Composer Carter Pann
Photo by Michelle Christiance
Carter Pann’s graceful and gestural Hold This Boy and Listen is a highlight of our Spring concert Making Waves. This will be the Northshore Concert Band’s first performance of this work.
Mr. Pann describes this work:
Hold This Boy and Listen was written in 2008 for a group of concert bands in Colorado. I started writing the piece at the piano, and before I knew it, the entire work was completed at the piano over a course of about 4 days. Then the task was to translate it for concert band. Not easy for me at all... Up to that point I was a spoiled band composer, mostly writing Grade 6+ works. I had to consult some middle school band conductor friends about the nuances of writing an easier piece, without sacrificing the harmonies and climax moments I really wanted to keep. It was a wonderful learning experience which I have never forgotten!
Composer/pianist Carter Pann has written for and worked with musicians around the world, with performances by the London Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony, the Tchaikovsky Symphony in Moscow, many radio symphonies around Europe, the Seattle Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, the youth orchestras of New York and Chicago, and countless wind ensembles. He has worked with Richard Stoltzman, the Antares Ensemble, the Capitol Saxophone Quartet, the West Coast Wind Quintet, the River Oaks Chamber Ensemble, the Takács Quartet and many concert pianists. Awards include a Charles Ives Fellowship, a Masterprize seat in London and five ASCAP awards over the years. His numerous albums encompass solo, vocal, chamber, orchestral and wind ensemble music. Pann was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 2016. He loves a good game of chess or poker with his students and friends and currently teaches and conducts the Boulder Altitude Directive contemporary music ensemble at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
We contacted Carter Pann and asked him to share his journey in music, inspiration, and advice for young musicians with us.
Please tell us a bit about your journey in music and life.
I grew up in a suburb of Chicago (Western Springs) and gravitated toward the piano when I was about 3 years old. Started taking lessons from my Grandmother, then a local teacher, then an INCREDIBLE magnet teacher in Winnetka (which is also where I started taking formal Composition lessons). I never fancied myself a composer until about 17 or 18 years old, when I picked up a pencil and started "drawing" musical symbols on staff paper. I wasn't concerned with any of the sounds, I simply liked drawing really neatly on staff paper. Eventually, I had to actually know what I was doing and started with little piano pieces. I attended College at the Eastman School of Music and then a couple graduate degrees at the University of Michigan. Aside from the music in my life, I have made many dear friends whom I have endeavored to keep for decades (some musicians, some not). I like solving puzzle games, playing chess and go, and even poker. I wish I was jogging regularly again, because at this age I really need something physically strenuous and regimented back in my life.
What have been some of your musical influences?
I LOVE the Russian and French composers from the past. Chopin, however, is perhaps my greatest influence. These days I mostly listen to popular music, and mostly from the 70s. I'm a Gen-Xer and it really shows in the music I listen to.
Please share a bit about your favorite musical memory.
One of my greatest musical memories was when Mallory Thompson performed my First Symphony, "My Brother's Brain" at CBDNA in Kansas City a while back. She subsequently recorded it. I still have friends today who were in that band. Her performances of that piece were
Which composer/musician, past or present, would you most like to meet for a coffee and why?
Living today: I'd like to meet Stevie Wonder. The word "genius" gets thrown around a lot. Stevie is absolutely a musical genius. From the past: I really would like to catch coffee with Jean Sibelius. Even though Chopin is a greater influence, I think hanging with a young Sibelius for a week would fill me with a greater understanding of some of the mysteries music has yet to reveal
What inspires you?
I live in one of the most beautiful places in our country, Colorado. Its mountainous and forested landscapes have left an indelible mark on me.
What do you do to relax
Answering these questions has gone a long way towards relaxing me. When I'm not answering questions like these, I like a good game of Go.
Do you have any advice for young musicians?
Yes: Do not get swept up by current-day trends too much. If you're patient, your true soul will reveal itself as you grow up through your 20s and into your 30s. Understand that the world's problems will ALWAYS be there, and it's up to you to remain brave and sure-footed to understand that you will not be who you are now in 2 years... you will evolve constantly.
Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band.
I wish I could be there to meet you all !!!
A special thank you to Carter Pann for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material. Please visit his website carterpann.com to learn more about him and his work.
MAKING WAVES
Sunday, April 14, 2024, 3:00 p.m.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Evanston, IL
Learn more about the Northshore Concert Band at www.northshoreband.org
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