Hitomi Oba - Part 9

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 164: Hitomi Oba - Part 9

In this week’s episode, we talk to Hitomi Oba about what advice she has for young or emerging, or other Asian, mother, or women composers, along with discussion about her upcoming projects. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Hitomi Oba, check her out here: https://www.hitomioba.com/. This episode was originally recorded in December 2023.

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.
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1903729/episodes/17156492

Producer, Host, and E4TT co-founder: Nanette McGuinness
Co-producer and Audio Engineer: Stephanie M. Neumann
Podcast Cover Art: Brennan Stokes
Interns: Renata Volchinskaya, Sam Mason

Chapters

• 0:22 In this week's episode, we continue our conversation with Hitomi Oba, who we spoke to in December 2023.
• 0:30 What advice would you give young or emerging or women or Asian or mother composers, any group or combination of groups you'd want to talk to?
• 6:21 Are there any projects that you're currently working on, or recent ones you've done that you'd like to share with us on, maybe the what you're doing for "Composing Earth," but maybe other stuff too. I mean, you're doing all sorts of interesting things.

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 conversation with Hitomi Oba, who we spoke to in December 2023. [INTRO MUSIC ENDS] What advice would you give young or emerging or women or Asian or mother composers, any group or combination of groups you'd want to talk to?

Hitomi Oba  00:41

Yeah, advice, without sounding, I guess, like preachy. These are all just, you know, from my experiences, 

Nanette McGuinness  00:49

Of course! 

Hitomi Oba  00:50

Yeah, but I found that I think support, you know, supporting one another, and just like cherishing community and within that kind of, like, finding advocates is, like, one of the most important things. So I'd mentioned, like, you know, being around more people who with similar circumstances recently has been so empowering and just makes me feel emotionally more capable of doing creative work. You know, right? It's so important. So, you know, finding people this, I mean, this applies to people who aren't musicians too, but just like finding people who are healthy for your personal well being...

Nanette McGuinness  01:28

Yes.

Hitomi Oba  01:28

Right? and growth, but also for, you know, for us, for our musical development and for our exploration. So people who like are conducive to making more more of that happen,

Nanette McGuinness  01:38

Right.

Hitomi Oba  01:40

and like, so in particular, like, if you're in a partnership, right, finding a partner who understands this and can be like the best advocate for you is, like, a huge deal, especially for women, right? I think especially, you know, still in this society, and especially if you're thinking of taking on the responsibility of, like, having dependence, you know, right, having children together. This is, like, a huge, huge, huge deal, huge conversation and huge choice that needs to happen if you're going to go into, like, a partnership with someone, I think, because, I mean, I think I'm really fortunate to have, like, my biggest advocate, you know, is my partner. He's my husband, and so he's prioritized this, you know, my creative pursuits...

Nanette McGuinness  02:25

That's great. That's wonderful. 

Hitomi Oba  02:26

throughout this, even after having children, yeah, it's still hard. But, you know, I still talk to my peers who say, like, yeah, like, you know, they're, they're still doing their music, but you know, like, the portion of child care and mental load is, like, on them still, you know, in hetero couple, yeah, there's a hetero couple, but, like, so, like, 

Nanette McGuinness  02:46

[chuckles] Right. 

Hitomi Oba  02:46

Yeah. So, like, you know, it's still, like, a big consideration, you know, huge consideration. And then I guess, along with that, like, you know, just remembering, so, finding an advocate for you, but also you remembering that you don't have to be like other people. That was something that I did struggle with, you know, based on the messaging and, you know, I was getting in the experiences I was having as a young person. So, you know, just remembering that the greatest thing we can offer is what is uniquely ours, and so prioritizing that and first discovering that, you know, and acknowledging that so kind of realizing that might is still like an ongoing process for me, and I assume it is for most people, but realizing it's like, you know, what things are, you know, uniquely and authentically me, and what things are maybe happening because of various pressures, you know, and messaging you might be getting. 

Nanette McGuinness  03:40

Yeah. 

Hitomi Oba  03:40

And...but that's the most powerful thing. So being able to surround yourself with people who can recognize those things, you know, maybe even sometimes when you can't, you'll be happier. [chuckles] You know, composing and music making will be much more possible in general, right? Like just mental space wise, creativity wise and practically too. So the people, people are important. I think people are important.

Nanette McGuinness  04:03

Yeah, yeah, support and I think creative people are we're always evolving, so the definition of who we are is a moving target. 

Hitomi Oba  04:12

Yeah! 

Nanette McGuinness  04:13

And having people who applaud that and enhance it, rather than trying to stick our feet in cement as we move along.

Hitomi Oba  04:20

That is such a great point, acknowledging that, you know, the evolution as well. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So then maybe having, like, a community that's like more dynamic will help that as well. 

Nanette McGuinness  04:25

Yeah, I think so. 

Hitomi Oba  04:33

It changes, yeah.

Nanette McGuinness  04:34

And also people who support because when I was coming up again, when I was young, there was a lot more what I would consider not as healthy competition. There's a lot of competition in our industry. It's embedded in it. There's not much one can do about that. And yet, if we act as colleagues and share a rising tide floats many more votes. 

Hitomi Oba  04:57

Right. 

Nanette McGuinness  04:58

And there seems to be more recognition now.

Hitomi Oba  05:01

Absolutely. 

Nanette McGuinness  05:02

That if we don't support each other, who will? 

Hitomi Oba  05:05

So much more powerful to work as, yeah, as a as a community, then yeah, you know, it's funny, the competition thing, it's still embedded, like, I still find myself, you know, kind of like falling along those...this, you know that that perception still, you know, even, even if my thought process is like recognizing it, I still have those feelings sometimes as well, you know.

Nanette McGuinness  05:29

Oh yeah, the invidious comparison,

Hitomi Oba  05:32

The comparison, the competition, you know, even if you know my values are not in line with those emotions anymore, yeah, so it's very strong, it's very strong. Yeah, being able to be around people, I think actually, you know, being around people and actually talking about those things helps break that down, you know, as we're as we're discussing here right now, yeah,

Nanette McGuinness  05:51

yeah, no, I think this is all fabulous advice for anybody you know who's trying to move forward in their creative path.

Hitomi Oba  06:00

Keep telling myself.

Nanette McGuinness  06:04

There's the internal stuff we do, and then the stuff we do to the rest of the world, and ideally, ideally we mirror to the world what we want done to us. And then the whole thing becomes one happy thing.

Hitomi Oba  06:15

Absolutely, oh, that was very well said. Absolutely. Also good to remember.

Nanette McGuinness  06:20

Oh, thanks! Thank you. Are there any projects that you're currently working on, or recent ones you've done that you'd like to share with us on, maybe the what you're doing for "Composing Earth," but maybe other stuff too. I mean, you're doing all sorts of interesting things.

Hitomi Oba  06:33

Yeah, thank you for the opportunity to share this. This is always, also, always so nice when people invite you to share projects. You know, thank you. So I mentioned my recent album that came out. It came out in May, and that one so I'd been doing a lot of pre composed, you know, music making recently during that time, and so I wanted to take a moment to focus on my improvising again. So that one is primarily improvised with some, you know, really cherished collaborators. And that one is called waterstem, and I released it on Asian improv records. And so I had some mentors on it as well, you know, and really fabulous peers. So that was an exploration of, you know, my voice as a improvising saxophonist. And then I am working on a next album, also saxophone, maybe a little bit more composed, but that's a separate project. No release date yet. And I think the big project, the biggest project I'm working on right now is a collaborative piece with my sister, Erica, who you had on the show. I forget...I listened to the interview. I don't remember if she mentioned it or not. This is, this is in collaboration with the Fresno Philharmonic as well as the GLFCAM (Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music) in terms of funding. And this is an orchestra piece that's based on the writings of organic peach farmer in the Fresno area. He's also a writer named David Moss Matsumoto. He's a really, he's a published author, and we so he has a writing that's based on the lives of it's fictional, but it's based on kind of his family, family history four generation of women, first generation, second generation, third generation, for having come to America. 

Nanette McGuinness  06:55

Wow, wow! 

Hitomi Oba  07:02

And what kind of experiences? Yeah, it's very powerful. The writing is beautiful and so inspirational. And so we're kind of writing a, we're writing a piece based on that, and it's been collaborative. We actually got to have a reading recently with some of the players. And Ray hotoda was the conductor. She's just, it was her, you know, it was her vision. And she's making out, she's, she's another great visionary who's trying to, you know, lift up different voices and, you know, incorporate community, all these things that we've been talking about this interview that are so important to, you know, future music making, I think [chuckles] so, she's, she's, she's a great, great collaborator and great visionary. But, yeah, it's been collaborative. So we got to go to his farm. You know, he kind of explained a lot of his concepts about nature. 

Nanette McGuinness  09:07

Yeah. 

Hitomi Oba  09:08

You know, his relationship with time, his, you know, his ideas about immigration and, you know, heritage and all of these things that are intertwined so beautifully, it has to do with season. So it's called "kisetsu." The project is called "kisetsu" in Japanese. And again, it's, it's been wonderful working with these, like, you know, Japanese-American artists, you know, who are, you know, focused on a lot of the values that Erika and I value as well. You know, interconnectedness between people and you know nature and also how they relate to heritage. And, you know, all of these things. So it's, it's really, you know, it's incredible writing. And so we're writing this piece together. It's the first large, pre-composed work that Erika and I and have worked on together. 

Nanette McGuinness  09:49

Wow! Very cool.

Hitomi Oba  09:50

So it's been a process, yeah, yeah, it's been, it's very, very...and again, you know, I said the very beginning, we've been kind of, you know, kind of overlapping lately. And so we've been having a lot more conversations about, you know, musical things and extra musical things. And it's, it's been a great opportunity. 

Nanette McGuinness  09:59

How special! 

Hitomi Oba  10:01

It's very special. I'm grateful for this opportunity to get to, you know, dive into a lot of these conceptual things, and, you know, musical things with her. So it's been a process, yeah, and we have in, it's great. They've again, Gabi's so great about setting this up. The format's wonderful. She knows, she, she made sure that we had several points we could touch base with Ray and Moss and, you know, have readings and to make it really, a really worthwhile experience, not just about the end product, you know. 

Nanette McGuinness  10:37

Yes. 

Hitomi Oba  10:37

And so she, she's the one who advocated for making this, you know, such a good process. You know, with a...we have ample time to work on it. And, yeah, it's been, it's been very cool. So that's kind of our big project right now. And then, just very quickly, the other thing is the "Composing Earth" project, which is, I'm getting to work with the Fry String Quartet, and we'll be, I think they're writing for several, several other of my people in my cohort are going to be writing for them as well, but we're all kind of going off and based on the education and discussions we received this year, to write pieces addressing the climate crisis.

Nanette McGuinness  11:15

Interesting. I want to ask you a couple of questions, but I want to circle back first. Oh, okay, does "kisetsu" mean seasons? 

Hitomi Oba  11:22

Oh, it does. I'm sorry, it means "seasons," yeah.

Nanette McGuinness  11:24

[laughs] I was pretty sure that's what it means, but I don't speak Japanese. I'm sorry. 

Hitomi Oba  11:29

I should have clarified. [laughs] 

Nanette McGuinness  11:31

And what's the name of the text that the Fresno Philharmonic piece is based on.

Hitomi Oba  11:36

It's yet unpublished, but I think the work, the working title, is "Music of Ghosts." "Music of Ghosts," yeah, "Masks of Endurance," yeah.

Nanette McGuinness  11:45

That's the actual text, not your piece? 

Hitomi Oba  11:48

Yes.

Nanette McGuinness  11:48

Your piece is "Kisetsu" and...

Hitomi Oba  11:50

Oh, the project is called "Kisetsu." [laughs]

Nanette McGuinness  11:53

Ah! Okay. 

Hitomi Oba  11:54

The piece is yet untitled.

Nanette McGuinness  11:56

Got it. Okay, great. And moving forward now to the "Composing Earth" piece. Do you want to tell us anything about what you're doing with that? Or is it still too close to your inspiration and thoughts that not ready to be unveiled?

Hitomi Oba  12:10

Yeah, you know what? I'm still working through it. We are kind of fresh out of the kind of information stage right now, and we and the most recent kind of discussions and information that we've gotten was, like, pretty, like, it was very, it was kind of explosive. So I think I'm still kind of wrapping my head around all these things, yeah. So, um, yeah, I think I'll be able to consolidate it in terms of words, um, much better at a later date, right?

Nanette McGuinness  12:36

Right, that it's still a chrysalis at the moment. 

Hitomi Oba  12:39

That's right [laughs]

Nanette McGuinness  12:39

Yes, fabulous. Well, I want to thank you very much for doing this amazing interview. This was so interesting. 

Hitomi Oba  12:47

Oh, Nanette, thank you for being such a wonderful you know person to talk to about these things. Yeah, this has been so fun, and I've gotten me to think about a lot of things as well.

Nanette McGuinness  12:57

Oh, you're very welcome!

Nanette McGuinness  12:58

[OUTRO MUSIC] Thank you for listening to For Good Measure, and a special thank you to our guest, Hitomi Oba, 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 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 design 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]