Composers Forum - M. Susan Brown responses

Composers Forum

M. Susan Brown

Question #1: At what age did you begin to write music?

My first memory of writing music was at age twelve, a setting of the poem “Invictus” (William Ernest Henley) for voice and piano.

Question #2: Who were early influences on your compositional style?

My family played Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and many piano and vocal works from the Romantic era. In my own piano studies I was intrigued by Baroque music. One can’t get away from influences of all sorts. Once I found a reference to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (a musical comedy) in a serious composition I had written. (Where did that come from?!)

Question #3: Which, if any, composers have influenced you over the longer term?

Britten, Brahms, Bach, Mozart, Handel, the Renaissance madrigalists Byrd and Tallis, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Paul Simon, John Adams.

Question #4: Are you self-taught, or did you study with composition teachers? If the latter, which teachers helped you develop as a composer, and in what ways?

Originally, I was self-taught. I gradually had opportunities to study or work with several composers and composition teachers: Normand Lockwood, Leo Nestor, Charles Callahan, David Conte, Gerald Near, Richard Wayne Dirksen. The main message they all conveyed was to study and know the craft and, above all, to be true to myself. They were all encouragers, since they all knew how difficult it is to write music. The second most important message, probably from Normand, was to be friends with the eraser.

Question #5: What composers, living or dead, do you most admire?

Stravinsky, Britten, John Adams, Handel, Victoria, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Billy Joel.

Question #6: What inspires you to write a piece of music?

Ideas, texts, commissions, thankfulness, love, prayers.

Question #7: This is something many people want to know: How do you do what you do? What is the process by which you write a piece of music?

Each piece has its own process. I have sat down and written a piece from beginning to end without knowing how it got there. By the same token, sometimes I have just a little fragment to work with, and I sit, day after day, working with it, coaxing it, trying to find the thread. I have also had dreams of finished music, which I must wake up to write down.

Question #8: How does that process change from piece to piece?

Each bit I put on the paper changes and confines a composition as I go. Each work is intrinsic in itself. A small change can make a huge difference and can be a very big risk. A composer must create the landscape or the stage upon which his/her actors play. Many writers talk about their characters taking on a life of their own. I find this true of music in a given work

Question #9: What are the easiest aspects for you of writing a composition?

I’m not sure; this, too, depends on the piece. Sometimes I think it is the voice leading, but then I realize that that isn’t easy at all.

Question #10: What are the most difficult aspects for you of writing a composition?

Knowing when to stop. This applies both to knowing how to end a composition and when to cease trying to improve a piece.

Question #11: How do you know when a composition is finished?

I rarely do.

Question #12: Do you consider your process as a composer to be primarily intellectual? Emotional? Spiritual?

The process is very much spiritual, dragging the intellectual and emotional along with it. I think all three are present, but in varying amounts.

Question #13: What emotions do you feel as you compose a piece of music?

Anger, love, fear, boredom, chill, camaraderie, warmth, isolation, compassion, awe.

Question #14: What emotions do you feel right before a world premiere of one of your compositions?

Anxiety, joy, curiosity, fear of not having done the right things for the performers, anticipation, and awe at having birthed something wonderful into the world.

Question #15: What are some of the highlights of your career as a composer?

When I wrote my first mass as a junior and senior in college, a friend offered to perform it for her honors conducting project. Hearing the performance was a peak time. Being recorded in a recording session, by a wonderful group such as St. Martin’s, as opposed to doing crude recordings on my boom box has been a personal high. Getting my first work published by a well-known publishing house was very exciting (“Mary’s Song,” Concordia House).

Question #16: How supported do you feel in your compositional efforts? This can be addressed at the individual level (e.g., friends and family members) and at the level of society (e.g., government, music education in the United States).

My close friends and family have been very supportive of my compositional efforts. This has been a source of great joy to me, as each composition seems a bit like an offspring! At the societal level, I have not sought recognition, and the purpose of my writing is not to appeal to the larger audience or to win prizes, albeit I have. My music is very personal on purpose, so the support comes at that level.

Question #17: This may tie in to the previous question, but overall, what are your greatest challenges as a composer?

I am challenged to stay focused on writing what is in my heart, no matter what is going on outside. There are many distractions. I suppose it’s a little like the Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, where even well-meaning souls somehow divert one from the path that one must take.

Question #18: What are your greatest rewards as a composer?

I wonder at having brought something new and lasting into creation. Knowing that someone has enjoyed a composition or has been ministered to at a deep level brings me great joy. I feel deep satisfaction in writing music for myself and others.