Da Capo Conversations 2.0 with Marcus Norris and Lucy Chen

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 199: Da Capo Conversations 2.0 with Marcus Norris and Lucy Chen

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 Marcus Norris’ and Lucy Chen’s perspectives on who or what inspires them. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Marcus Norris and Lucy Chen, check them out here and here. Parts of this episode originally premiered in August 2021, click here, and January 2025, click here.

This podcast is made possible by grants from the California Arts Council, SF Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, 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/18679951

Co-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, Christy Xu

Transcript

Nanette McGuinness  00:00

[INTRO MUSIC] Welcome to For Good Measure, an interview series celebrating diverse composers and other creative artists. 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 Marcus Norris' and Lucy Chen's perspectives on who or what inspires them. Here's what Marcus Norris had to say. 

Marcus Norris  00:39

As far as like where I get my inspiration, I've just always tried to write the things that the people I came up with would be proud of me for. I think my parents and my OGs were kind of like giving me this concept young, that is like, know whose opinions matters. It's like, because people are going to talk, or like, sometimes people like you, sometimes people love you, sometimes they hate you, sometimes people understand, sometimes they don't, but just know whose opinion matters. And for me, it's always been like, my community, my family, my friends. I always want to write things that's like, I don't have to explain this to them. I can just put it on and they'll get it. so I don't know. I try to tell our stories and things that will make sense to us.

Nanette McGuinness  01:26

Here's what Lucy Chen had to say.

Lucy Chen  01:27

I have a lot of key mentors throughout my life, and Luna Lab was definitely such a special experience, because I think just the whole, like, community of like women and like gender non conforming people, and not just, like male, male-dominated, like, environment, because usually composing, like, music, composition is kind of like that. And I, I didn't even know many composers, because it's, well, I went to, like, a regular public high school, so it wasn't like an art school, and the only composer I knew was this other guy in my grade, and then I knew my conductor, who was also a guy. But just being able to be with, like, a bunch of women and having such a supportive community, it was, like, very special, and especially, like my mentor, Nina Shekhar. She was very just, like, anytime I had, like, some sort of question about, like, "oh, what do I do with this music part?" or even just a question about, like, how do I balance music and like, senior year of high school? Because that was also kind of difficult. She would just be able to answer that, and she was also just, like, very comfortable to like talk with. We would just chat during our sessions, and she would be very supportive and give really good ideas. And then I think getting to meet Missy during the actual Luna Lab that was really awesome too. Like, I just loved her energy, and she just seemed like she is, like, super self-confident, and just loves her work. And I remember once she took all the composers to her house in Brooklyn, and they had like, a little concert there. And I was like, wow, this is what the music community feels like. It's just, like, very warm. We're all just together and, like, making music. And, yeah, it was just very special. And I think that was the first time I was really immersed in, like, a composer community, especially one that's females and, like, non-binary people. It was just, like, very special. And I was like, wow, I really want to be in spaces like this as I get older. So yeah, that was one, one very special experience. And some other mentors, I have a lot, but I mentioned that I had been studying piano since I was four. So I actually had the same piano teacher from the age of four to my last lesson, like a week before I moved into college.

Nanette McGuinness  04:08

Wow.

Lucy Chen  04:09

Yeah. And she, she was like, well, obviously starting piano at age four, that was my first experience with music ever. She, her name is Rosita Mang. She was just such a, like, supportive and nice and also very funny teacher, while also not letting me off the hook too easily, which I think was good for my growth. But yeah, during lessons, she would just always stress, like, to, don't play because you want to win this competition or be the best, like, out of other people. Like, don't have a competition mindset. Just really play because you love the music and because you want to just play the best that you can. Like, don't worry about other people. And I think a lot of piano teachers don't really do that, and that's why a lot of kids I know that played piano for such a long time, they just immediately quit after getting out of high school. But I think the reason I didn't, and the reason I started even playing violin and studying composition and continuing piano and composition in college is because of her. And she actually just passed away when I started college, which was very sad, but I...

Nanette McGuinness  05:25

I'm sorry.

Lucy Chen  05:25

It just made me remember more about how much she's impacted me, and I think she is, like, the biggest reason I am pursuing music.

Nanette McGuinness  05:35

Wow.

Lucy Chen  05:36

yeah.

Nanette McGuinness  05:36

I'm very sorry for your loss, that that's a very special relationship, and clearly she made her mark on you in a wonderful way.

Lucy Chen  05:45

Yeah. So in a way she will never leave, because she's always here when I'm being passionate about music.

Nanette McGuinness  05:54

yeah, yeah, that she wanted you to do your personal best and let what you felt and heard in the music out instead of an external norm, I guess, is the best way to say it. Yeah, yeah, and Missy and Nina are both great. Nina is one of the composers we interviewed. 

Lucy Chen  06:15

Oh, awesome. 

Nanette McGuinness  06:15

[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 by grants from the California Arts Council, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, 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]