1. You started out studying composition and piano - do you still play and if so is it for pleasure or do you still perform?
I do still play piano regularly and was in fact considering becoming a concert pianist for a number of years (until I was dissuaded of this goal by a professor in graduate school). As a student of piano, I had started to become a bit disenchanted with the instrument because of the minutiae of perfecting each performance. Once I decided to study composition exclusively, I began to enjoy the piano again, and I’ve never looked back. I have my grandfather’s beautiful antique Mason & Hamlin grand piano at home and I try to play it everyday, at least a little. I don’t perform much, at least as a soloist, but I have done a lot of accompanying (both with vocal and instrumental performers), as well as playing in performances of my own music (since I tend to write piano parts to my own abilities).
2. Do you come from a musical family - what music do you remember being played at home that has influenced you in your subsequent work?
Actually I am the only serious musician in my extended family, although almost everyone else has dabbled a bit and/or are voracious listeners of a variety of musics. My father and uncle were both enthusiastic amateur choral singers, and my sister has played a bit of both violin and cello - and we do have a small family tradition of singing holiday songs together when we visit. I do have many strong memories of music being played in the house when I was a child, much of which has remained important to me - after putting us to bed, my mother played relaxing music such as James Taylor (which I now sing to my daughter at bedtime), and Keith Jarrett’s 'Koln Concert'. There was some classical music on the stereo, which may have had some influence on my development, but mainly a great selection of classic folk and rock, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Beatles, etc.
3. You write both for concerts and opera - how do the two disciplines differ and which, if one, do you prefer?
Opera is more explicitly collaborative than concert music, although by definition all new music (unless done on MIDI) requires working with not just performers but also administrators, fundraisers, audience members, directors, etc. I find opera fascinating because of the challenges imposed by the libretto and the give-and-take with the singers, technical staff, designers, and producers, but I think that concert music is still my first love. In a way, the composer has more exclusive control over the final product in the world of concert music than he or she does in opera, and overall fewer egos (besides his or her own) to deal with!
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