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Nico Muhly - Marnie and the Adaptation of Operatic Form

I found Nico Muhly’s presentation to be very transparent and informative on many fronts, but the one that interested me the most was his dive into the process behind his new opera, Marnie. New opera fascinates me particularly in how composers deal with writing within a form and standard practice that has stayed relatively consistent for hundreds of years. Muhly’s approach to form on both large and small scales seems to emphasize the function of the aria. He mentioned that he wanted to avoid “objectification through music” and rather attempted to delve into more philosophical elements of Marnie’s predicaments, rendered particularly legible by the chorus of “past-Marnies” that accompanies her during her ostensibly “private” moments. Through manipulations of standard operatic norms such as the aria and the role of the chorus, Muhly finds room for innovation and transcendence of typical form while working comfortably within the norms of opera. Muhly’s definition of the role o...
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Bora Yoon - Sound Architect

The idea that resonated most with me from Bora Yoon was her interest in imbuing her music with a sense of transport, where the music can take the listener into a different space and/or time. When I hear new music and I’m alone (and my goal is to listen with an open mind), I often close my eyes – which places me in an inexorably individual and simultaneously infinite space: the space inside my imagination. Whatever memories, ideas, sounds, images, etc. that come up while hearing the song I tend to associate with the song and vice versa. Since Yoon’s goal is to write pieces that evoke specific imagery, she must have a strong understanding of this for herself. Yoon conceives of music as tangible, which motivates her to create pieces that employ imagery of the human experience, nature, and other facets of real life. There can be a tendency for many composers of a certain kind (a kind I believe to be myself) to really lean into the complexity of their musical ideas and they can end up with...
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John Zorn

John Zorn is the quintessential New Yorker. His unabashed sense of self is apparent in every part of his persona–the way he talks, dresses, walks–it's so distinctive and so east village that I feel like I'm watching a movie. And it's awesome. There's an intense of amount of character and experience that seems to emanate behind every sentiment he shared that I'd rather get a beer with the guy as opposed to having him sit in a stuffy classroom. Either way though, it was a talk I thoroughly enjoyed, even though I disagreed with parts of it. Firstly though, let's start with the parts I liked, which were a lot. I think there is something to be said about how intensely focused is on humanity. I've been in this place recently where I've been looking at my work as a tool of expression, rather than a "goal". In other words, I think it's important to think of art as a ways to expand the mind, expand the ways we see the world, which when you're i...
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