Next Gen, New Score

WEBVTT
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Hello and welcome to Classically Speaking. My
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name is Dr. John Sutton and I'm here with the
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amazing Lauren Biggs who is going to be our special
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guest on this podcast as we have this kind of
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topic that I'm excited about, a next -gen new
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score. As a conductor, I'm always looking for
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new scores, old things that have been reinterpreted,
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brand new things that have never been done. And
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Lauren, it's great to have you here to tell us
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about your journey today, about the things that
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you found interesting, some of the challenges
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and just... curves of your life that has led
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you to this point to be a very exciting and emerging
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young composer. So without any further ado, let's
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welcome Lauren Biggs to the studio today. Clap,
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clap, clap, clap. Lauren, we are here and just,
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I'm really excited about this to have you here.
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And just as a little intro, Lauren is a graduating
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senior at Azusa Pacific University, where I've
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been a longtime faculty member there. And I remember
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probably four years ago, it was very early on,
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maybe three and a half, but early on in your
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life at APU, you came and you gave me the privilege
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and the honor of showing me your first composition,
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I believe. Do you remember the name of that?
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Uh yeah, it was called The Song of Achilles.
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I worked on that piece as like my jury piece
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for my comp jury all semester and ultimately
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it was a huge learning opportunity and hearing
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your thoughts on it was also really helpful because
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you were like, I remember you telling me do you
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want do you want me to sugarcoat it or do you
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want like the honest truth about this piece and
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I was like please be honest and you're honest.
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As I recall, I was. Yeah. Well, I remember that.
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I remember being very honest with you, actually.
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But at the same time as I'm being honest with
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you, I felt I could be because what you were
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bringing to me. And was it truly your first composition?
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Well, how would you define composition? Yeah,
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that's a good point. It was my first... I guess
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official choral piece for my jury as a freshman.
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So your first official choral piece? Yeah. Okay.
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So I remember, as I would think of brutally honest
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with you, I also remember simultaneously being
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blown away by what I was seeing in front of me,
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the choice of the text, your understanding of
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the arc of the text, what you were hoping to
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bring out. and just the complexity, the nuance,
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and I've told you this privately, but I went
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home that day and talked about you and this piece
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that you were in the midst of composing the rest
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of the evening with my wife Cecilia. So from
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the very beginning, I've been intrigued and excited
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about you as a composer. Tell us a little bit
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about... Maybe your background and your journey,
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you're from Anchorage, Alaska, I think. Is Anchorage
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just a hotbed for young composers? Not at all.
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Well, I grew up, I think, like a lot of, like,
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average kids in public school. And we had a pretty
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decent music program. Actually pretty, it was
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more than decent. And I continued playing trombone
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through, like, around the end of elementary school
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into freshman year of high school. And then...
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I ended up stopping doing that because I just
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kind of fell out of love with the instrument.
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But I certainly didn't fall out of love with
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music itself. So I still wanted to keep that
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in my life, which led me to start like writing
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songs and making some very rudimentary looking
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scores on MuseScore, which is a free notation
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software. I use Sibelius now because that's our
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school's standard. But yeah, that was I don't
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know. I don't feel like I had a like prodigy
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upbringing. I felt pretty average compared to
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other people and... Well, a girl playing the
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trombone is not as average as it should be. But
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the question for you, because I'd forgotten and
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don't really even remember that you have trombone
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in your background, because I've only known you
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really as a singer in addition to your composition,
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so that your instrument is your voice. Were you
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singing at the time when you're playing trombone,
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or when did singing come? into your life in a
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more formal, choral kind of way? Really, only
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since I came to APU. I mean, I've been singing
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and recording myself privately in my room, but
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performance... That's a good way to start everyone,
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just to watch you just start privately in your
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own room. Yeah. With no one to judge me but myself
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and anonymous people on the internet. So, I don't
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know, I feel like I had ideas of how good technique
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was supposed to feel, but once I started taking
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lessons at... APU with like an actually classically
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trained person. That really helped and honestly
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made me fall in love with classical music more
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and just how it feels in the voice and all that
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music and learning, you know, the limits of my
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range too. Yeah. I asked you this offline when
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they were asking us to, you know, sort of talk,
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but it was a genuine question I'd had. When did
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you have the idea? Or just, because I remember
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for me, I had music in my head, and someone would
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sing something in a concert, I'd hear something
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on the radio, and I would hear other music in
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my head that wasn't that. But it went with that.
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And I remember, I thought by high school, I thought
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I was going crazy, because I had music in my
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head that I don't know where it's coming from.
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And then I got to college, and they said, oh,
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you're arranging. I didn't know that. When, for
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you, did music in your head start to come, or
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did it... come from the inside out or from the
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outside in? Did you hear original things in your
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mind? So that's what I'm thinking of from the
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inside out. Or did you hear things outside of
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you that then you brought in and you sort of
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played with them in your mind? That's a very
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good question. I think no matter how talented
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you are as a composer, you're always influenced
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by outside sources, whether that be like... emotional
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things happening in your life that affect your
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music or like other, hearing other composers
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write music that you like. So I think it's a
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lot of the different music I was listening to
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when I grew up in addition to like different
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stages of life I was in while I was writing music.
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And I don't know, that became especially apparent
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in high school when I was just like going through
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teenage angst and trying to find catharsis through
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music with that. but a lot of my musical inspirations
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came from like like you might laugh at this but
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just like video games like Minecraft or like
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Zelda and I feel like that's actually kind of
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common for my generation and and movies and I
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just find a lot of the harmony popping up in
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my music when I'm writing and I'm like, oh I
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remember how I got that but it isn't usually
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conscious as a decision I'm making while I'm
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writing it just it's sort of it's become a part
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of me, and I'm creating a different variant on
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it in some way that has my own flavor, I guess.
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Yeah. I remember you talked about influences,
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and Mozart was influenced by things he heard.
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Other composers he certainly stole and ripped
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off, which at that moment in time was a huge,
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huge sort of... looking to that composer handle
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of all the Beethoven and a huge sort of, I'm
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a fan. So it wasn't the thought of, there were
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no copyright laws and no. No court cases from
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Mozart doing this. But he was also inspired by
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nature and famously wrote like the Sparrow Mass
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and other things where he quotes the sounds of
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birds inside in the violins and stuff. So it
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makes sense to me that your environment, whatever
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that might be, and to me, video games is a big,
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big kind of a new frontier of classical music
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where it takes all of the traditional instruments
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of the orchestra. but combines that with a rhythm
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section and flaming guitars and, you know, everything's
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there. It's like the composer's palette is bigger
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than it's ever been before, not to mention then
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the use of technology to bend it and twist it,
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reshape it, turn it upside down. I mean, it's
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really, to me, it seems like it would be an overwhelming
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but also really exciting time to be a composer.
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Does it feel overwhelming? Does it feel exciting
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to be a composer in 2025? Well, I get a sense
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that I need to have my own individual voice as
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a composer, or at least know what I want to make.
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And I think a lot of younger composers, there's
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kind of that pressure to immediately know who
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you are and what you want to hear and what you
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want to say. But I think that also comes with
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living life and maturing as a person. So I've
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come to... I might be... derailing from that
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question, but I've realized that with various
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life experiences, my music does evolve in that
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way. And it's sort of like looking back at my
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old music, I can view it as if it's like an old
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journal entry. And I'm like, oh, that's when
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I was listening to this. That's when I was learning
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this in theory or this in PM or whatever. And
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I don't know, I see it a lot more as like a progress
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report, I suppose, instead of like an official
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like catalog of my music, even if those things
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are present in my music. And I think the same
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can be said for other famous composers who, you
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know, you can see their development as they're
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studying with someone certain or they've listened
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to this performance by this orchestra or whatever.
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So I don't know. I think it's ever changing and
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always evolving, at least the way that I'm viewing
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music and the way I'm writing. You can't understand
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how exciting that answer is to me. that you're
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not trying to find the thing that's selling and
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do that. But you're looking at your work as a
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progression, and I'm just thinking of the immortal
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Steely Dan and Beatles, and other groups that
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will remain unnamed. But as I would buy these
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new albums back in the day, and yes, I did say
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albums, back in the day, I saw this progression,
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and it was so exciting. Sometimes it confused
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me. And then there's the groups that... the albums
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just sounded like the album before it, and I
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just got so bored and just, well, they've already
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done that. So to hear you describe this journey
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that you feel yourself and can actually document
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that you're on with your composition, that's
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very exciting to me and makes me curious. I was
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telling... Lauren, earlier today that there's
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some composers that if I see a piece of music
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from them, I'll always pick it up and look at
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it, because conductors are always looking for
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new music. And there's certain composers that
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they've got a track record of great things and
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progress that makes me, I'm always curious what
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they do. And so, Lauren, that's very exciting
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for me to hear you say that. We were talking
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about maybe film scores, video game music, and
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I described this... ever -growing palette of
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sound and timbres and colors that composers have
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now at their fingertips. Do you have all of that
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at your fingertips yet in your own mind? Are
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you writing? What out of all that are you writing
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for? Is symphony number one on the horizon? String
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quartet four? Just tell us a little bit about
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the kind of music that you're doing now. And
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what is in your mind or heart for the future?
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Well, to answer your first question, I definitely
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don't think I've, you know, absorbed everything
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I can. I mean, I'm just I'm about to graduate
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undergrad. So I know there's there's certainly
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a musical horizon I've yet to reach. But I think,
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I don't know, for example, I've been we're learning
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a lot about Schoenberg in the seminar I'm taking
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right now and how his pieces were very short
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and I don't know, I just found that interesting
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when I look at like famous composers and see
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how they all wrote a symphony that was this length
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or this style or told this story and you know
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there's a part of my brain that's like oh I want
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to be I should be worried that I'm not at that
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level yet and I haven't done this but ultimately
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it should be about my development as a composer
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rather than what I need to check off the list
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writing wise. So right now, I've been working
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on mostly choral music. Most of it's pretty much
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vocal, and through writing vocal stuff, I've
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been improving my instrumental writing and my
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piano accompaniment writing. So ultimately, I
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think with each piece, no matter what it is or
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what it's called or what form it is, it should
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be helping me learn a certain skill. And I can
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point to each piece I've written and be like,
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okay, that's when I was. I really loved triplets,
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or that was when I liked, you know, harmonic
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minor, or that's when I was listening to this
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composer and I wanted to emulate this feeling.
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But generally, I'm focused on choral and orchestral,
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generally both of them together, because I think
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the textures you can get out of both choir and
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orchestra are just like endless and so beautiful.
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I don't know if you'll like this or not, so please,
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please chime in, but it feels like you're assembling
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your toolbox. you know, in terms of like this
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moment when you like triplets. Well, now you
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probably have that firmly in hand and when you
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were trying to emulate this kind of feeling or,
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you know, and I think from what I know of you
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and some of the compositions that I've heard
00:14:40.169 --> 00:14:43.049
and that I've conducted and taught to choirs,
00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:45.429
which have been a real joy and an honor, let
00:14:45.429 --> 00:14:48.529
me say that to you please, that it feels like
00:14:48.529 --> 00:14:52.409
you're just building this vast resource center
00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:55.399
that's in your mind. and in your heart from which
00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:59.500
to draw, to express life as you come to see it
00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:01.720
and feel it, experience it and understand it.
00:15:02.220 --> 00:15:05.100
So again, that's exciting to me. Yeah, I think,
00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:08.379
I don't know, there might be some like internal
00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:11.759
shame composers have to deal with when it comes
00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.559
to like understanding their own development.
00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:18.759
But I've come to learn not to be ashamed of the
00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:21.000
fact that I am still learning, I'm still grabbing
00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:24.799
different tools from different pieces. And honestly,
00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:28.039
the more I get comfortable with knowing that,
00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.240
hey, I'm not completely developed yet as a composer,
00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:33.960
and giving those pieces to choirs anyway, the
00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:37.440
more confident I am as a person, not just a composer.
00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:41.700
And I think that might just be a hurdle most
00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:43.899
people have to go through, just confidence -wise.
00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:46.779
But as someone who's, you're giving something
00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.740
you created to another group of people, that's
00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:53.940
kind of scary. I don't know, part of what I appreciate
00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:57.399
about you and other people I've worked with is
00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.279
their willingness to acknowledge, hey, you're
00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:03.179
still learning, but I still see value in your
00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:05.700
art and I still see what you're trying to say,
00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:08.299
and I'm going to help you with that instead of
00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:10.980
dismissing it or saying, oh, you're not at your
00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:13.179
full potential yet, so we might as well just
00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.759
not do it. But that's why I think collaboration
00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:20.139
in general is so important, especially when someone's
00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:22.820
starting off and they're kind of scared to initiate,
00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:25.360
like, hey, do you want to look at this? It's
00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:27.419
good to have someone older and more mature being
00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:29.200
like, yes, I'm going to point out the things
00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.460
that you need to fix, but overall, this is a
00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.679
good work. Yeah. And for me, that's fun, you
00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:40.840
know, as a conductor. And I hope I'm kind and
00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.519
generous. But I have looked literally at and
00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.610
read through thousands of choral pieces. And
00:16:48.610 --> 00:16:50.669
stuff that I know, oh, that's going to work.
00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:53.590
And you and I have had this conversation. That's
00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:56.649
amazing. But it's going to take five times the
00:16:56.649 --> 00:16:58.830
amount of time I have of rehearsal with this
00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:02.049
ensemble to get that ready. I can't do it. And
00:17:02.049 --> 00:17:05.490
so I just, yeah. You mentioned the word shame.
00:17:06.390 --> 00:17:09.210
I think it was internal shame or something like
00:17:09.210 --> 00:17:12.769
that. It just caught my attention. And you don't
00:17:12.769 --> 00:17:14.369
have to talk about this. So you can talk about
00:17:14.369 --> 00:17:16.210
other composers that you know, certainly not
00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:20.440
you. What is that shame attached to, just that
00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:23.019
you're young and that you don't have it all put
00:17:23.019 --> 00:17:25.799
together yet? Possibly. I think it also has to
00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.460
do with like ego as well, because I think ego
00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.500
and shame are just already interconnected. But
00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:33.799
I think most of what you need to be a successful
00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:37.059
composer is to get rid of your ego, but also
00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:39.599
get rid of the shame that comes with that, and
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:42.500
then be humble when you are giving your pieces
00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:44.839
to people, just not letting your ego get in the
00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:48.000
way. But I think... Generally, there's I see
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.839
a lot of like lack of confidence in people in
00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:54.099
my generation with art in general like or or
00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:56.779
just a fear of trying and like the sort of learned
00:17:56.779 --> 00:17:59.119
helplessness that that I shouldn't try because
00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:03.259
I know I'm gonna fail anyway but with art I think
00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:06.380
the whole point is to try new things and and
00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:10.000
did you know express yourself as as cheesy as
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:13.579
that sounds and I'm not going to lie, it is terrifying
00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:15.880
to do that and to put your heart into something
00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:17.660
and not get the reaction you want from people,
00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:19.859
but ultimately that's going to happen in your
00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.019
career regardless. You're never going to please
00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:25.160
everyone. I'm never, my mom isn't gonna like
00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.200
everything I write and generally I go to her
00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:29.900
when I think, okay, what will the general public
00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:32.579
think of this piece? If she doesn't like it,
00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:36.700
I'm like, well, well, guess I messed up. Gotta
00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:39.480
rewrite it. Moms are, moms by and large can be
00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:41.940
a really good, I go to my wife because she's
00:18:41.940 --> 00:18:44.019
just, yeah, that's greater. No, I don't think
00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:45.619
so, you know, but they're just, they're sort
00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:48.279
of like average to public. If they're humming
00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.819
it by the other day, you've won. Yeah, definitely,
00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:54.059
definitely. Do you tell people you're a composer,
00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:56.920
or do you call yourself a musician that sings
00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:00.240
and then I compose? Because you mentioned this
00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.480
word shame attached to the art, and I don't disagree
00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:07.140
with you. I'm a conductor, and I present a program
00:19:07.140 --> 00:19:09.299
to a board of directors, and they go, what were
00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:13.400
you thinking? But this is this baby that you've
00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:16.059
toiled over, and you're trying to say something
00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:18.380
with the program or with a specific piece of
00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:22.569
music. Do yeah, how do you present yourself or
00:19:22.569 --> 00:19:24.269
have you thought about that? I have thought about
00:19:24.269 --> 00:19:26.930
that when I first came to college I was very
00:19:26.930 --> 00:19:30.670
unsure of the title musician. I honestly Came
00:19:30.670 --> 00:19:34.009
to college not super enthusiastic about pursuing
00:19:34.009 --> 00:19:36.509
music I just kind of thought it was a way out
00:19:36.509 --> 00:19:39.549
of my hometown and I don't know just something
00:19:39.549 --> 00:19:42.109
I thought I was good at and maybe could pursue
00:19:42.109 --> 00:19:45.569
But I never entered thinking I was a musician.
00:19:45.569 --> 00:19:48.890
I thought I was I was okay at music, but I wasn't
00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:51.640
you know, I didn't have an identity out of that.
00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.359
And also at that point in my life, and I think
00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:56.400
at that point when a lot of people are graduating
00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.099
high school and then entering college, you don't
00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:00.160
really know who you are. You have to confront
00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:02.619
who you used to think you were and who you're
00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:06.220
becoming. But the word musician implies that
00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:10.920
I am knowledgeable about a lot of different aspects
00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.839
of music. And I think it needs to be, I need
00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:17.619
to be well rounded as a musician instead of just
00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:20.500
saying, oh, I'm a I'm a pop musician or I'm a
00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:22.440
jazz musician. I think those are both valid,
00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:27.660
but I would like to be, I'd say, an expert before
00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:30.500
I call myself a musician. And who knows when
00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:33.140
I'll get to that point, who knows what that line
00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:36.180
even is for me, but I feel like musician is just
00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:40.460
this unreachable goal that I'm constantly striving
00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:42.809
for. All right, but it's not. It's not, and you
00:20:42.809 --> 00:20:45.369
can look over at me and see, oh, he did it. Man,
00:20:45.369 --> 00:20:48.150
I can do it. And it's really true. You know,
00:20:48.190 --> 00:20:50.470
and I have to say, I have to jump in here. I
00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:53.049
think a healthy amount of pride combined with
00:20:53.049 --> 00:20:55.950
a huge humility when people ask me, what do you
00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:59.910
do? And I say, out of my mouth comes, I'm a musician.
00:21:00.529 --> 00:21:02.589
I mean, just saying that to you right now, it
00:21:02.589 --> 00:21:06.130
just, I get these goosebumps. I feel so privileged
00:21:06.130 --> 00:21:09.849
to make my living. My entire life as an adult,
00:21:09.849 --> 00:21:12.640
I've made all of my living. and hopefully retirement,
00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.980
as a musician. And I love it all. If it moves
00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:19.500
me, I don't care what genre it is, I just like,
00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.640
I just love music. So it makes me happy that,
00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:24.779
I know there's a question that came while you
00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:26.220
were answering, and I was actually listening
00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:27.799
to what you were saying, but it popped in as
00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:32.720
well. It got in queue. Would your high school
00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.339
student colleagues and friends, would they be
00:21:36.339 --> 00:21:40.200
surprised to hear that Lorne Biggs is a composer?
00:21:42.349 --> 00:21:46.829
Hmm Maybe I honestly I don't have that many close
00:21:46.829 --> 00:21:48.630
Connections with high school friends at least
00:21:48.630 --> 00:21:51.210
at this point in my life, but I kept kind of
00:21:51.210 --> 00:21:54.250
a low profile in high school But I was definitely
00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:58.250
the artsy artsy one Honestly, I had thought about
00:21:58.250 --> 00:22:00.789
going to school for art instead of music But
00:22:00.789 --> 00:22:03.329
it was it was a it was a close call and I realized
00:22:03.329 --> 00:22:05.369
that music was probably a little more What I
00:22:05.369 --> 00:22:08.109
was looking for is like creatively and I found
00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:11.980
a lot more I guess more of a battery within myself
00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:14.619
to do music for a long period of time than art,
00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:16.200
even though I still love drawing and painting
00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.180
and stuff. Okay. That's interesting. Well, you
00:22:19.180 --> 00:22:21.259
know, someone's in the yearbook back in the day,
00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:23.660
the person most likely to succeed, you know,
00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:25.480
all that kind of stuff and become president and
00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:28.119
all this. So I was curious about that. Okay,
00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.920
I am the worst person to ask the next question.
00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:35.460
So because you're going to educate me, actually,
00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:38.220
but I'm going to ask it as someone asked me to
00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:41.680
ask it. From your vantage point, what is the
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:47.400
role of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, Facebook,
00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:49.859
all of these things, but especially TikTok and
00:22:49.859 --> 00:22:53.940
maybe YouTube and Instagram, in terms of the
00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:56.279
world of composition and getting your music out
00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.140
there? And the reason I'm the worst person, because
00:22:58.140 --> 00:23:00.599
I'm not on social media at all, so I have no
00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:02.400
idea what I'm talking about. except from what
00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:05.420
I've heard in the news. So, for you, how are
00:23:05.420 --> 00:23:09.000
those things helpful or hurtful or, you know,
00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:12.140
a little bit of both? Okay, I have a story on
00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:16.619
this actually. I... This was like 2020, I think.
00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:19.579
I went to see the movie in Kanto in theaters.
00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:22.920
I totally fell in love with the soundtrack and
00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:27.039
I decided to write an EP, a little small volume
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:30.829
of songs inspired by that movie. And... You know,
00:23:30.910 --> 00:23:33.930
I posted that on YouTube. I kind of, I posted
00:23:33.930 --> 00:23:35.970
it to people who I knew would see it. Could we
00:23:35.970 --> 00:23:39.089
find it now? Yes. Okay, so everyone look. Lauren
00:23:39.089 --> 00:23:44.109
Viggs. No. But it was like, I had gotten in the
00:23:44.109 --> 00:23:46.069
habit of posting music. I wasn't that afraid
00:23:46.069 --> 00:23:48.109
of doing that. I made little animations with
00:23:48.109 --> 00:23:52.829
it. And I got a message from someone who'd listened
00:23:52.829 --> 00:23:56.289
to my music for a long time. And they said that
00:23:56.289 --> 00:23:58.720
someone had reposted it. on TikTok, and it was
00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:01.160
like in the millions of views. And I was like,
00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:04.519
what? And like that sent me into like a panic
00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:07.339
attack, to be honest, because I didn't give them
00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:09.460
permission for that and they didn't credit me.
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:12.460
And it was just a terrifying moment of being
00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:15.000
seen by people I didn't choose to be seen by.
00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:18.400
And ultimately that got me a lot more streams
00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.660
and I guess more money. But but if I could have
00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:25.420
chosen, I probably. would have not chosen that.
00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:30.480
And once I realized how much the exposure was
00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:34.279
affecting me mentally, I realized it was affecting
00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.099
the way I wrote music. I was like, okay, what
00:24:36.099 --> 00:24:37.839
should I write next that's gonna please this
00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:41.980
audience? And I did write more songs, but at
00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:43.660
some point it got to the point where I was like,
00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.319
oh, I'm just writing this for them. I'm not writing
00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:47.400
this because I wanna say something. It's because
00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:49.579
I want them to hear something that they want
00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:52.779
me to say, I guess. In that regard, I think...
00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:55.900
TikTok, obviously, it's a very effective platform
00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:59.420
for sharing music and for music being attached
00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:01.480
to like viral videos and stuff, which I think
00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:04.880
is, I don't know, panders to our generation,
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:08.559
I suppose. But I started off on YouTube and Instagram
00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:12.319
and I think I found a little fan base there that
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.799
was really what I needed when I was in high school.
00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:17.819
I needed to feel connected with other people
00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:20.400
without them necessarily knowing. that I was
00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.799
the one singing. It was sort of this anonymous
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:26.880
bond between me and random strangers. But reading
00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:29.500
their comments, sometimes they'd be just paragraphs
00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:32.019
and paragraphs of people writing about, like,
00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.740
hey, your song, it touched something in me. And
00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:37.039
I was just like, wow, I can't believe I did that.
00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:42.819
And even now, I don't understand how something
00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:46.079
I wrote when I was 16 could impact someone for
00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:50.079
years to come. incredible and I think ultimately
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:53.980
that kind of drove me to go pursue music instead
00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:58.359
of art and painting because I saw the kind of
00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:00.859
community you can create without even being in
00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:04.160
the room with someone and how their interpretations
00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:06.400
of my music can change my own interpretations
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.880
of it and it's just it's it's the coolest weirdest
00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:13.259
like parasocial sort of relationship but with
00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:16.579
my little tiny group of people listening who
00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:19.160
I didn't know I don't know. I found a lot of
00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:23.220
happiness and comfort in hearing their thoughts
00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:26.319
on really vulnerable lyrics that I wrote a long
00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:29.680
time ago. Sounds very, very meaningful and powerful.
00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:34.559
And I think for those of us in the arts, this
00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:37.619
is just what we do. And so we don't think a lot
00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:41.640
about it. We just do it. And I'm amazed at some
00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.619
of the comments that I get in what I do, but
00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:47.390
that that that has to be so rewarding for you
00:26:47.390 --> 00:26:50.930
to know that you're being used to encourage someone,
00:26:51.109 --> 00:26:53.710
touch someone, inspire someone, lift someone,
00:26:53.789 --> 00:26:56.390
whatever. All those things that are positive
00:26:56.390 --> 00:27:01.970
in my mind. How do you find mentors and creative
00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:04.289
support from the community? How does that come
00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:07.890
about? Because I think the life of the composer
00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:12.220
can be incredibly lonely. when you're not collaborating
00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:14.839
with others. But the collaboration tends to come
00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:18.299
at the end, oftentimes, when it's coming together.
00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:22.680
But the process itself oftentimes seems pretty
00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:26.319
lonely. So how and where do you find that support
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.640
from both the community and maybe in personal
00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:30.940
mentors or people that have come across your
00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:34.559
path? Well, I guess I'd have to say education,
00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:37.220
initially, and being willing to learn from other
00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:41.069
people. Those relationships have sort of created
00:27:41.069 --> 00:27:44.170
a network for me. And the second thing I would
00:27:44.170 --> 00:27:47.230
say is being willing to help other people with
00:27:47.230 --> 00:27:51.910
their projects. I sang for so many recitals I
00:27:51.910 --> 00:27:55.170
can't even remember, but ultimately it shows
00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:58.410
that you respect someone else's work and in turn
00:27:58.410 --> 00:28:01.109
they will respect your work and your time and
00:28:01.109 --> 00:28:03.109
effort that you put into them. And it's just
00:28:03.109 --> 00:28:05.369
this, I don't know, symbiotic relationship I
00:28:05.369 --> 00:28:08.460
think that That I could take for granted but
00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:11.000
I know that without it I would be nowhere and
00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:13.059
I wouldn't have the network I have I wouldn't
00:28:13.059 --> 00:28:16.160
have any of the awards I have I wouldn't have
00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:20.599
anything that amounts to value in and from the
00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:23.460
outside but ultimately I think it's the relationships
00:28:23.460 --> 00:28:26.259
and the bonds that you make with with people
00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:29.160
you're making music with because it is I really
00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:31.339
I don't know you probably relate to this but
00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:33.920
it feels magical sometimes when you're on stage
00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:37.500
and creating something Yeah. Yeah, it does feel
00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:41.900
magical. I remember early on when I met my wife,
00:28:42.180 --> 00:28:45.119
Cecilia, you know, she'd come to concerts and
00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:49.880
stuff over a few years. And she's a world class
00:28:49.880 --> 00:28:53.559
epidemiologist, which also happens to be a physician
00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:56.519
and other degrees beyond that. And she's quite
00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:58.480
an extraordinary woman. And she said to me, she
00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:00.339
says, no one's ever asked me for my autograph.
00:29:00.589 --> 00:29:03.109
I've never gotten a standing ovation, you know,
00:29:03.170 --> 00:29:05.049
and it's like, my heart sort of sank because
00:29:05.049 --> 00:29:07.089
like she really, you know, they really do some,
00:29:07.390 --> 00:29:10.029
but you and I, we live in that magical world
00:29:10.029 --> 00:29:13.730
where people, you know, we have this delight
00:29:13.730 --> 00:29:18.910
of bringing art to life and bringing notes off
00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:22.630
the page and it transforming into music and emotions
00:29:22.630 --> 00:29:26.369
and sound. And yeah, it's an amazing life. I
00:29:26.369 --> 00:29:28.430
think it's, and it's a challenging life, you
00:29:28.430 --> 00:29:33.019
know. We were talking about TikTok and YouTube
00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:37.619
and is that Instagram also is that the new concert
00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:40.980
hall is social media the new concert hall for
00:29:40.980 --> 00:29:44.440
For us today, you know you you go to the LA Phil
00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:47.500
and I I was just driving in seeing a sign for
00:29:47.500 --> 00:29:50.359
it said gracias due to metal and I thought oh
00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:52.680
my god, I got to get to a concert with the I
00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:57.000
feel before he goes and and truly but a lot of
00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:59.079
those tickets are very expensive and you know
00:29:59.369 --> 00:30:02.109
Yeah, social media, the new concert hall for
00:30:02.109 --> 00:30:04.849
a new generation. I'd say, I mean, you did mention
00:30:04.849 --> 00:30:07.650
money, and I do think it's definitely more accessible.
00:30:08.470 --> 00:30:12.309
And I don't know, I did spend a lot of my life
00:30:12.309 --> 00:30:15.549
growing up on YouTube and absorbing music from
00:30:15.549 --> 00:30:18.769
there. So I would say it has a huge influence.
00:30:19.410 --> 00:30:21.789
But I don't know, with the upbringing of AI and
00:30:21.789 --> 00:30:24.390
stuff, I think nothing will ever be able to replace
00:30:24.390 --> 00:30:27.950
live music or live musicians. I don't know, that's
00:30:27.950 --> 00:30:29.670
something I see with social media, the increase
00:30:29.670 --> 00:30:34.569
of use of AI and perhaps AI created music. But
00:30:34.569 --> 00:30:37.369
once I started performing live and performances
00:30:37.369 --> 00:30:40.869
with choir, I don't know, I couldn't replicate
00:30:40.869 --> 00:30:45.069
that feeling of excitement and adrenaline of
00:30:45.069 --> 00:30:47.009
being on stage or even being in the audience
00:30:47.009 --> 00:30:49.369
at a really good performance and have that from
00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:52.250
social media because you're surrounded by people.
00:30:52.750 --> 00:30:55.220
There's just the life in the room. And social
00:30:55.220 --> 00:30:56.539
media, you're looking at your phone. You're looking
00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:58.740
at a screen. But yeah, I guess that's my answer.
00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:03.259
That's a great answer. And so you have an appreciation
00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:06.799
and have been influenced by social media, YouTube,
00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:08.980
and other things that brought music into your
00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:12.019
life. And then you talk also about the live experience,
00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:16.099
being a member of a choir. Soloist, I think he
00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:20.279
did a solo as I recall. And so that experience
00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:23.359
but live and the energy and the feelings and
00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:25.940
can you give us, this is unplanned, I've not
00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:28.500
asked you to do this quick, can you give a 60
00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:31.299
second commercial, look into the camera and tell
00:31:31.299 --> 00:31:35.349
people why they should become. a part of a choir,
00:31:35.609 --> 00:31:38.269
whether it's a community choir, a church choir,
00:31:39.349 --> 00:31:42.809
go start singing. Form one at your business on
00:31:42.809 --> 00:31:45.650
your lunch hour, but tell us 60 seconds. Give
00:31:45.650 --> 00:31:48.750
us why you should sing. No pressure. Singing,
00:31:49.089 --> 00:31:51.289
your voice is the only instrument that you're
00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:54.670
born with. So already, you got to leg up. You
00:31:54.670 --> 00:31:57.009
don't need to buy anything. Instruments are expensive.
00:31:57.450 --> 00:31:59.930
You'll make good friends in choir if you want
00:31:59.930 --> 00:32:01.619
to make friends. If you don't want to make friends,
00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:03.920
you can make really good music. Or if you want
00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:05.599
friends and you want to make good music, you
00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:09.599
can do both, which is crazy. And I think you'll
00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:12.559
find a lot of mentors in places of directors
00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:15.640
and conductors and grad students who can really
00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:19.339
influence your musicianship and expand your repertoire
00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:21.640
and just introduce you to a lot of pieces you
00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:25.000
had no idea about and get to be a part of making
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.599
it come alive again. Because I remember doing
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:31.779
the Durafle Requiem with you. And I think you
00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:34.400
mentioned just thinking about that piece sitting
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:37.799
in some like dusty cupboard and getting to pick
00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.599
it up and bring it to life with dozens of people.
00:32:41.140 --> 00:32:43.299
And you get to be a part of that. You get to
00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:46.180
sort of relive history in a way. And I think
00:32:46.180 --> 00:32:49.019
that's super special. And that's something you
00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:52.279
can't get from from anything else, in my opinion.
00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:55.619
Yeah. Well said. Bravo. And that's a wrap right
00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:58.299
there. We can just stop right there. You know,
00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:00.579
I truly, I do believe that when we, you know,
00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:03.559
we have a Bach concert, Voices LA coming up with
00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:06.640
a Bach concert, and for the last couple of months,
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.960
we're living with Bach, and Bach comes to life,
00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:11.480
and we did your piece at our inaugural concert
00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:15.579
in April, and most, I had the honor and privilege
00:33:15.579 --> 00:33:19.119
and joy of knowing you, but the others didn't,
00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.339
but through their music, they got to hang out
00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.259
with Lauren Biggs for a couple of months until
00:33:23.259 --> 00:33:25.819
that performance. So to me, that's very exciting
00:33:25.819 --> 00:34:01.920
and well said. Well said. The aspect of someone,
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:06.039
you know, do you like being labeled, and you
00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:08.619
know, Martin Luther King Jr. said, when you label
00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:10.719
me, you diminish me. It's one of my favorite
00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.400
quotes by him, because we tend to label people
00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:17.019
and groups in our world, and he said it diminishes
00:34:17.019 --> 00:34:20.679
them. I stand in solidarity with him in that
00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:24.079
statement. But sometimes I hear you referred
00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:29.340
to as a female composer, and... How do you respond
00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:32.260
to that? I'm curious. I'm truly curious. As opposed
00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:34.579
to just a composer, a young composer at this
00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:37.900
point, an emerging composer, a female composer,
00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:41.820
an emerging female composer. How do you dice
00:34:41.820 --> 00:34:45.280
that? Or do you? Does it matter to you? It doesn't
00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:48.039
bother me. I think it's important to distinguish
00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:51.619
people in some cases. For example, I have a piece
00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:54.280
published by a Jocelyn Higgins Compose Like a
00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:56.139
Girl series, and obviously the title, Compose
00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:59.429
Like a Girl. So I think I think it's important
00:34:59.429 --> 00:35:02.369
to give platforms for people who wouldn't regularly
00:35:02.369 --> 00:35:06.409
have a platform, and I'm super grateful for that.
00:35:07.050 --> 00:35:09.630
It's a super great, Graphite Publishing is really
00:35:09.630 --> 00:35:13.050
great, and Jocelyn, her music's amazing. I mean,
00:35:13.050 --> 00:35:14.789
I guess I'd prefer just to be called a composer
00:35:14.789 --> 00:35:18.769
in general, but ultimately I think I have a complicated
00:35:18.769 --> 00:35:21.570
relationship with labels in general. I don't
00:35:21.570 --> 00:35:25.309
know, I've had many identity crises. crises in
00:35:25.309 --> 00:35:27.849
my life. So ultimately, I don't know, I get a
00:35:27.849 --> 00:35:30.250
little icky feeling when I hear someone label
00:35:30.250 --> 00:35:33.469
me, but if it's composer or musician, I don't
00:35:33.469 --> 00:35:35.449
know, I still feel like it's something unreachable
00:35:35.449 --> 00:35:37.829
that I'm still, you know, I feel like the rest
00:35:37.829 --> 00:35:40.969
of my life I'm going to be running to earn that
00:35:40.969 --> 00:35:43.150
label, whether it's female composer or composer
00:35:43.150 --> 00:35:45.750
or musician. Yeah, I think that's well said.
00:35:46.449 --> 00:35:48.809
You know, I think it is, being a musician, it's
00:35:48.809 --> 00:35:52.710
such a consummate art that involves technique.
00:35:53.349 --> 00:35:56.650
And, I mean, very technical aspects of the body,
00:35:56.690 --> 00:36:00.230
of the instrument, of certainly involves the
00:36:00.230 --> 00:36:02.710
heart, the emotions, the spirit, the body. I
00:36:02.710 --> 00:36:07.510
mean, it sets this all -encompassing human expression
00:36:07.510 --> 00:36:11.789
of art and of emotions and of life, ultimately,
00:36:11.989 --> 00:36:15.650
that, you know, I remember my doctoral mentor,
00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:18.469
Don Newman, he was, it was one of those days
00:36:18.469 --> 00:36:21.639
right before a concert, maybe. a week before,
00:36:21.699 --> 00:36:24.000
and everything's ready. It's just polishing.
00:36:24.619 --> 00:36:27.639
And he was at his best, and the choir was at
00:36:27.639 --> 00:36:30.179
their best. And I was his grad assistant at the
00:36:30.179 --> 00:36:31.980
time, and he looked over and said, you know,
00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:33.860
another year or two, I want to get this right.
00:36:34.139 --> 00:36:36.940
And I think he was like 77, you know, at that
00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:41.179
point. And it just sort of pointed me down that
00:36:41.179 --> 00:36:45.340
road, though, of this is a lifelong journey.
00:36:45.619 --> 00:36:48.199
And I think, I don't know about composition.
00:36:48.619 --> 00:36:53.139
I'd love to talk with you about this now and
00:36:53.139 --> 00:36:57.119
20 years from now. I've said publicly that I
00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:01.380
believe the journey of the conductor is ultimately
00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:06.119
a journey of self -discovery. And I'm wondering,
00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:10.599
would you say that about the journey of the composer
00:37:10.599 --> 00:37:14.280
is ultimately a journey of self -discovery? Yeah.
00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:16.820
I mean, I sort of touched on that a little bit
00:37:16.820 --> 00:37:20.309
before about like, discovering yourself and your
00:37:20.309 --> 00:37:23.230
identity as you're absorbing different influences
00:37:23.230 --> 00:37:25.909
and just going through life. So yeah, I would
00:37:25.909 --> 00:37:29.329
say so. Okay. Fred Bach, a very famous composer,
00:37:29.710 --> 00:37:32.349
arranger, and made his life as a musician, a
00:37:32.349 --> 00:37:35.909
fabulous musician and owner of a business company
00:37:35.909 --> 00:37:38.329
and a publishing company, all that. He was given
00:37:38.329 --> 00:37:44.250
a seminar at a conference on composition and
00:37:44.250 --> 00:37:48.289
arranging. And he had, I mean, hundreds, if not
00:37:48.289 --> 00:37:51.969
thousands of titles to his name. So he was well
00:37:51.969 --> 00:37:53.969
qualified to give this. And at the end, there
00:37:53.969 --> 00:37:57.250
was a Q &A. And someone raised their hand and
00:37:57.250 --> 00:37:59.829
asked him the question, Mr. Bach, what inspires
00:37:59.829 --> 00:38:05.829
you? And there was a pregnant pause. And he looked
00:38:05.829 --> 00:38:11.289
up, and he took off his glasses and sort of put
00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:15.300
his hand up to his chin. and we all got our pieces
00:38:15.300 --> 00:38:17.500
of paper back in the day, this how old it was,
00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:21.659
and got ready to write, and then he looked at
00:38:21.659 --> 00:38:29.519
us and said, deadlines. And we all sort of like
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:31.519
wrote it down and then broke out laughing because
00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:34.539
he had cut right to the chase. Question for you,
00:38:34.639 --> 00:38:39.920
what inspires you? Well, I have to say deadlines
00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:42.460
as well. But it's a combination of deadlines
00:38:42.460 --> 00:38:45.539
and trying to meet someone's expectations for
00:38:45.539 --> 00:38:48.159
what, especially if it's a commission. Generally
00:38:48.159 --> 00:38:51.719
nowadays, most of it is for some event or performance
00:38:51.719 --> 00:38:54.960
where I have to have it done, which is good motivation
00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:57.699
for me. But I would say, like I said before,
00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:01.559
the learning aspect of each piece motivates me.
00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:03.199
If I don't feel like I'm learning something while
00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:07.039
I'm writing, I feel like I'm just regurgitating
00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:09.500
stuff I've written before, even if it's harmonically
00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:13.210
different. But I don't know, I think each piece,
00:39:13.570 --> 00:39:17.570
one of our comp professors, Marcus Burrow, he's
00:39:17.570 --> 00:39:21.929
told us in one of our comp seminars that creating,
00:39:22.369 --> 00:39:25.250
when you write a piece, you discover the rules
00:39:25.250 --> 00:39:28.030
of the world you've created. And I just thought
00:39:28.030 --> 00:39:30.409
that was a really accurate way of describing
00:39:30.409 --> 00:39:33.010
how the writing process goes, at least for me,
00:39:33.230 --> 00:39:36.010
because I start with a snippet of something and
00:39:36.010 --> 00:39:38.789
I'm like, okay, what is gonna come out of this?
00:39:38.969 --> 00:39:41.489
excerpt that I've written or this chord I've
00:39:41.489 --> 00:39:44.210
chosen and ultimately you can create you can
00:39:44.210 --> 00:39:47.030
make an hour -long piece out of one little bit
00:39:47.030 --> 00:39:49.590
of material like you famous composers like Beethoven
00:39:49.590 --> 00:39:52.789
like you can see he's made a huge symphony out
00:39:52.789 --> 00:39:56.449
of one theme and just variants on that and ultimately
00:39:56.449 --> 00:39:59.449
the skill that comes from that because I think
00:39:59.449 --> 00:40:01.590
most people can come up with a catchy tune if
00:40:01.590 --> 00:40:04.030
they work on it hard enough, but the hardest
00:40:04.030 --> 00:40:07.929
part is learning the art of developing it and
00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:10.659
confining it to a form and making decisions about
00:40:10.659 --> 00:40:12.739
what you're going to write because often times
00:40:12.739 --> 00:40:15.320
I think we get stuck on what decisions we could
00:40:15.320 --> 00:40:17.679
make instead of actually making the decisions
00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:19.320
and then deciding later if it's good or bad.
00:40:19.420 --> 00:40:22.159
We just get stuck. Yeah, I kind of forgot the
00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:26.659
question. That's okay. Most people do. The aspect
00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:30.619
of music, I'm thinking particularly of a choral
00:40:30.619 --> 00:40:36.429
piece or maybe a leader, an art song type. Does
00:40:36.429 --> 00:40:38.650
the music come first or do you choose the text
00:40:38.650 --> 00:40:42.550
first or is it? People love this question. And
00:40:42.550 --> 00:40:45.250
I honestly love this question because I get different
00:40:45.250 --> 00:40:49.030
answers from everyone I ask. For me, it's become
00:40:49.030 --> 00:40:53.170
like a joint effort of if I'm writing the text,
00:40:53.170 --> 00:40:54.929
I'm also writing music at the same time and they
00:40:54.929 --> 00:40:56.929
sort of evolve together and they shape each other.
00:40:57.190 --> 00:40:58.969
Depending on the text I choose, I might change
00:40:58.969 --> 00:41:01.670
the rhythm of something I wrote previously. So
00:41:01.670 --> 00:41:05.530
it's ever changing, ever evolving. Yeah. Okay.
00:41:05.969 --> 00:41:08.650
If you had to go to a country, if you had to
00:41:08.650 --> 00:41:12.789
choose a country to go and just immerse yourself
00:41:12.789 --> 00:41:16.050
in their music for one month, what country would
00:41:16.050 --> 00:41:20.809
you go to? Oof, Russia. If I could go back to
00:41:20.809 --> 00:41:25.309
when like romantic period Russia, without any
00:41:25.309 --> 00:41:28.030
of the dangers that was in Russia, I would totally
00:41:28.030 --> 00:41:30.710
do that and just sit in a cathedral and just
00:41:30.710 --> 00:41:34.139
listen to a choir just all day. because I don't
00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:36.440
know, that's been one of my biggest inspirations
00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:39.199
is Russian choirs, especially because I grew
00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:42.739
up in the Russian version at my school, studied
00:41:42.739 --> 00:41:45.119
it for 12 years. I'm not as good as I should
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:48.059
be saying that, but I do know how to read it,
00:41:48.059 --> 00:41:50.199
I know how to sing it, and I think it's such
00:41:50.199 --> 00:41:53.519
a beautiful language and so much beautiful, heartfelt
00:41:53.519 --> 00:41:59.099
music that's often rooted in pain has come out
00:41:59.099 --> 00:42:01.340
of so many cultures. And I think a lot of the
00:42:01.340 --> 00:42:05.610
time, the most impactful music is the music that
00:42:05.610 --> 00:42:08.190
is it comes out of suffering like for example
00:42:08.190 --> 00:42:11.050
spirituals and how we're drawn to the melodies
00:42:11.050 --> 00:42:12.750
but we're also drawn to the history behind it
00:42:12.750 --> 00:42:16.869
and how empowering they were becoming by singing
00:42:16.869 --> 00:42:19.769
it and I don't know finding a freedom in the
00:42:19.769 --> 00:42:22.210
music itself which I think is really really cool
00:42:22.210 --> 00:42:25.269
and even though I'm not like in a terrible situation
00:42:25.269 --> 00:42:29.210
like that it still inspires me to use music as
00:42:29.210 --> 00:42:33.940
a way to I guess Project my emotions into a piece
00:42:33.940 --> 00:42:37.260
and see if someone else relates to it and I know
00:42:37.260 --> 00:42:40.139
that's been shown and stuff I posted on YouTube
00:42:40.139 --> 00:42:42.960
and Consistently throughout the years and people
00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:44.579
commenting about it. They're like, oh I relate
00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:46.559
to this and this and this and I'm like I had
00:42:46.559 --> 00:42:49.420
no idea But I guess what I'm doing is good. So
00:42:49.420 --> 00:42:53.440
yeah, I Just when I think of Russian music, I
00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:55.360
just think of passion. There's so much passion
00:42:55.360 --> 00:43:00.929
and and Pain. Beautiful, beautiful pain. That's
00:43:00.929 --> 00:43:03.329
sort of a paradox of that. But we're gonna wrap
00:43:03.329 --> 00:43:05.349
it up here in a little bit. Just a couple of
00:43:05.349 --> 00:43:07.730
quick questions for you. A rapid fire, so you
00:43:07.730 --> 00:43:10.590
gotta first answer, just give it to you. Favorite
00:43:10.590 --> 00:43:14.510
ice cream? Wild and Reckless from Baskin -Robbins.
00:43:14.909 --> 00:43:18.230
Good. Check that out. You're nearby Baskin -Robbins.
00:43:18.389 --> 00:43:21.309
It's not sponsored. Yeah, yeah. Favorite composer
00:43:21.309 --> 00:43:25.610
that has influenced you? His name is Gyorgy Sviridov.
00:43:25.789 --> 00:43:28.829
He's a Russian composer, Soviet era, wrote so
00:43:28.829 --> 00:43:31.349
many beautiful choral pieces, mainly choral -focused.
00:43:31.949 --> 00:43:34.409
No. Number one thing you're listening to on your
00:43:34.409 --> 00:43:38.630
Spotify list? Oh, that's art. That's really...
00:43:38.630 --> 00:43:41.449
Oh, I have to answer this quickly. Probably...
00:43:41.449 --> 00:43:43.510
You're seeing the angst of the composer right
00:43:43.510 --> 00:43:47.190
here. And a podcast interviewee. Recently, probably
00:43:47.190 --> 00:43:50.400
Hozier and his new album. Good. Check it out.
00:43:51.019 --> 00:43:55.139
Last question is a paradox in a sense. Is there
00:43:55.139 --> 00:43:57.000
any question that you would hope that I would
00:43:57.000 --> 00:44:02.219
ask that I haven't asked? No. My brain just went
00:44:02.219 --> 00:44:04.980
completely blank. That is great. Well, I hope
00:44:04.980 --> 00:44:09.420
that you have enjoyed this very much, this classically
00:44:09.420 --> 00:44:13.559
speaking episode with the amazing young emerging
00:44:13.559 --> 00:44:16.579
composer, Lorne Biggs. My name is John Sutton
00:44:16.579 --> 00:44:18.179
and it's been a pleasure to be with you today.
00:44:18.429 --> 00:44:19.210
Thank you.