Da Capo Conversations with Monica Chew and Brice Smith

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 86: Da Capo Conversations with Monica Chew and Brice Smith

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 Monica Chew’s and Brice Smith’s advice for young women and emerging artists. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Monica Chew and Brice Smith, check them out here and here. Parts of this episode originally premiered on June 20, 2022, click here and September 20, 2021, 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 Monica Chew's and Brice Smith's advice for young women and early career artists. Here's what Monica Chew had to say.

Monica Chew  00:39
My advice for composers, not being an experienced composer myself, is that you should just try it if you're interested. And the worst thing that will happen is that you'll write something that you don't like, which is just part of learning. So I hope that anybody who's listening and is interested in composing, won't have any fear about doing that, and will feel like they have the right to create their own music and perform it. And if it's bad, then it'll join a long legacy of bad pieces, that is an important part of our tradition. So you know, it's so interesting to me as a, as a classical musician thinking about, especially this past year, when we had this big Beethoven centennial, about how much of our concept of what makes a good Beethoven performance is based on many, many decades and generations of brilliant performers doing their best to play Beethoven over and over and over and over again. And we don't dedicate the same time and energy to new music. And because of that, sometimes when a new piece gets played for the first time, and it doesn't go well, it may, the composer may not be lucky enough to have the piece performed a second time, or, you know, enough times for someone to really understand that piece, for this piece to find the right performer and the right audience. So I would say even if you write a bad piece, just keep going. Eventually you'll, you'll have the right combination of the score and the performer, that somebody will feel something from something that you wrote, eventually, I think.

Nanette McGuinness  02:48
Here's what Brice Smith had to say:

Brice Smith  02:50
This is such an important question and reflection. And I often tell students, colleagues, and friends that who we are matters, our ambitions and our life story, it truly matters. It's important for us to live in a constant world of curiosity and to work to notice details. We should pursue ideas that energize us, even if we find them daunting. It's almost certain that we will be judged or misunderstood. However, it's important for us to take criticism, and use what works for us and improve ourselves.

Nanette McGuinness  03:29
[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 Measure 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]