Composer Conversations with Daniel Vezza

Scott is a composer based in New York. He was the Artistic Director of Red Light New Music and is currently Associate Director of New Publications for Project Schott New York. You can listen to and look at his music at www.scottwollschleger.com. I also attached a score to this post.In our conversation we talk about his opinions and goals on music publishing and marketing in the U.S., his approach to creating his own scores, and how he wants his music to feel when being performed.

Evan is a composer from the U.S. who is currently based in Berlin. He has also spent an extended amount of time in Norway where he studied at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. His music has been played by such groups as, Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Jack Quartet, and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. You can find more of his music at www.evangardner.com.In our conversation we talk about when a composer should or should not write safe music, the difference of expectations between European and American audiences, and risk assessment in both poker and composing.

Paul is a composer living in Berlin. He is part of the composer collective Klangnetz as well as a band member of the trio Brandt Brauer Frick, whose music is featured at the end of this interview. The piece is called Teufelsleiter.In our conversation we talk about his time living as a composer in Barcelona, his love for complexity in dance and club music, and adapting elements of electronic music into acoustic realities.

Robert is a composer and pianist living in Brooklyn, NY. He co-founded the Sleeping Giant composer collective and co-directs the Fast Forward Austin music festival. You can listen to more of his music at http://www.roberthonstein.com/In our conversation we talk about the importance of staying involved in a new music scene, the delicate balance of collaborations, and being stylistically flexible depending on the circumstances of a commission. The first piece played on this recording was part of a project done by Sleeping Giant and contains music from both Ted Hearne and Robert Honstein.

Heather is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music, improviser and experimental flutist and works on sound installations. You can listen to more of her music at http://heatherfrasch.wordpress.com/In our conversation we talk about her time living and studying in France, when people need and don’t need a structured lifestyle, and different methods and reasons for notating music outside of convention. We talk about her piece “the silence that reigns…” as well as the program note she wrote for it, so I’ve attached the first 10 pages of the score to this post.Heather Frasch the silence that reigns

Oscar is an Italian-Swiss composer who has studied in Milan, Paris, and New York. He has been awarded numerous prizes, such as the Gaudeamus first Prize, the Dussurget Prize, the Asm-Stv Prize, the Aargauer Kuratorium fellowship and the Ictus fellowship. You can find more of his music at www.oscarbianchi.com/In our conversation we talk about being able to develop an overview between cultures, the contradiction between synthesizing new aesthetics and further refining craft, and his work with the Ictus Ensemble on his cantata Matra.

Missy is a composer based in New York as well as the keyboardist for Victoire, a band dedicated to playing her own compositions. In our conversation we talk about why certain genres are emphasized in academia, finding the joy in networking, and learning how to filter and react to criticism. You can find more of her music at www.missymazzoli.comSpecial thanks to Eight Blackbird and Cedille Records for their permission to use Still Life with Avalanche in this interview.

Mauricio is a Costa Rican composer and electric bass player based in the UK. He is co-director and founder of the Distractfold Ensemble and of the Altavoz Composers. He also performs with the Manchester-based trio, A Greater Horror. You can listen to his music at www.mauriciopauly.com/In our conversation we talk about the first half of a composition workshop we participated in with Ensemble Dal Niente, how composers gain experience and improve, and if artists need structure in their daily lives.

Jacob is a composer living and working in New York. He is a member of the composer collective Sleeping Giant, as well as having been a faculty member at Amherst College.In our conversation we talk about his opera Timberbrit, his approach to electronic music, and if staying too long in an academic institution can be counter productive. You can listen to more of his works at www.jacobcoopermusic.com/

Asmus is a composer who is currently working towards a Ph.d in philosophy at Humboldt University. He is also a member of Klangnetz, a collective of young composers living in Berlin, as well as co-founding the publishing house Lunardi Verlag.In our conversation we talk about the international culture in Berlin, what its like living in a city with no aesthetic consensus, balancing life as a composer and philosopher, and the effect higher learning institutions have on the artists associated with them.