The Tutti Festival, a biennial celebration of works by young composers, recently delivered a variety of musical experiences with an ambitious series of six concerts. Dr. Ching-Chu Hu, current Chair of the Music Department, orchestrated the event and invited the renowned composer, Chen Yi, to share her expertise with Denison’s composition students. In addition to her prolific output of pieces blending motifs from Eastern and Western cultures, she’s a generous champion of young artists.
Jolyn Tsai (’13) enjoyed an hour lesson with Dr. Chen, who offered suggestions about her student compositions and spoke over lunch at Brews about growing up in China. “She’s definitely a very positive person, “ said Jolyn, as she recalled Dr. Chen’s encouragement to major rather than minor in Composition. Also joining the composer for a lesson was Danny Clarke (’12), who acted as Dr. Hu’s right-hand man in organizing the three-day event. Danny appreciated Dr. Chen’s insightful and witty personality and her advice on applying to grad schools and building a portfolio.
After Chris Froh played her “Jing Marimba” on Friday night, Chen Yi shot out of her seat like a firecracker, nodded and applauded excitedly, and seemed to emphasize his masterful performance rather than her own authorship of the work. At the reception afterward, she heaped on him the best praise a composer can bestow on a performer. “You speak my language, “ she beamed. “You played it so naturally, I think I wrote it for YOU!” Knowing how difficult the creative process is, the cathartic, exhausting nature of getting it all down on “paper,” Dr. Chen aimed to bolster the egos of every composer in the room with her compliments. “That was so fresh, so unexpected, you’ve made so much progress!” It gratified them to realize she really understood not only all the hard work they’d invested into their pieces but also the vulnerability of exposing themselves to the critique of an audience.
Commonly, people who appreciate music in general don’t know how to approach avant-garde music. During the reception after Friday night’s performance, Chris Kim, director of the ensemble Brave New Works, recalled that even his own grandmother complained about not understanding “new” music. It’s true that if you’re looking for the more rigid proportions of Bach or Mozart here, you’ll be frustrated. Instead, if you think of a modern piece visually, close your eyes and imagine a scene that fits the music, it seems more like a painting or a film clip, and you’ll be more satisfied with finding some connection to the work. Kim maintains that there is no “right answer” as a listener and that the subjectivity of this music is one of its best attributes. If you listen to contemporary soundtracks of films such as Steamboy, Transformers, or Avatar without having seen the movies, it’s quite unlike the experience of hearing the songs united with the film images. In a concert hall, hopefully the audience is inventing these images for themselves, and judging from the Tutti turnout, there are many fans of contemporary music who appreciate its experimental and expressive qualities.
by Lisa Alberico, published in TheDEN 2010