Da Capo Conversations with Vivian Fung and Valerie Liu

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 88: Da Capo Conversations with Vivian Fung and Valerie Liu

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 Vivian Fung’s and Valerie Liu’s advice to young women and emerging artists. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Vivian Fung and Valerie Liu, check them out here and here. Parts of this episode originally premiered on March 21, 2022, click here, and April 18, 2022, 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 BEGINS] 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 Vivian Fung's and Valerie Liu's advice to young women and early career artists. Here's what Vivian Fung had to say:

Vivian Fung  00:39
You know, it took me a long time to figure out things and where I fit in my voice and all that. And I think I'd go back to what I was saying before, to trust your intuition. So, you know, beginning composition students, or even if you're not beginning composition students, you'll get a lot of advice about things and you'll have a lot of courses and other stuff. And I think the thing is to, to return back to is to always trust your instincts about what is right, or where you fit in, or how to find your voice is to just really listen to that inner voice that will really guide you through to what you want to do, whether it be composition or otherwise. And I think that is really important. That has sustained me through really hard times. And also been integral it's for me to make certain key decisions about life and about things and, you know, even as fundamental as having a child, you know, if I listened to all my metros, and I wouldn't have a child right and, and it, you know, it's really important to cultivate that inner voice, that inner strength and that inner that that force that will hold you together. That's really important.

Nanette McGuinness  02:12
Here's what Valerie Liu had to say:

Valerie Liu  02:15
I say do it. Do it because you feel an urgency calling you to do it. I remember for me it's like, I cannot not do it. I envision it frequently, I dream constantly: the calling insight is growing stronger every day that I can't help it but to pursue it. But on the practical side, I feel that it is kind of hard to make a living as a career choice but just as a composer because it is often project based and you need a lot of networking. Therefore you pursue it because you're driven by passion, not by money. If you do pursue it, do some research. Check all successful composers career paths, read about them, see what they have done in the past. Talk to some of them. Seek advice. If this is something you are destined to do, pursue with all your heart. Be fearless.

Nanette McGuinness  03:24
[OUTRO MUSIC BEGINS] 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]