J. M. Gerraughty quickly became one of The Composer Chronicles’ closest friends after his episode (Ep. 34) aired in January 2021. After sharing his joy for being on the podcast with the Twitter-verse, he sparked some excitement within the composer community, giving The Composer Chronicles an opportunity to flourish into the platform that it is now. On this episode of the “Backstage” series of Unscripted, we catch up with him and talk about… whatever we want!
In order for you to be successful, all you have to do is be proud of what you put into your craft. This is one of the great pieces of advice that composer Juan Pablo Contreras lives by every day writing music. Juan Pablo is a Latin Grammy-nominated composer and Universal Music recording artist who has combined his love of Western classical music and Mexican folk music to formulate his own unique style of writing.
The world of music doesn’t always have to be black and white. Genres of music don’t always have to remain individualized and separate, and composers are not required to stick to writing a specific genre of music. Alan Theisen, a composer, saxophonist, author, and educator, is a man who appreciates all types of music and uses his background to meld genres of music that would often never be considered together, encouraging the new music community to be the best it can be.
We were all over the place in May, from the ancient world, to jazz, to film music, and many other things. This is a shorter episode than regular Unscripted episodes, but don’t worry! June has an episode of Unscripted: Backstage!
It’s no secret that Pierre Boulez led a double life as a composer and conductor. Kevin Fitzgerald, a conductor in his own right, has looked up to Boulez as his hero, and he shares his knowledge about the man and his career from the eyes of a conductor.
When we hear the name George Gershwin, we often associate it with jazz or musical theater, but he didn’t see himself that way. He saw himself as a standard composer of his time and influenced by the sounds around him. So what does that mean for his opera Porgy and Bess? Or is it a Broadway musical?
From the United Kingdom, then to the United States, and and now Singapore, media composer Pearl Yim has seen great success with her music all across the world. Pearl talks about her experience in the fields of film and video game composing and the struggles she faced in order to get where she is today.
Music, much like any art form, has been a staple in nearly every culture for thousands of years. We often forget where these arts have their roots, and to better understand the music of the last few hundred years, we must go back even further… no matter how grim.
Thank you for celebrating The Composer Chronicles’ one-year anniversary with me! Although the podcast turned 1-year-old on April 29th, we had a lot to celebrate this month.
The warm, rich tones produced by the cello have been a siren to many composers, calling them to compose for the instrument whether or not it was in their best interest to do so. Cellist Steven Chen gives his professional knowledge and opinion on the cello and the pieces written for it!
