Dec 03 2008
A Fourth Encounter
The first time I saw him in person, I was pulling into a parking lot near Davies Symphony Hall in 2003. As I made a right turn into the lot, I had to quickly apply the brakes because he, tardy to the open rehearsal of his latest orchestral work (I was, too), sprinted out of the lot in front of my car, with score in hand.
2005 marked a second crossing of paths. His new opera was making its premiere at the War Memorial Opera House, and my friend, Larry, made arrangements to get me in for the dress rehearsal. Immediately following, another one of my friends, Derek, forced me to shake his hand (I was far too star-struck to have made the effort myself).
He visited the SF Conservatory in 2006 to speak to composers in a seminar class, and later to a larger audience in the auditorium. By then, I was already an alum of the Conservatory, but invited back to partake in the occasion.
And then came yesterday, a fourth encounter, where I sat down and had a conversation with one of the greatest composers living and working today: John Adams.
He came to Mills College to speak to the students of my friend, Nalini Ghuman, who teaches an opera history class at Mills, among others. She knows how much I admire John, and she generously extended an invitation to me.
I arrived about 15 minutes early, as did John and Nalini. Nalini quickly introduced me to John and identified me as a composer. I then sat down, and a few moments later, John took a seat next to me and initiated conversation.
It meant so much that we spoke. That day will certainly serve to be, as it was and is now, one of the great highlights of my artistic life and career.
John Adams, though he lived and rose to fame just 100 miles north of where I grew up, was unknown to me for many years. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that I was first introduced to his music. Dr. Ian Krouse was teaching undergraduate theory at UCLA at the time, to which he brought several interesting scores by composers familiar and unfamiliar to me.
Dr. Krouse showcased a piece by Adams, called Harmonium, and I remember how attractive and immediately appealing the work was upon first listening. Of course, I was mystified by its complexity, but impressed by its ability to cut through it and communicate something intensely meaningful. As I explored the body of his work, I fell in love with his language and expressive prowess, which changed the way I thought about contemporary music.
In the earliest of my undergraduate years, I misguidedly paired modernism and atonality as synonymical, and thought that my music, in order for it to be taken seriously, had to take on a complicated, gnarly, unnatural, hyper-intellectual flavor.
Discovering the beautiful, expressive, and intelligent music of Adams served to be one of the rare answers to my dilemma. In fact, the original title of my 2002 piano quartet was “Paertadams:” an homage to Arvo Paert and John Adams.
So much of my artistic identity is wrapped up in his. I feel a deep connection to his music and to those things he expresses in his world, a world which in many ways is so much like mine.
He is American, he is a west-coaster, he is a Bay Area Californian. He has further defined the sound-world of the United States, given the West Coast a strong voice in the world of art music, and is firmly rooted in the culture of California, and more specifically, the Northern California psyche.
Speaking with him yesterday was a profound privilege, a true treasure to be cherished by me for many years to come. And even though the picture above is blurry and a bit dark, it remains to be a priceless memory of such a momentous and wonderful occasion.
Emerging from the fog of busyness at this time of year is especially rewarding. Thanksgiving was yet another annual opportunity to feast, but this time after a famine of many sorts. I hadn’t seen my family in months, or consumed a homemade meal for who knows how long. Everything was delicious, significant, and special.
It started at the beginning of the month, when the Ateneo Chamber Singers finally arrived in San Francisco. They came to my school to perform for my students, which proved to be a great success. The following Saturday, they premiered my piece, “De profundis” from Sempiterna, in an evening performance at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. They were spectacular, and my piece was well-received by members of the choir and audience.
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