So my piece wasn't selected as it did not exist at that time yet. But as I wrote above, it was based on another piece that I recently wrote.

ACO:  What do you hope to get out of this experience of having your piece read by the Berkeley Symphony and in working with the mentor-composers? 

RN: As much advice as possible, on every possible concept of composing. Obviously technical things on orchestration, or practical things on score preparation, but also artistic comments on the musical material, its development, its form -- everything.

ACO: What are you most looking forward to in participating in these New Music Readings? 

RN: Getting to know great musicians, both performers and composers, both my peers and my mentors, and talking about music as long as we can. That, and of course hearing my new piece performed by this stellar orchestra, and learning about the million things I could have done better. And the best part is: those are the million things that I actually will do better, since there is time to improve my piece for the second reading. That opportunity is in one word amazing, and in two words extremely rare.

ACO: What would you like to say to other composers who may be interested in applying to future New Music Readings? 

RN: Don't hesitate, apply!

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer Sivan Eldar

Composer Sivan Eldar    Photo: Mathieu Desruisseaux 

In the past year, composer Sivan Eldar has been travelling around the world, inspiring her latest composition, A Thousand Tongues, which will be read at the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings. Find out how yoga, letter writing, and reading all played a role in Sivan’s composition process!

ACO: What was the inspiration for your composition? How would you describe your composition process? 

Sivan Eldar: I had just moved back to San Francisco when I got the call from ACO in October. Life was moving very quickly until then. The months before I was in Prague, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Berlin, NYC, DC. For some people that is normal, maybe they travel a lot for work or as part of an ensemble. But I’m used to spending a lot of time at home, doing things very slowly. Having only a few days in each place, to spend with people who are very special to me, was a very intense and strange experience. But also a very beautiful one. When I moved back to SF I knew that I would be living inside those memories for a while. So after I got off the phone with Greg at ACO I decided that through this piece I would spend time with these people and places. During the month I was composing I turned off the internet from 9am-8pm. I read a lot. I wrote letters. I spent time on my yoga mat at home. That was my process – slowing down time, and also giving time. I think one can hear it in the composition.

ACO:  Since the selection of your work for the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings, how have you further developed your piece in preparation for the readings? 

SE: My piece for the Berkeley Symphony is brand new! I’ve been working on it since late November 2013.

ACO: What do you hope to get out of this experience of having your piece read by the Berkeley Symphony and in working with the mentor-composers? 

SE: I revise my music often. When I work collaboratively with a performer revising becomes part of the compositional process – we discuss sketches, we improvise, we make changes. Having multiple readings with the Berkeley Symphony, and getting immediate feedback from the conductor, the players, and the mentor-composers, is probably the closest I’ll ever get to really collaborating with an orchestra. It’s a very unique opportunity. I am thrilled about that.

ACO:  What would you like to say to other composers who may be interested in applying to future New Music Readings? 

SE: As I said, this is really a unique opportunity. It is a commissioning program that gives you enough time to develop a new work, but also enough feedback to realize it in the best way you can. Any composer who is drawn to the colors of the orchestra should definitely apply!

Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings Composer Spotlight – Composer B.P. Herrington

Composer B. P. Herrington

Composer B.P. Herrington, who will be participating in the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction Readings in February, takes us through his composition process and the impact of  being chosen for the Readings has had on his piece, A Region Lovelier Far. 

ACO: What was the inspiration for your composition? How would you describe your composition process?

B.P. Herrington:  My compositional materials tend to be very humble, drawn from the rural culture of East Texas, and my music is intuitively filled with the rich ornamentation and rhythmic character of that music.   However, my treatment and development of these materials often involves a tremendous amount of rigor: post-tonal processes such as serial organization, rotational arrays, various games.  Hopefully this coexistence of intuition and rigor translates into a rich listening experience.

I compose by hand on a full orchestral score.  I sketch out basic ideas on a separate sheet of manuscript paper then flesh it out on the full score, making every line as unique for each instrument as possible.   

ACO: Since the selection of your work for the Berkeley Symphony EarShot Under Construction New Music Readings, how have you further developed your piece in preparation for the readings?

B.P.H.: Before I received this opportunity, my piece was just a frustrating, unrealized dream.  After I heard I’d been accepted, the piece took on a new life.  There is nothing in the world like writing a piece for a guaranteed performance.  Having the piece read in-progress also removes the mortal dread of miscalculation.   

 

ACO:  What do you hope to get out of this experience of having your piece read by the Berkeley Symphony and in working with the mentor-composers?

B.P.H.: This piece explores ideas I’ve only thus far pursued in a chamber music setting.  I’m eager to absorb and incorporate all the advice and feedback I receive.    

ACO:  What are you most looking forward to in participating in these New Music Readings?

B.P.H.: Hearing the music come alive under the direction of Joana Carneiro and the fantastic musicians!

ACO:  What would you like to say to other composers who may be interested in applying to future New Music Readings?

B.P.H.: This opportunity is one-of-a-kind.