Although it’s hard to believe (yes, that’s sarcasm), opportunities to come face-to-face with contemporary classical music, especially of the experimental variety, are slim to none here in Jacksonville. However, thanks to the endeavors of enthusiastic new UNF professor Clark Lunberry, two well-respected musicians of this genre will be in our midst Thursday, March 15th, at UNF’s Lazzarra Hall. Joan LaBarbara, a groundbreaking vocal artist who has worked with the likes of John Cage and Morton Feldman, and Tom Chiu, the promising young composer and violinist, are treating Jacksonville to the results of their collaboration. EU caught up with Tom Chiu, one half of this pair, through a series of e-mail conversations. Here are some excerpts of the interview.
EU: Using one word or phrase, how would you describe your music?
TC: Innovative, exploring new areas, journey to the unknown.
EU: If you had to give your music a genre, what would you call it?
TC: Experimental music
EU: How did you get started playing music, and what was your introduction to the type of music you currently play?
TC: Well, I’m classically trained, started when I was 6. The discovery of this “new” music can be described as either healthy rebellion or a genuine effort to find something new, stimulating, and challenging. I started to be exposed to more new music when I started graduate work at Juilliard, and much credit has to be given to Joel Sachs, conductor of the New Juilliard Ensemble and co-director of the new music group Continuum. Lastly, I should say that the aesthetic gap between genres may be exaggerated, and everything I create is informed by everything I absorb, so there’s always common ground regardless of difference in style or genre.
EU: Was there ever a turning point at which you had to make a decision between a so-called “normal” life and that of a musician?
TC: I suppose going to Juilliard was the first step in that direction, but I occasionally ask myself, is this my “normal” life now? What is normal?
EU: Is there anything about your upbringing or background that you feel prepared you or drew you to the kind of music that has become your focus?
TC: My parents are both artistic—my mom a piano pedagogue and my dad an important Chinese visual artist, so I suppose much of that is in my DNA.
EU: Who would you name as your biggest creative influence, musical or otherwise? Why?
TC: Bruce Nauman, hands down. 99% of his work captures that most profound feeling that an artwork can communicate: the ability to make one laugh and cry at the same time.
EU: I understand that you have a degree in chemistry; what, if any, connections do you see between your musical career and your background in chemistry?
TC: Problem solving; but I suppose that applies to many things in life. But seriously, problem solving is particularly important in experimental music, as we are constantly confronted with learning or inventing new techniques to deal with new approaches to both the music and the instrument.
EU: Speaking of chemistry, please describe your current collaboration with Joan LaBarbara, how it came about, and how it has developed?
TC: After admiring her work for several years, as she is a true pioneer in her field, I had this wonderful opportunity to collaborate with her in a 3-year series at Carnegie titled When Morty Met John, where we celebrated the music from composers of the New York School, including Morton Feldman, John Cage, Earle Brown and Christian Wolff, among others.
EU: Careful composition or improvisation?
TC: Both, depending on the situation. But composed music should sound improvised, and improvisations should sound logically constructed.
EU: Do you have an opinion on popular music today? Do you listen to new artists?
TC: When I’m home in NY, I spend probably 3-4 hours a day listening to the best radio station on this planet, WFMU (wfmu.org, if you’re curious). There’s a lot of great popular music today, but I definitely prefer those of a more esoteric nature. However, a qualifier: esoteric doesn’t mean it can’t be accessible. Perhaps it’s not “commercial,” but part of the problem with that is most of the powers-that-be who determine commercial viability are either clueless or cowardly, or some combination of both. . .let’s just say that a day doesn’t pass where I do NOT think about the relationship between aesthetic quality and commercial viability. An eternal optimist, I try to think that however esoteric the work with which I’m involved, that there is indeed an audience, even a wide audience, out there.
EU: What do you consider to be the value of experimental art, whether it be music, film, or visual presentation? How do you feel that working outside the boundaries of tradition can change a performer? An audience?
TC: “Walls”—or boundaries between styles, genres, media, disciplines, what have you—is what makes the audience create unhealthy preconceived notions. It is my mission as an experimental artist to break down as many of those walls as possible.
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