TRANSCRIPT 🔗
Brian Balmages: Hey Chris.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Hey, Brian.
Brian Balmages: So unbeknownst to you, I have a gift for you today.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I like gifts generally when they're benounced to me. Is that a word? It's all right.
Brian Balmages: Yeah, it it is now, you know. It's one of my silly wordle words that I try to start with. What was my word? It was Fubsby. Fuzby. Which we don't know what it was.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yesterday's word was s so stupid.
Brian Balmages: It was a stupid word. But anyway, we digress. So
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah. Often.
Brian Balmages: if we can rewind just a little bit. Last time on our last episode, I believe we were talking about sports ball and sports water. not ball and cornhole. Yep, you there's your trophy.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah. Yes.
Brian Balmages: And we both were talking about how we love to be present and cheer on our kids and everything like that. you inspired me. You inspired me. And so I would like to this will be the first time I've ever done this, but I'd like to share something with you and our audience right now that that I kind of put together. For you. Maybe
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: thank you. I think.
Brian Balmages: more for Jack. Alright, here we go.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: That is great. I we have a regatta this coming weekend. I will find a way to project that while he's out on the water.
Brian Balmages: I will I'll get it to you. Now I do apologize to string players everywhere that I was not able to get I did not have enough time. There was a there was a time con crunch here. and so I I just finished this about five seconds before getting on this podcast. It is hot. It is called
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Hot off the press. That's fantastic. It sounded good.
Brian Balmages: the it's called the Roaring Roar Roaring Roe.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Excellent. I'm gonna share that with him. He'll be very thrilled. I'm not sure the people that are gonna be standing next to me are gonna be as thrilled when I'm next to them on the river. We're gonna be in Philadelphia again, so it's gonna be another fantastic weekend in Philly. But yes, we will definitely roar it.
Brian Balmages: Right. now the next the next part will be to see if we can do the choir. kind of like a sudden you know, just a pickup choir where like a flash mob where they all start singing row row row your boat and so that's that's that's part B.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I have to say that last week I was a little bit intimidated because I had a lot of people around where Christina and I were to cheer Jack on and I didn't yell row, row, row your boat. I did yell get Jack or something like that. No, I'll just it's implied. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Yeah, but but now you don't have to. Now you can just blare the living daylights out of this thing and I'll let you know like next time you're in Philly, I will let you know if I hear it here in Baltimore. And if not,
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Ha ha.
Brian Balmages: I will be very disappointed in you.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Excellent. All right. Well thank you for that gift. It's a it was something unexpected and certainly appreciated.
Brian Balmages: S speaking of unexpected and I don't know if I've appreciated, I got I got some fan email yesterday. And well, f fan email. This is really true. And
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Fan email or fan email. They're two very different things.
Brian Balmages: so I'd like to I'd like to go ahead and read this because my music apparently is taking on a whole new level here. And
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Okay.
Brian Balmages: so this email is all right, here we go. Yo. Could you low key write my girlfriend a song?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: She row, row, row your boat? Is she a ro is she a
Brian Balmages: I don't know, 'cause if she did, that would do it. But
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: rower?
Brian Balmages: I don't know. But whatever it is, apparently I don't know. I haven't written this person back. I just d is it do you need me to write something because you are low key fighting or you're just trying to get the girl or you're trying to keep the girl? Right it's a little bit odd.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: A Yeah, maybe it's like to the winter ball. A pro a promposal.
Brian Balmages: So it could maybe that's what it is. Could you low key write my girlfriend a song?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Maybe he was suggesting a lower key because his voice is higher. He's a tenor, so Hey, can you go to the dance with me? that was a little bit of a
Brian Balmages: I thought about that too. Right. So he could be like, I love you. Yeah, right. boy. So
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: strong bad. It was still again, you don't know Homestar Runner, but I wanna go to the dance. Hey that's strong bad. Dear What's it what was did the
Brian Balmages: This is terrible. my gosh.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: person sign the email?
Brian Balmages: You're asking no, he did not.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Dear didn't answer the email. So you want me to write a low key song for you, huh? Hmm. Okay, that's kinda how the that's how the strongbad emails begin. And then he would call him something like, You don't sign your name, I'm not gonna sign the score. I mean, who does that? So anyway. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: my gosh. Okay.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I have something for next time. I actually Christina found I have the the little figurines from Hostar Run. I have them. They're gonna be on my desk. I'll bring them out next time. So well yeah. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Okay, so now we've lost them for this podcast and probably the next podcast too. It went down something, that's
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I don't know. I feel like this went down a really good rabbit hole.
Brian Balmages: for sure. It went it went low key is what it did.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas:
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It did, yes.
Brian Balmages: so aside from the emails, and aside from this incredible Roro Roaring Roe fanfare,
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yes.
Brian Balmages: maybe I'll need to have a better title for that, but we'll get there.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Hard to say.
Brian Balmages: Jack, I hope you like it. And if you don't like it, then your dad wrote it. so anyway. We are there's probably a reason that we're getting a little punchy, and that's because it is basically November, right? We're in the fall. actually it is November, right? And we are feverishly preparing for the recording sessions, which are coming in January, early January. And try as I might, and I've tried many, many times. I can't stop January from happening. I can't just stop it.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Can't push it off.
Brian Balmages: I'm trying. Believe me, I am trying. But so we have a lot of preparation going on. And as stressful as it is, maybe getting into that actual period of time when you're in the hall with the musicians, once you're there, it really becomes a pretty fun thing. And we've talked about it a little bit, but we haven't talked about really the the actual process itself a lot and I really love this part of it. You know, there are people that have actually sent notes. I don't know if you've ever gotten this too, but they're like, why are you spending the money? Why are you spending the time working with real musicians in a hall and all this stuff when you can just use these incredible samples? And my response to that is always the same. I said I I did not become a composer. I did not start working for this this great publisher that we work for and the the the platform and all these things. I didn't start doing all of that so we could say, hey, we're gonna teach you how to play. We're gonna do all these incredible things. But once you get good, we don't have any more work for you because we're gonna replace you with a buy.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah, we're gonna turn it over to a computer. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Right.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Well, the other reason for that too is these are and I say this to the players every year, you are the they are the role models for thousands and thousands of kids out there. So if we expect students to sound like a great trumpet player or a great flute player, they need to hear it. Because I it's I could be wrong with this, but I don't feel like every kid has this concert band and orchestra music playing on their phones and into their ears all the time like we would want them to. So where are they being exposed to great characteristic tone? All these teaching elements, by and large, be these recordings. So not only are they important for you've talked about this before too. In the old days, it used to come like on a little floppy record and it was fifteen seconds of a piece so they can so the director can get an idea of the piece. It's simply a sales tool and it's completely changed. Yes. you're
Brian Balmages: Floppy rec floppy record?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: You've not seen those? They're like a little plastic record, first of all, a record, remember that goes
Brian Balmages: No, no, no. I've seen a record
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yes.
Brian Balmages: and I've seen a plastic but I've never seen a floppy record. Is this a new material?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: It's like a it's like yes, yeah, it'd be sent out with the catalogue, in a poster if you get an email with a or not an email, a mailing with a poster, you pull it out. It would be one of those. Rip along the perforated line, it would be a little vinyl record, and it would be the sample recordings. Yeah. I mean I'm not that much older than you, but you know what I was? While I'm not
Brian Balmages: I'm twenty two.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah, well okay.
Brian Balmages: Going on more.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: They sh you should quit smoking and drinking. It's put some years on you. But I Here's the kind of person that I am. Once I finally decided I was gonna get into music, I would actually go into like the closets of the band room, the in the offices, and search the filing cabinets for all the stuff I could find, the recordings, the records, any kind of stuff that I could do to listen.
Brian Balmages: Floppy records.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I found the floppy records and I had a record player at the time. Anyway, my point is it used to serve a very different role in the industry. It used to be let directors hear the good parts and then hopefully they'll buy these. Now it's much more important for students to hear these and for of course directors to listen to them and buy them. But of course with make music and with all the things that we have here, we want the kids to listen to these repeatedly. And if they're gonna listen to something repeatedly, it better be good. Because and that's one of the reasons why the this quality is so important to us in those recording sessions. If is a missed note going to stop the sale of a piece, probably not. The director that wants to buy the piece will probably plot buy the piece if the tambourine part was off by a beat. One measure. But for us, we want everything to be exactly right because we know that students are going to be listening to this as a role model over and over again. So get that standard there. And then the last thing before I stop talking on my pedestal
Brian Balmages: Thank gosh.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: is it's so amazing how they go from zero to 60 when it comes to emotion and interpretation of the music. They don't get it in advance. And all of a sudden they're playing this music for the first time, maybe the second time. with all the emotion that it would take weeks of preparation by other groups. And it's just amazing to see that come to life.
Brian Balmages: It really is. I and I have this joke with them, it's kinda funny, but we'll as folks know,
they hear the recordings and and the musicians that we're working with, th these are obviously professional level musicians, some of the finest in whether we're there in Indianapolis where we're working with these world class musicians from the orchestras, whether we're in D C where we're working with some of the most amazing premier military band people. The the thing that I always laugh about is we'll sit here and We will record these grade half and grade one pieces with these players that are just amazing. And there's a little part of me that feels sad. And the reason I feel sad is because within the first three minutes of this piece's life, it has now received what likely will be the best performance of its entire lifetime. And that's it. Like that's it. You just got it. And now the rest of it is going to be different, right? Exciting and probably really f a lot of great stories and a lot of great energy and a lot of exciting but but that first performance, right, with these players and it's like, well, there's a great level to to to look for, right?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Well, and I I'll I'll take a counter argument to that. I think those first sounds by those eight, nine year old kids, seven year old kids are just as beautiful and just as impactful as those that we get to hear by those world class musicians. Just in a different approach. But yeah, it's amazing what they can do with like the easiest level music. There's still so much musicality added to it. And it's amazing to be a part of that. But you're talking about the preparation that goes into it 'cause it's the time flies in those sessions and We are steadily into that, what's going to happen in those few hours that we have. and I know that this week I spent a lot of time on the band side of this, going through predicting, putting the music in order of what I think is going to be the right flow for the session, because it's the players that we have. We have to consider their stamina. We I also consider, and I'm sure you do too, the mental aspect of it. If I were playing in this session, how do I want to approach this? Am I going to do like all the challenging pieces all back to back. Am I gonna pace it? I'm gonna start easy and then get to the challenging stuff, then back it off and do some of am I going to mix it up? Am I gonna do some of the concert music and then a little bit of the pop music? All those different scenarios have validity to them. And I think we probably have different approaches to those based on the experience of those and feedback from the players, but all of that. And then the number of minutes they're playing per hour. We've literally got to make sure that the number one goal is record everything we bring. So we want to make sure that we're pacing that so that we have the right number of hours scheduled and that we use that time to be prepared in case something goes wrong and we have to go back and fix something that took longer than we thought it was
gonna be. So it there's all that anxiety inducing planning that is happening now and will take place all the way through until January fourth and fifth. Then then we're off to the races and then it actually gets or an eighteenth. Yeah. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Or 25th in my case, I will kick that can as far as I can anywhere and anyway.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Well, listen, we've got our processes that we're working through and and we're we're dealing with not it's not just us, and this, it's not just you and me. This is like a team of people working behind us, with us, alongside of us, to make this music come to those music stands. And they're we're dealing with all of our music. So we do have to pace it out so that they're not completely overwhelmed, although that's unavoidable because it all's happening now. But if it's a little later, that's good. Then mine will be a little bit earlier, and then we've got Time to make everything happen accordingly.
Brian Balmages: Yeah, no, I absolutely agree. And it's a lot of fun. like I said, it's a whirlwind where we're doing orchestra one day, y you know, got a pop session one day, you've got a be a beginning band session, I've got you know, a a full orchestra session and a hall in Indy we're just kind of all over the place. It's a lot of fun. It's just a big it's a big thing to juggle and and the thing that I am the most proud of with all of this is getting back to that idea of the musicality of it. I think it's really easy in a grade one, like you said, to just kind of phone it in. Right? And and it's fine. And you phone it in and it's gonna sound it's gonna sound good.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Good enough to sell. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Yeah, yeah. And and I think we talked about this, but I I think That used to be okay. I'm not saying it was ex I I wouldn't accept it, but it used to be okay. Because all this stuff was going to the directors, right? It was going to the band and orchestra directors and they were the ones choosing the music, but it's changed. This stuff is going on YouTube. The kids are all over it, right? You know, Rossano Galanti just dropped another one. Feed me.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Bro.
Brian Balmages: Like they're always like they're doing all this stuff that they get excited about. And i i I just think that with them listening to it and then also going to like a make music cloud platform, right? Where not only are they listening to it, but they're playing along with it. And and so they're interacting with this music and
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah, they're part of the ensemble.
Brian Balmages: right. And if they're not getting an inspirational performance, h what is that gonna do for them in the long term? And not only that, but l let's just get let's get very surface level for a minute, which is gonna sound crazy, but A really musical performance is also gonna sell a piece more because it's inspiring to the person that's selecting the music. I've never heard somebody say, Well, that's really dull, but I can do a lot with it, so I'm gonna Right. They don't they don't do that. And so I think there's multiple points, but the the biggest one is that if we want our kids to learn to play musically, we've gotta give them musical reference recordings.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yep. I agree with everything that you just said there. And it's a it does open up what the possibilities are. What can those sixth graders, fifth graders, fourth graders here in New Jersey, what can they try to achieve at some point? It's a great goal to have and we're happy to provide that for them. And I think just the fact that we're talking about this so much is showing like the seriousness seriousness that we take with this responsibility, not just for the company
Brian Balmages: Absolutely.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: but for the music education community at large. It's really important.
Brian Balmages: Right. When you when you low key want us to write a song for your girlfriend, we take that seriously. And we want to make sure that you you keep that girlfriend or you get that girlfriend. Yeah, right? So
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yeah, you wanna go to the prompt, bro. We got you, bro. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: well with that being said, we have no transition whatsoever into this next comment at all, right? But
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: None needed.
Brian Balmages: our guest today was great. Kevin Day has done so many incredible things in his career and This was a really great conversation. We talked about his life from a Hubble beginning a euphonium player and we jumped into his world as this this composer all the way into the his world in opera and all these crazy things like that. So I say that we get into it, but I also believe we should have a little bit of a different transition today. So I don't know. Are you ready to jump into the world of Kevin Day?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: I'm ready to get to his yes, to his interview. I don't wanna jump in or
Brian Balmages: Yeah, let's let's row this let's let's row this thing right along.
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yes, let's row this boat. Hey
Brian Balmages: That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Our guest today is rowing all the way from his humble beginnings as a euphonium player. He is an award-winning multidisciplinary composer, jazz, pianist, and conductor whose orchestrations have been praised by the Wall Street Journal as sweeping and lush. The Wall Street Journal. I mean, if you are that good and the Wall Street Journal is not talking about stocks and they're talking about your music, that's that's big, right?
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Especially if it's lush.
Brian Balmages: I know, right? Internationally acclaimed as one of today's leading musical voices, he bridges genre boundaries, he weaves together contemporary classical, cinematic, jazz, R and B, soul, gospel, and more. He burst onto the international scene in twenty
eighteen with his viral concerto for euphonium, and his works have since been performed by major ensembles across the globe, including the Cincinnati Symphony, Houston Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Las Vegas Phil, Tokyo Kasai Wind Orchestra, virtually all the DC premier military bands. And I should add, this is important, that his career really took off when he performed on Keys with my cousin's band, The Family Recipe. Go check out their album, people. It was awesome. It's alive. It's live. All right. Last year he it's alive. It's live. That's just that's great, Brian. Last year he premiered a groundbreaking grand opera commissioned by the Cincinnati Opera, and he is currently lecture of composition At San Diego State University, where he teaches when he is bored because he has nothing else to do. Please help me welcome to the podcast, Dr. Kevin Day. Okay, thanks, Chris. Thanks for that a lot. So, Kevin, you're Kevin, you're
Chris not Christopher Bernotas: Yay. I'm welcome. Welcoming him.
Brian Balmages: muted. We'll unmute you in a second. But what I want to say is this particular case, we want to just dive right in, and we just figured we would say, can you tell us your story? You were a humble euphonium player in college, like I mentioned, then you turned into this jazz pianist, band composer, symphony orchestra. who even are you? Can you tell us a little bit about your path?
Dr. Kevin Day: So my yeah, I had no idea that I wanted to be a composer at first. I originally wanted to to to play music, to be a performer. I come from two musical parents and was quickly immersed into their world of like performing music, from a very young age. And so I later joined the wind band. I originally wanted to to be a saxophone player. but when we got to the to the sixth grade we
Brian Balmages: Thank goodness that phase passed. Holy smokes. Wow.
Chris Bernotas: Sacks to euphonium.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, we we we got to the tryout in in the sixth grade and we got there a little bit late and the directors there told me, Hey, we have too many saxophones and I was crushed because it's like, I want to join the band. But they're like, hey, you could play on a brass instrument, right? And so I tried try a whole bunch of brass instruments and was able to make a sound on trombone and euphonium. And they're like, you what, let's put you on euphonium. And I'm like, I have no idea what this is, right? I had I I have no idea. But but I quickly began to look up YouTube videos and I and I I got to hear more about this instrument and I just really r really began to have to have a passion for playing it. And so that would later lead me to play tuba. So Most of my life up until I was about twenty one, I was really much I I I was I was performing. I I was playing in wind band and orchestra during the week days and then on the weekends, I was playing piano, mostly in gospel churches. I was playing ham and organ and also later getting into jazz, right? So all of my background is
is all based in playing music, right? And I had the chance to play many different genres of music through jazz, through playing these high intensity kind of gospel services where where we didn't have sheet music and I had to learn everything by by listening to to recordings. I had to learn how to play with that. And then getting the experience of learning how to read music through playing tuba, euphonium and then later piano. And so composition w really began to develop, I was really curio curious about composing, mostly through the guest artists that were brought into the place I lived. I grew up in North Texas. And so for the all the all city wind band, all region, all that, they always brought in conductors. They always brought in people to work with the musicians in our town. And so There's always three people I talk about who if I had never met these three people, I would not be who I am. and the those people are William Owens, who was my sixth grade all city clinician. So it's it's been wonderful as he's been a huge part of my life and my career. And I got to see him when I was very young. The other person that I got to meet much later is Omar Thomas. And Omar Thomas and I got to connect when I went to my first Midwest in 2015. and so the the the combination of William Owens, Omar Thomas, and then later John Mackey getting the the the chance to meet him when I was an undergrad, all of these people and their music and their work really began to to be like it began to speak to me in a way where I was like, you know what? What if I could do this, right? What if this were were were possible. And so win band is where I I to me really began to develop my voice, right? It's it's where I had a chance to try things, see if it worked, and writing for various grade levels and TCU was a big was a big place to do that, which is where I went for undergrad. And so I was I'm I'm very Very honored that I had the chance to collaborate with a lot of the musicians at TCU and then the later that would lead to Georgia and to the University of Miami. and and go Caines.
Brian Balmages: Canes, go canes, go canes. Sorry. Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: It's a long story short, no. I mean, just that has led to other opportunities as well. It's led to orchestra, it's led to chamber music, and crazy enough, it has led to opera. And I'm at the point now where I want to you know, At this point I wanna just collaborate. I wanna make art with with wonderful people. I want to tell stories of the past, present and future, and can use any medium to be able to do that.
Brian Balmages: Pretty cool. you were talking about your parents and growing up in a musical family, and I didn't realize this, and I'm imagining a lot of people don't realize this, but I didn't realize that your father was a like a pretty big hip-hop producer, and
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: your mom was was a really well-known gospel singer who I think collaborated with some pretty big personalities, right?
Dr.
Kevin Day: She did, yeah, yeah.
Brian Balmages: and and did that impact that maybe still a silly question. Maybe the better question is how did that impact you? growing up around that. And and I also kind of curious about the jazz piano thing. Is this something that you formally studied or did you just kind of figure out like I'm just gonna learn riffs and stuff? So those two questions kind of combined. The history of Kevin Day.
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. So I my my parents would bring me to their church events. And so I would go to to their rehearsals. My dad was the music director of the church I grew up in for for a very long time. And so I would just be in rehearsal while they're working up songs, while they're while the while the choir and the you you have your keyboardist, your your drummer and your bass player, all of them are are playing too. And so Piano was just something I I I I picked up, which is it's crazy and it's hard to explain. But I the more I kept watching, the more I wanted to try it. And then eventually yeah.
Chris Bernotas: How how old were you? I'm sorry to interrupt you. How old were you when you started that you wanted to actually play on the keys? 'Cause I'm thinking about the the coordination. The left hand, right hand coordination is challenging as you're older, so Okay.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, so I was around nine years old. I was around nine years old when I when I began really trying it. The the first i instrument I actually learned how to play within sort of the the gospel church was drum set, actually. But I was not after a while drum set wasn't really calling me as much as piano was, but that's kind of where that left hand or as much saxophone
Brian Balmages: As much as saxophone was, right? Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: was. But that left to end right hand coordination, right? Again, with drum set actually. And and then that transferred to piano and and that led me to learn how to play piano. I never r received any formal training. I I mostly learned through working with with a couple of the keyboard players at our church and then looking up lots of YouTube videos and listening to lots of recordings and and beginning to build a re a repertoire of players that I would learn to to play from. And so that's that's what I did from the age of nine to twenty one before I really began to play in jazz band in college and in high school. And yeah, so all that began from this this time I was just really curious about piano and through that playing ham and organ, playing since we're talking about the family recipe, playing synthesizers that we did in Georgia. And it's all it's all
Brian Balmages: I'm telling you, you gotta you gotta listen to it, people.
Dr. Kevin Day: connected. It's all connected. so no I I I love that and again I I but my I I wanted to just be a performer and I mean that would led into lead into me becoming a composer and now I'm trying to find a way to do both, right? Because I love writing, I love playing, and I think that's where life is pivoting at the moment is I wanna I wanna still write music, but maybe not in the same way and I wanna I wanna I wanna play. So that's that's kind of where life is now.
Chris Bernotas: I actually have another question about your piano playing, and your connection in the in the wind world. I assume that a lot of your piano playing
Brian Balmages: Yeah, do you use the middle C approach or do you use I'm sorry,
Chris Bernotas: Stay focused. do
Brian Balmages: Yeah, okay. My bad.
Chris Bernotas: my question is you probably did a lot of playing by ear, right? So
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, yes, yes.
Chris Bernotas: you transferred that at some point into being able to write scores and notation. I'm asking this because I I didn't play I played everything by ear until college. So like reading music
Dr. Kevin Day: Mm-hmm.
Chris Bernotas: was a thing for me. Like I was afraid of it and all that kind of stuff. So I'm curious for you, how do you did you go from playing by ear into reading and what was that transition like for you? How did that happen?
Brian Balmages: And when you're playing by
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: ear, do you wear headphones before you're using it on the piano or do you you like I'm just curious.
Dr. Kevin Day: playing by ear, I I so I began like you, Chris, I playing by ear. Then through I sort of learned reading music through through reading bass clef beginning, because of course I was I was playing playing euphonium and tuba. So I was so I got really good at reading the bass clef. I could not read Trouble for the longest time, and it took me about five or six years to learn that. And so When I started learning piano and learning how to read piano music, the trouble part was actually the hardest part for me because I was like, I don't know. And I and you have to be able to read those two at the same time. And so that just took time to be able to develop that skill. But yeah, I I completely began as listening playing by ear, listening to music, and learning how to read at the same time. And then as I went through school, through all my grade school training. I was continuing to grow in reading music and in listening as well at the same time. So that that's that's what has been a huge part of my foundation has been able to do both.
Brian Balmages: really cool. I I so I'm I'm also self taught on piano and and
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: I used to joke around because I I played well before I was able to read. I'm trumpet, I'm fine. I could read anything. But I always used
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: to joke around about with piano. I could never open my eyes wide enough to see all of those notes at the same time. It was just like they're up there,
Dr. Kevin Day: Mm-hmm.
Brian Balmages: they're down there. I could never never do that. Funny, I
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: I'm fine with the score, but that's n that's neither here nor there. So I think first of
all, we have probably successfully alienated anybody who plays piano who's listening to this podcast, because we are now hated by all of them. so much apologies to all of you. yeah, but
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah. Sorry, y'all.
Brian Balmages: we don't have technique. We can't do like the thumb crossover stuff, and I can't play in the key of F sharp major to save my life. So you still trump us, okay? So so you
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes.
Brian Balmages: you still have your stuff. I I I love this whole background that you're sharing with us, right? And and because of everything that you do, we have seen you write in such a wide variety of mediums. Whether it's whether it's let's say the concerto for wind ensemble, which goes through all kinds of stuff, right? And at at some point you're in that hip hop, you're in that j you're doing a little bit of everything. but then you're also in the world of opera or you're in these other different worlds. And and I'm assuming that when you were getting your composition degree, you didn't take a the intro to how to write for opera class, right? And and so one of the things that I
Dr. Kevin Day: No, no, no.
Brian Balmages: would love for you to talk about is you're writing for
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: all of these different mediums. How and a lot of them are new, right? The first time you ever wrote for a string quartet or again That's like okay because you okay, it didn't work out well, you could change a couple of things, but when you're writing a grand opera, it's not li it's a different and you have a crazy story about that too, about the opera. But can and and so I
Dr. Kevin Day: I do, I do, yes. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: guess l we'll get to that in a minute, but can you talk about your approach to writing for all these mediums, including the ones you've never written for, and and how do you approach that?
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely. Yeah. It when I was first beginning, especially writing for orchestra and you know, writing chamber music and things like that, my teachers really encouraged me to look at a lot of scores. So I so I did a lot of scores study and and listening and and that was a big part of that. But then jumping into like like chorus music and and vocal writing and grand opera, I mean That was situation where I just had to jump into the fire, right? I I had no time to prepare and it was and honestly the the the greatest teacher I had within writing in that particular medium was working with vocalists, was actually working with people and working with our conductor who was is absolutely brilliant. His name is Kevin Miller. He is he actually with our show, this was his conducting debut, but people have been wanting him to conduct for years, apparently. But he is well known in the opera world. He is and and what he's he is known for is being a coach. So he's a vocal coach. So like anytime like the Met puts on a big show or whatever, he's the one coaching the vocalist and the chorus, the rehearsals. So
like he's had this important role for many, many years. And so working with him as well as working with the vocalists. i is what truly truly was was the best teacher I could have ever had. And no in college composition courses we do not have a how to write for opera course or how to write for or even voice course.
Chris Bernotas: Were were you writing were you writing this kind of as you went? Like did you write some and then hear it, write some, then hear it? 'Cause it sounds
Dr. Kevin Day: It was a lot of this was writing it and then waiting a very, very long time to hear it
Chris Bernotas: Mm.
Dr. Kevin Day: live. So I got very used to vocal MIDI, which in these programs is not the best, but got used to to
Chris Bernotas: Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: to listening to to that for so long. And then we have our first workshop and it's like, this actually works, or that really doesn't work, or and and and it's about those moments of trial. and ultimately trying to find the best way to do it to where the vocalists feel comfortable. So I I I now through doing that, I love that process a bit more, I think, than than just looking at scores is I want to interact with the players. I want to make a piece that that everyone feels good about performing and I'm not and I'm not making them do anything crazy. And so like through working with with Singers, yeah, that has radically changed my process now. And and we we did to to do what we just did and we actually the opera premiered July of this year. we
Brian Balmages: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Kevin Day: we we were in this process for five years, right? So shortly after actually shortly after the premiere of Concerto for Wind Ensemble in twenty twenty one is when I got approached about this. And so this has been in order for a very, very long time. So yeah.
Brian Balmages: So can we talk let's talk about it for a minute, right? the opera and I I I've actually never heard you say it, but I think Lalovavi, right?
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, correct. Correct. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Okay, you you thought about it. You're should I correct him on public air? No, no. But I would I
Dr. Kevin Day: No, no, you're correct. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: would love for you to talk about the the genesis of the piece, right? Of the of the opera. But then I also recall you and I sitting at a restaurant in Seattle having lunch
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes, yes. Mm-hmm.
Brian Balmages: and you telling me this this crisis moment where you're like, okay And I think it's really important to share because I don't want people to feel like, he was asked to write an opera and he wrote an opera and it was a huge success and everybody was like, Great. there was a struggle in there. So can you talk about what the opera is? How
Dr. Kevin Day: So much. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: did it come to be? But then talk about this massive like moment.
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely, yeah, yeah. So so weirdly enough, yeah, this opera commission opportunity came through an Instagram direct message and at first I thought it wasn't real. but what happened because
Chris Bernotas: Gee, I wonder why.
Dr. Kevin Day: yeah, that doesn't this doesn't happen, but what happened was so in July twenty twenty-one, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in North Texas, they they had programmed a piece of mind called Lightspeed, which I wrote this piece many, many years ago. It's a it's like this opener two, three minute piece I wrote that the Houston Symphony graciously recorded, and so that that began to jump around now to orchestra's programming. So Lightspeed was played in North Texas for this Fourth of July concert. And just through pure happenstance, the two guest artists that the orchestra brought in. were two opera singers. One of those opera singers was Morris Robinson. And Morris Robinson, if you Google him, super, super famous, well known, huge career, has spoken all over the world. he happened to hear this piece. And and I was in the audience and it was the fourth of July. So after they did my piece, I pretty much left because I wanted to go be with my family on the fourth of July. But I get a DM late that night And it's from Morris Robinson and it's from his his verified Instagram account. He's like, hey, I'm Morris Robinson. And he began to explain he worked he works as a consultant, an artistic consultant for Cincinnati Opera, and reached out to me. He said, Hey, I heard your piece, Lightspeed. We are looking for composers and librettists for this new project, for this black opera project. Would you be interested? And I at first was like, This has to be a joke. But then I I responded to it since I was like
Brian Balmages: Was there a thing that said like if you're interested, please click here and make a small donation, right? Add your social security number, yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: No, it was nothing like he gave me
Chris Bernotas: Enter enter your enter your bank information. Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: his well, he gave me his number and so I was like, Okay, yeah, I would love to talk, Mr. Robinson. And so once once like him and I got on the once we we talked and he explained what this was, I was like, Okay, yeah, let me see what I can do and who I need to talk to. And so he told me to choose a librettist I wanted to work with. I the the the only person and the first person that came to mind is a good friend of mine from Georgia. her name is Tifara Brown. And Tifara is really well known as a performance poet. She has been on TED Talks. She has had a a wonderful career as a poet and as an artist. And I reached out to to Tifara the next morning and I was like, Hey, weird question. Do you want to write an opera? And she was like, A what? Like an opera. And I explained to her and feels like Kevin, I've never done that before. And I'm like, neither have I. Let's let's try this, right? Let's see. And and that would begin the the that was the beginning of what would be a huge collaborative process that involved lots of people. And so long story short, we we were
going we had two ideas we were going to do for for the opera. But through conversations with Company, they were like, Well, we want something grand. We want something, and and at the time I had no idea what that meant. And so they allowed us to see three operas, which is was kind of my entry point into the opera world. And one of those operas was Aida, which is a super well-known grand opera. We saw it in all its grandness and glory. And I was like, they want something like this. Okay. I've never I have no idea how to do this, right? And and so, long story short, once they brought in our They brought in what who would become our director, Camille Howard, who has done a lot of work with the Metropolitan Opera. She sat me in Tifara Down and she's like, We need something that's going to be hopefully like like joyful, but it we need an epic adventure of sorts. And and that once we all had a conversation that would pivot us to the genre known as Afrofuturism, which is if you know the movie Black Panther, if you know Lovecraft Country. If you know like some of these like TV shows, Movies Blade, if you know any of that stuff, th that's kind of pivoting into the realm of Afro futurism. And so we basically Tifara within a week came back with the libretto for Lalovavi. And so long story short,
Brian Balmages: Holy smoke
Dr. Kevin Day: yeah, so she she was like, I got something and and we were blown away when we saw it and we showed it to the company and they were blown away and were like, okay, well we gotta do this. So what is Lalovavi? This is a story that is in the language of English and the language which was really captivating how she used this. there's a language in this opera called Tut. Tut was in a language that enslaved peoples use as a way to not only read English, to write English, but also to secretly communicate. It's a secret language that was passed down through through the South for generations, to the point now where if you go on TikTok, you actually have people now who speak Tut from the Black American community. Tifara has known this language and has researched this. And so rather than coming up with a brand new language, kind of like Tolkien for this futuristic concept, she's like, let's let's let's use a language that is already known in our community. And and so Lalovavi is a Tut word that means love. And this
Brian Balmages: Mm.
Dr. Kevin Day: opera is a beautiful. a mix of English and Tut, and is a crazy sci-fi adventure that has joy, that has triumph, has has some sadness as well. But it feels like you're watching a movie when you see this production. And that ultimately led me to change my approach to how I was going to write it to something more cinematic, to something that was like basically like a a a musical movie score. And and so yeah, we we developed this, we worked, it took it took so much work to bring this to life. And like you said, when we had our conversation, Brian, in Seattle,
Brian Balmages: Yeah, I wanna talk about this 'cause this is important for people to hear.
Dr. Kevin Day: yeah, like like we had in our conversation in Seattle, it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, right? There were points where Tifara had to rewrite large chunks of the libretto. I had to rewrite large chunks or the entire part of the music. we had creative differences within our team. We had creative differences in the production. it takes it when you get this many people, I'm talking like a hundred and twenty people in in the same room to have creative control
Chris Bernotas: Wow.
Dr. Kevin Day: over how this is gonna be, right? It you're going to have conflict, right? but ultimately we were able, yeah.
Brian Balmages: But you had a major like we were talking about this. There was a major like you were rewriting like
Dr. Kevin Day: I was writing the entire thing. Yes. And and that was very very frustrating at the time. Yeah. The
Brian Balmages: Was it the entire first half? I don't remember how much it was, but it was like yep, yeah, I gotta redo this whole thing.
Dr. Kevin Day: the entire opera, yes. Because there were points where there when when the company looked at it, they were like, okay, these plot points don't make any sense. Right? These these the way this scene goes to this scene didn't make any sense. And so And and that was an important lesson for me to learn was because even though, yes, I'm the composer and the music is is is vitally important, if the narrative doesn't make any sense, then nothing I write musically can be able to save that ultimately. So so the libretto had to be reworked. And and as that happened, I had to retweak my music to make that libretto work as well, which was not an easy task to do. Graciously, and I want to sh to make sure I mention him, Josh Trentadue came to my rescue in this moment. And I and I talked to my friend Josh. I was like, Josh, this is a crazy situation. I need help, and and I would love your help to to help me reorchestrate large chunks of this, to get the copyists work together, to do what we can so we can actually put this in front of an orchestra and in front of the singers. And so Josh Trentadue was a huge help. To this project and ultimately led to the to what is now the success of this project. So I want to make sure I mention Josh. But but yeah, it was a moment where I I had to dig deeper emotionally as a composer to write what is what was now in front of me, right? I had a draft of Lullab, you I okay, great, I got it. And I came up with musical ideas, had it written, was ready to orchestrate it. All those ideas that I had written music to got reworked. So I had to completely rewrite my music to fit that occasion. And that is what led to what we put on in Cincinnati in July, which was a which was an opera that was had lots of great musical moments, but also some great character moments and ultimately a show that people loved and and so I'm I'm glad we were able to work through those kind of conflicts, right? But
when you do creative work like this. The compromise and and collaboration go hand in hand. You want to try to find a way to if we are all passionate about the same musical vision of what we want this to be, sometimes you have to make concessions and sometimes that is very difficult. So ultimately we work through ours. Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that because it's y you own this music, right? It's coming from you and you're d was it difficult for you to give up that control? is you're you're putting yourself out there just think Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes. Yes. Yes. It was so hard because it in no other project has this happened, right? And I had to give a lot of control and I had to trust people, right? This was a big process where I I I had to trust the people around me to to to do what they needed to do. And and luckily that trust all worked out. But it was hard. Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: Yeah, did there did that did that work make you feel better about the end result? did you feel stronger? A lot of times Brian and I both editorially work with
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: composers and we often have suggestions and have thoughts, critical thoughts, and it sometimes it fundamentally changes a lot of what a piece might be, which would be different from where a composer intended to go. And most of the times they come out of it feeling really good. This is much really strong. This piece is much better. It I'm really thankful for that feedback.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: Do you at the are you f happy with the outcome after going through all those emotional ups and downs?
Dr. Kevin Day: I am absolutely happy with the outcome, yes. And and I had a conversation with a friend about this in in Canada a couple months ago as we were as we were putting all this on and I told him like, yeah, I I did not know this project would make me dig as deep as I did in terms of emotion, but it did, right? And and with with with like most of my music, like I and and Brian, I mean I try to write music that is very joyful, right? I try to write
Brian Balmages: Mm.
Dr. Kevin Day: energetic music. I try to write music that is you know, music that is meant to either be happy or joyful or or or bring comfort in some way. In in this piece I really had to sort of put all that to the side in certain parts of the piece where I was like, let me dig into the emotion of the relationships of what is happening. Let me let me dig deeper into the what this is what the words and what the narrative is telling me to do in this moment. Let me lean into my into my heart a bit more. And so yeah, by the end of this now, I I think I'm a very different composer. I think I'm a very I'm a composer now that's more in tune with his emotions in my in in the work itself. Right. Most of the time I try to keep those two things very separate. But I think in this This opera, there was no way to, right? It sort of it I had to go the extra mile. And ultimately, yes, I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'm very happy with the reception it got from audience and critics. And we this this is not an accomplishment that is solely mine, but again, a hundred and twenty people, Josh Trentadue Tefara Brown, Camille Howard, Kevin Miller. so many people who brought this to life to make it what it is. So I'm very proud of it
Brian Balmages: No, it's really cool. I just to hear you talk about that, because we haven't really talked much about opera on this show, but
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: but I think the the point of all of that was the idea that here you were presented with an opportunity that I think a lot of people would have been like, I don't do that, right? I mean,
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: how many people do we know that are like, I'm a band composer? Or or I'm a young band composer? Or I just
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: write educational music, whatever it that even means, right? but the I think the fact that we talk about we grow the most very often when we just jump off the proverbial musical cliff and just kind of figure out what's down there in in that abyss of of new knowledge. And and I really appreciate that. And now I feel like you have the opportunity because you do teach composition and you do you have studied with some really amazing people.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: I'm curious with with all these experiences, what are you telling your composition students? Like what's what information are you giving them to kind of prepare them for a potential career?
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah. I think a lot of what I've been saying recently, I think, coming off of this opera and into a teaching position has been like you you you you kinda have to be prepared for anything. I don't believe in that all all collaborations are just perfect and nothing happens and it just works out every time. No, there are some times where you it it's going to require some work and it's gonna require some having the ability to be able to adapt. To whatever situation may arise, right? So it's about being adaptive. It's about really my all of my teachers, and I'm grateful to all of them, have have been encouraging to me to to continue to not like to not let myself be become complacent, to not to not let myself become relaxed, right? I'm always growing, I'm always learning, and and that was in. killed in me, I think, from my parents up through when I went to school and all that is like it composition is a lifelong pursuit. We we as composers get the wonderful beauty of discovering new ways of taking the world around us, taking the things that happen around us and making making making it into a beautiful piece of art for people to be able to to see and hear. And so It's just that that drive has always been within me. I think after this though, I'm not I don't want to maybe drive as hard. I I want to take a break. I want to you know take some time to recalibrate after
Chris Bernotas: Yeah.
Dr.
Kevin Day: after a project this massive and and that's what I'm doing now. But ultimately I'm encouraging my students in this moment to to lean into the music that they want to write, to to tell the s the to tell the stories they want to tell. to be as adaptive as possible to learn to write for as many to to learn to write for as music as many musical mediums and genres as they can because you may get an Instagram direct message one day that may change your life. Ultimately don't send them your social security number. Don't yeah it it may actually be legit
Chris Bernotas: Yeah, it's for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It it might be legit. I i it could be real.
Brian Balmages: Right, just don't just don't send them your social security number. Just don't do it.
Dr. Kevin Day: and and in And again, this just happened to happen because my an orchestra piece got played in this place with this person who was there. And and so the other the last part of it I will say to that is is make your music as accessible as possible, right? And so that if and when hopefully your music gets to a place and and you're programmed on a place, you may have a you may have a conductor here who is like, who is this composer? You may have a You may have an opera singer who hears it. You may have someone who hears what you do and be like, I would love to meet this person and I would love to to find out more about their work. So all of those are kind of things that I've been talking about in my lessons at least.
Brian Balmages: So when you say accessible, you're talking about being able to find it, being able to to get because when you were like, make it accessible and I was like, Kevin, you wrote Concerto for Wind Ensemble, dude. that that ain't that ain't accessible, man. okay, okay, I'm with you. Okay.
Chris Bernotas: Contact, yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: Being able to find it, can we contact you? Do you have a website? Do you have no no no, not not in terms of that? No. But but being
Chris Bernotas: That's very accessible. Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: in the accessibility piece in terms of being able to have your music out there, do you have a website? Do you have a YouTube channel? Do you have some way where if we Google your name y your name, composer, or this piece, can we find it? Can we contact you? Right? That that is more so what I mean. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Right. Have you been on the Take Notes podcast? those kinds of questions, right?
Chris Bernotas: Yeah, now it's you can
Dr. Kevin Day: Have you
Chris Bernotas: reach us at take notes
Dr. Kevin Day: been off the
Chris Bernotas: at makemusic dot com.
Dr. Kevin Day: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brian Balmages: Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: So that that's that's where I'm at right now. I'm I'm we just moved to San Diego and I'm beginning this new position and am taking time to to to not write. I'm actually not composing right now. I'm I'm I'm taking a break and I'm just teaching and my dog Leo who is back here sleeping very quietly, he he I'm I'm taking care of Leo and and I'm just I'm trying to slow down a bit. even though, yeah, we got some things coming up. I'm gonna be performing at the Midwest Clinic with Georgia, which I'm really excited about. I got a couple things of C B DNA coming. And not euphonium, piano. So I I we're kind of
Brian Balmages: And not not euphonium. Not euphonium. The instrument that you never studied.
Chris Bernotas: Right.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, yeah. We're gonna perform with Georgia
Brian Balmages: That's right.
Dr. Kevin Day: and that'll be really, really fun. And no, I'm I'm but I'm but but I'm taking the necessary time right now to recharge and to rest and ultimately just See what's next. I at this point I have no idea. pe people I've been asked in a few interviews about Kevin, what's next? And I'm like, honestly, I have no clue and I'm glad I don't know 'cause I just I wanna have this moment of peace before I jump into anything else major. yeah.
Brian Balmages: Omar Thomas said the exact same thing. Omar
Chris Bernotas: Yeah. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: said the exact same thing when he announced that he was moving to Paris. Right? I
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: I think it's okay for there are different schools of thought on this. And the the one school of thought is that you should be writing every single day or or studying music every single day. And if you're not exercising that part of the brain, then then you're gonna lose it. And then there's these other schools of thought that are just you you've got to be able to walk away for a little bit to let it recharge. And I think we probably all have our different viewpoints on that, but I am a firm believer in when you've just busted your tail off for for a long time to get something that is a part of your soul and you're delivering that into the world, sometimes the soul just needs a moment to recoup.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah, yeah. Composers are not machines, right? We we we are not made to be machines and to not to to be able to just keep going, going, going, going.
Brian Balmages: It's right it's right, Claude. It's right, Gemini. Sorry, okay.
Dr. Kevin Day: yeah, we are we we are and I mean we you you you briefly mentioned my concerto for euphonium. I mean th that was the piece I really sort of talked about this was this idea because at the time I think a lot of people I was just coming onto the scene and I was writing whatever's coming to my head and and the thing I kept hearing from random people is Kevin, you're a machine. How do you keep doing this? Kevin, you're a machine. I kept hearing this over and over again. I'm like, no, I'm not. I'm actually a human being.
Chris Bernotas: Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: I have to rest my mind, right? But I I think this perception that composers just have to be we just have to keep the output we have to keep up with. I just as I've gotten older, I'm realizing I can't keep up with that, right? I and and I have to I have to take that time to get my peace, right? To get
my mind together to be able to write whatever is gonna come next. But I remember that time where I was just writing and writing and writing, and I was like, now ten, ten, twelve years later, I'm like, okay, I I don't need to do that anymore. So yeah. Sure.
Chris Bernotas: Could ask you a little bit about your actual process? when we have composers on here, it's always nice to talk about we all have our own ways of writing, but when it comes to pen to paper or eyes to computer, what is your actual process when you're starting a piece? As it goes on, when you're finishing what is what talk us through that a little bit?
Dr. Kevin Day: Ninety percent of the time my process is I get an idea in my head. I usually hear that idea within some semblance of a score and I go straight into my computer and I write it. that that that's that's sort of what's been my process for most of my most of my life up to this point. The then and so yeah, I'll just get an idea, I'll go into my program. And just write it out. If I need to use the piano, we we have a little keyboard over here, I may play out something just to see. But most of that process w is just bring to computer, right? And then as I go from left to right, I will work on revising as I go.
Brian Balmages: Kevin, now we've now we've lost all the composers that are listening 'cause now they hate you too. Like it's just we're expanding
Dr. Kevin Day: Wait my god.
Brian Balmages: the list of haters. Come on, you're you're killing us here. Okay, so
Dr. Kevin Day: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I
Chris Bernotas: No, it's it's just use using your your imagination and you're you're seeing it, yeah.
Dr. Kevin Day: It's just how I just Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's just I I can't explain it and it it's in the ways I can't explain piano either. It's like it's just it just kinda happens. But you know what was good was my process changed dramatically because of this opera. It really changed because my most of and I think I may have posted I forget if I posted online about this, but when I w w when I had the chance to go to the the to an artist retreat of sort to to write this piece all I had there honestly I I left my computer in my room at where I was at. I I spent a lot of time just piano, pen and paper for a lot of that process actually. And I got to play through the chord progressions. I'm not the best singer. My mom is the singer. My sisters know how to sing. I I I can kind of sing. But I but I'm in there like trying to sing the mellies, trying to find the right notes and the right things and so most of the opera process computers were not involved to be honest up until it came time to actually transcribe it, to to put it into a program and to orchestrate it. But most of that process was actually piano, pen, and paper, me me in a cabin in the woods, and it was honestly the best experience ever. I hope I get to do it again. but yeah, 90% of the time it's if I if I'm not in that situation, I'll just yeah, I'll be in my room, I'll get an idea, I'll go straight into my computer and I'll and I'll write it until I can't. So
Chris Bernotas: I always feel like when you talk about taking breaks, I always find that ideas come when I'm taking a break. when I start to think I'm not gonna
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes.
Chris Bernotas: be able to think of anything. Then you stop thinking about it, it's like, this isn't just feels like a little tune.
Dr. Kevin Day: yeah.
Chris Bernotas: I got a little tune here. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: Who's gonna invent waterproof manuscript paper, right? Let's just get it in the shower, suction cup it to the wall, and let's just start writing music in the shower.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yep, and sometimes I have to ignore it. Let's just write it. Yeah, yeah. I I just can't and and like when that moment happens, like sometimes I have to just turn that off and be like, no, no, I can't do that right now, right? I I I have to kind of turn it off now. 'Cause yeah, like you're right. When you're taking a break, when you're doing nothing, if you're just walking around or whatever and you get an idea, it's like, yeah, I can't just write it right now. And so sometimes I'll try to thing into my phone. That doesn't always work. Or I will try to write pen and paper if I bring it with me. But but but sometimes I may just forget about it and then may go about my week and then a couple weeks later be like, What was that one idea I had? Go to the piano, see if I can remember it and be like, and then and then go into the computer. So it it it does vary over time, but I I'm glad that my process, at least in terms of the opera, has allowed me to slow down. I think when I was first beginning, when I was eighteen, nineteen, I was just I was cranking up things very fast and I was not really thinking about anything. I was just like, here's a piece, write it write it really fast, try to get it played and now that I'm a bit older I'm like, yeah, I'm not as quick as I was when I was eighteen, but that's okay. I think I'm I'm trying to be more intentional with how I compose and ultimately what ideas will will will come from that. So I'm I'm actually grateful that to the opera process in terms of just getting me to slow down my mind in the way I needed to.
Chris Bernotas: So so what is your day to day now at San Diego State? what is it do you have a massive schedule? Is like what
Dr. Kevin Day: No, on honestly.
Brian Balmages: boy, we're about to lose more listeners. Okay.
Chris Bernotas: No, we're gonna gain them. We're gonna gain them.
Dr. Kevin Day: No, no, I'm I'm honestly my day to day now. I mean I I I'm just teaching composition lessons. and and that's been really great. I I'm working with the undergrads and the grads here. taking the the trolley to work and when I'm not doing that, I am I'm I'm resting at the moment. I'm not composing. I mean I may I mean I know I'm practicing a course right now for Georgia and and I'm working through all that. But like but honestly, no, I'm just
I'm when I'm not teaching at the moment, I'm just trying to take time to rest and to enjoy the environment around me, spend time with with with my dog and my husband and and just just relax. I'm I'm in the moment where I'm not trying to do too much at the and I'm not trying to do too much. So yeah.
Chris Bernotas: Well, you d you don't want to diminish your work at the you're collaborating with young composers, young and older, like undergrads grads,
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: but you are still inspiring those other making those musical connections, but it's just in a it's in a different way. So it's still a bit of
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely. Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: a break, but it's it's great. I was you see with somebody
Dr. Kevin Day: But it's still yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chris Bernotas: else and you can also lift up what they're doing as well. So it's still invigorating and inspiring, but you're not completely disconnected,
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely.
Chris Bernotas: but your own personal batteries do need to charge. So there's that's all
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: good.
Brian Balmages: Yeah, and I wanted to follow
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes, yes.
Brian Balmages: up on the musical connections thing because I am willing to bet that a vast majority of people that may know you and may know your music have no idea that you're also a very competent expressive conductor. I didn't know that until we worked together out in Seattle.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: and and it was incredible to watch you. And and actually on that program
Dr. Kevin Day: Thank you. Yeah.
Brian Balmages: you did your own music, but you also did John Mackey. I remember all of that. And and I remember
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: the way you f were so you were as connected to that music of John's as you were to your own. And I think from
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: a composer standpoint, you see a lot of composer qu quote unquote composerslash conductors who might feel very comfortable with their own music, but they do not look the same at all with other people's music, probably because they haven't studied it as much or they haven't take in the the
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: effort, but but you really do. And and I would love for you to to maybe answer this question from both sides, but you do a lot of residencies where you're working with ensembles and you're working with other conductors, but you also have this incredible ability to get on the podium and work with a group yourself. In these situations where let's just say your music or or if you want to talk about you as a conductor, but when when you are working with a group, And you have this background in performance and we'll
Dr. Kevin Day: Mm-hmm.
Brian Balmages: call it actual performance, in terms of pr instrument performance, but also conducting, which is a performance as well. You have that background, but you also have this obviously this creative background in composition. What are
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: you what are you trying to get out of these groups? Either as the conductor or as the residing composer, when they bring you in and they want you to work with them, what are you after? What are you trying to get them to do more of? I'm sure it's to play better in time together all the time.
Chris Bernotas: Yeah. Play longer and shorter. Louder and softer.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yes. and in tune. no, it's it is it is about I mean i if I either when I'm conducting my own music or if I'm conducting any composer's music, I mean I want I want the ensemble to have the best musical experience as possible, right? And and that that comes from trying to bring the to bring to life the composer's intent. I try to create an environment where it's okay to make mistakes. Like I'm not gonna yell at you if you didn't play in the right song or whatever. Like I want you to learn it. Yes, and we and we want to get it right. But I I want to create an environment, one that is about the overall musical experience and also where they can have a good time playing. as well, right? Which will translate into our performance when we are in front of an audience. And so that was just something I've always had taught to me. my my conducting teachers, I had I had two. One of them is Cynthia Johnson Turner, who is amazing and I know you'll just talk to her. and so she was one of them and then so that's on the wind band. And then on on the orchestral side, in undergrad, I worked with a conductor named Hermán Gutierrez, who is originally from Colombia, from
Brian Balmages: Mm.
Dr. Kevin Day: the country of Colombia. and I feel like my conducting is a bridge between both Cindy and Herman, where it's like I can be more expressive, I can do the big orchestral like things, but I can also be very precise when I need to be, and being able to switch between those two techniques has hasn't has fused into how I do things now, but also kind of taking their their their teaching approaches, right? And their philosophies on music and applying them to what I do. and so though I'm I I will be say I will say that I am a little sad that that I'm an I I'm not g going to be able to do too much conducting anymore as I'm working through a bit of an injury. But
Brian Balmages: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Kevin Day: in my leg, but I when I get the chance to do it, I mean it's I try to give my all to it, right? 'cause I want to give yeah. and I'm trying to I'm trying to give
Brian Balmages: Well clearly you're working through an injury on your leg, so clearly you're really giving it your all when you're conducting, right?
Dr. Kevin Day: my all and and when we when we have the chance to work together in Wivick and and work with the with the group set that was such an amazing time. I had so much fun and And just like being in the room with with all these composers and directors and putting on this music, it was a really great time. So I hope I get the chance to do that again. I just
gotta be careful not to do it too much. So
Brian Balmages: Yeah, I always tell people for me, I I feel like I am the most complete version of myself. This is just me, but I feel like I am
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: the most complete version of myself when I step onto the podium because you,
Dr. Kevin Day: Mm.
Brian Balmages: like Chris, I I have a a v a huge background in performance. I I that's what I thought I was going to do and that's where I lived.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Brian Balmages: And then this composition thing kind of came along and was like, hey, try me. but I've never been able to let go of performance, right? Even though I don't play anymore, I've never been able to let go of that aspect of who I am. And because of that, I feel like anytime I get to step onto the podium, it becomes the ultimate synthesis of of everything that I've ever wanted to be all in one place at one time.
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Chris Bernotas: It's it's pretty wild, the the I I don't like words buzzwords. This is a known thing on this show, but we'll circle back. But the but the journey,
Brian Balmages: Well let's circle back to this after you give the bud word
Chris Bernotas: the journey. It's another one of those
Dr. Kevin Day: Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: ones. But it is amazing how many different paths there are and all the different roles that we play in life, whether it's composer, conductor, a human being. And I just love hearing all the different ways that people are getting to the places that they are. And it's one of the reasons I love this show. and I know that you've been trying to rest and we want to be respectful of your time to rest. So we want to we really want it's been so great talking to you and
Dr. Kevin Day: Thank y'all. Yeah.
Chris Bernotas: learning about you and your story. And I think that's one of the things that I love about this show is it goes beyond just seeing somebody on a page or hearing their music. We're actually embracing the people behind the music and learning the story, and everybody's tangible and everybody's got a really wonderful part of themselves to share. And you share it through music, but it's really nice to sit here and share it through your words as well and learn more about you. And you're so engaging
Dr. Kevin Day: Thank you.
Chris Bernotas: and you mentioned your music being joyful and it is, but you are also joyful. So I want to thank you for joining us today and and sharing your stories and your thoughts with us.
Brian Balmages: I do too, and I
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely.
Brian Balmages: and I wanna make sure that w everybody does realize that no saxophonists, composers, or pianists were hurt during the recording of this particular episode. Yeah. Kevin,
Chris Bernotas: No. A little bruised maybe, but yeah.
Brian Balmages: we listen, I love every chance I get to speak with you and this is no exception. Thank you
Dr. Kevin Day: Thank you.
Brian Balmages: so much.
Dr. Kevin Day: Absolutely. Yes, I appreciate the invitation and appreciate all of the love and the support. And I will see y'all at the Midwest Clinic in December. We're gonna have some fun.
Chris Bernotas: We'll be there.
Dr. Kevin Day: So
Chris Bernotas: See ya there.
Brian Balmages: It'll be a party.