Da Capo Conversations Chelsea Hollow and Corinne Whitaker

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 83: Da Capo Conversations with Chelsea Hollow and Corinne Whitaker

Looking for a way to listen to diverse creators and to support equity in the arts? Tune in weekly to For Good Measure!

Today we revisit Chelsea Hollow’s and Corinne Whitaker’s perspectives on finding artistic fulfillment during the pandemic. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Chelsea Hollow and Corinne Whitaker, check them out here and here. Parts of this episode originally premiered on July 24, 2020, click here and August 10, 2020, click here.

This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and generous donors, like you. Want to support For Good Measure and E4TT? Make a tax-deductible donation or sign up for our newsletter, and subscribe to the podcast!

Intro music: “Trifolium” by Gabriela Ortiz, performed by E4TT (Ilana Blumberg, violin; Abigail Monroe, cello; Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Below the Surface: Music by Women Composers,” January 29, 2022
Outro music: “Lake Turkana” by Marcus Norris, performed by E4TT (Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Alchemy,” October 15, 2021

Transcription courtesy of Otter.ai.

Co-Producer, Host, and E4TT co-founder: Nanette McGuinness
Co-Producer and Audio Engineer: Stephanie M. Neumann
Podcast Cover Art: Brennan Stokes
With assistance from Hannah Chen, Sam Mason, Renata Volchinskaya

Transcript

Nanette McGuinness  00:00
[INTRO MUSIC] Welcome to For Good Measure, an interview series celebrating diverse composers and other creative artists, sponsored by a grant from the California Arts Council. I'm Nanette McGuinness, artistic executive director of Ensemble for These Times. In this week's episode, we continue our Da Capo Conversations, a mini series where we'll be giving familiar segments a topical twist [INTRO MUSIC ENDS]. Today we revisit Chelsea Hollow's and Corinne Whitaker's perspectives on finding artistic fulfillment and joy. Here's what Chelsea Hollow had to say:

Chelsea Hollow  00:40
I love being a nerdy researcher and a linguist. And I love the dramatic exploration that operatic performances bring. I have to say, I think lately, my connection to my craft has changed quite a bit. In these times, where it just seems like every day there's a new stress to our society, I have found so much satisfaction in the ability of art to really help us process tough emotions, and to really start to find the humanity. My energy and my artistic expression has really been cyclical, and I feel like it's been oscillating between times of real fiery inspiration and using projects as a distraction from the stress of our time. And then it also comes in waves of real, you know, trauma and sadness, there's a deep sadness. I miss, I miss my family, I miss my friends. And I miss rehearsals. This this season was supposed to be a time for me to fly around the country and perform recitals and I had five operas I was in. So I was so excited for all of these, you know, new endeavors, and I definitely felt a stall in my artistic expression. Luckily, I had a couple of projects that I had been wanting to do, that I was not, I didn't have time to do, while during my previous spring schedule. So they were kind of on the backburner and I have ramped them up, and they are now a primary focus of my time. One of those is a call for proposals for my concert voice for the voiceless. And it's been really fun, I've been getting submissions from all over the world, with composers who are really excited for the mission of the project, which is basically to showcase the text and the actions of activists.

Nanette McGuinness  03:04
Here's what Corinne Whitaker had to say:

Corinne Whitaker  03:07
I feel blessed to be living at this moment in time. We are a species in transformation. As we move from carbon based to other than, living forms are being grown on inert substrates, surgeons and scientists are transplanting parts from other animals into our bodies. Artificial Intelligence is radically altering how we see ourselves and each other. We are on a historical journey, without knowing where or how it will end. I have sometimes called us the Newanderthals, and other times the Quasis. Even researchers at the forefront of experimentation admit to qualms about where all of this is leading. As a species, we are the great innovators. We are also hugely disruptive. We seem to be addicted to violence, to warfare, to unimaginable hatred. What other species has put its own kind into ovens, like those at Dachau. I have often been asked if the images used in my books are illustrations. In the usual sense, no, they do not refer specifically to any line or page. On the other hand, their location in the book is carefully chosen. And they all, like the artwork itself, reflect the heart and mind of a particular artist at this time, in this place. Together they form a picture of who I am and what I am thinking and feeling. All art is autobiographical in some sense. We may not always have the key to decipher it. If the work is compelling, it may in fact take years to understand fully. It helps to remember that photography as a fine art took 150 years to be accepted. I should add that I have always been passionately curious about tomorrow, and the unknown. Where will it take us? What mysteries will we uncover? I can remember going through the birth canal with great anticipation. What's going on out there in the big world, and excitement? Let me out of here! Don't restrain me. This is the spirit that fills my life, to this day. I love experimenting with new materials and new processes. This is why I began, some three years ago, composing music using AI, artificial intelligence. It is what has prompted me over the years to try new materials like mirrors and brass for digital painting. It is why my newest body of work starts with a raw selfie, projects it into artificial intelligence, alters it digitally, just to see where it will go. I have often been asked how long I will continue using the computer to create. I answer, as long as the magic continues, and the magic never stops.

Nanette McGuinness  06:43
[OUTRO MUSIC] Thank you for listening to For Good Measure's Da Capo Conversations, and a special thank you to our guests for joining us today. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast by clicking on the subscribe button, and support us by sharing it with your friends, posting about it on social media, and leaving us a rating and a review. To learn more about E4TT, our concert season online and in the Bay Area, or to make a tax deductible donation, please visit us at www.e4tt.org. This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council, and generous donors like you. For Good Masure is produced by Nanette McGuinness and Ensemble for These Times, and designed by Brennan Stokes, with special thanks to co-producer and audio engineer Stephanie M. Neumann. Remember to keep supporting equity in the arts, and tune in next week "for good measure" [OUTRO MUSIC ENDS].