Composer Chris Pilsner
Chris Pilsner
Dum Spiro Spero by composer Chris Pilsner is a highlight of our Winter 2020 program.
Mr. Pilsner describes this work:
When I was 22 years old, my dear mentor Casey Cropp approached me to write a piece for his group at Rocky Mountain High School. Casey is one of the main reasons I choose music as a career and I poured every ounce of my being into writing him a great piece of music. My goal from the outset was to write him something beautiful and lyrical, as I knew he loved those works. I drew inspiration from every moment in my life, but especially from choral music and the orchestral works of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The resulting piece profoundly changed my life, and became the first real success in my composition career. To this day, I am constantly humbled by those who tell me how the title (meaning "While I Breathe, I hope") alongside my musical interpretation has affected their life for the better.
Composer and conductor Chris Pilsner is becoming an established name in the contemporary classical world. His music for orchestra, wind ensemble, and chamber ensembles has been acclaimed by audiences, performers, and conductors worldwide and receives hundreds of performances every year.
Chris’ music has been performed by groups as diverse as professional ensembles, universities, high schools, all-state/honor ensembles, and even in Carnegie Hall. He also works closely with several professional orchestras in Europe including the Scottish Session Orchestra, Vienna Synchron Orchestra, and the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. In June of 2019, he had the distinct pleasure of flying out to Vienna to conduct the Vienna Synchron Orchestra in a recording session of all his works for string orchestra, which was released on the EP Album “Elements” in the Summer of 2019.
Chris holds a Masters of Music in Composition at Central Michigan University where he studied with renowned composer David Gillingham. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Having taught in public education himself, Chris is an avid supporter of music education and strives to create new and original works for young individuals across the world. He now resides in Colorado where he works as a full-time composer. Chris is a member of ASCAP and proudly self-published through his publishing company Nox Tenebrae Music.
We contacted Mr. Pilsner and asked him to share with us his journey in music, musical influences and inspirations, and words of advice that he has for young musicians.
Please tell us a bit about your journey in music and in life. I started piano at a very early age and continued to be part of every musical opportunity I could throughout my adolescence. But it wasn't until college that I truly discovered the immense amount of music that was in the world and did whatever possible to absorb and learn from the greatest composers of our time. As I finished my undergraduate degree, I wrote the piece Dum Spiro Spero at the age of 22 years old. I had the honor of studying my Masters with renowned composer for band, David Gillingham before returning to Colorado to become the Director of Orchestras at a local high school, while also composing whenever I was not teaching. My experiences teaching changed my life profoundly and gave me an immense amount of respect and admiration for young individuals. After six meaningful years of teaching, I recently resigned from my position to compose and conduct full-time. To kick off this new chapter of my life, I released my first EP album "Elements" in August of 2019. I had the honor of conducting and recording all of the music in Vienna with 40 of the world's best musicians.
What have been some of your musical influences? My music is often compared to film music, and this is not by mistake. Early in my career, I thought I wanted to become a film composer so I immersed myself in the world of John Williams, James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman, David Arnold, and many more. But in my late teens, my eyes quickly opened to the wonders of Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Copland and more. These days, my playlists consist of a combination of classical music, film music, alternative rock, jazz, world music, and folk/bluegrass.
Please share a bit about your favorite musical memory? In June of 2019, I had the honor of conducting and recording my music in Vienna with 40 of the world's best musicians on a true Hollywood Scoring Stage. But not only that, I had just finished up my last year as a high school teacher and I had brought my last orchestra on a performance tour of Europe. In my last few months as their director, I composed one last piece for them called "Snow Falling in Autumn" which they premiered all across Europe. As a surprise my students, the scoring stage allowed me to bring them inside the stage to listen to these world-class professionals as they recorded something composed specifically for these students. It was the pinnacle of my entire musical life to that point and I wouldn't have wanted to be there with anyone other than those incredible young musicians. We video-recorded the entire session so you can watch this memory for yourself on YouTube.
What’s on your iPod? Currently, Shostakovich's 11th Symphony, David Arnold's music to the 1994 movie "Stargate", and the jazz/alternative rock band The Reign of Kindo's album "This is What Happens"
Chris PIlsner snow-falling-in-autumn-recording-session
Which composer/musician – past or present – would you most like to meet for a coffee and why? I think I would most like to meet Dmitri Shostakovich and dive into the emotions behind so many of his works. His music can be full of conflict and strife and yet emerge with a beauty, unlike anything you've heard yet.
What inspires you? I often find inspiration from traveling across the world, reading terrific works of fiction, and looking at beautiful works of art. But I also am constantly inspired by interacting with musicians, especially young musicians, whenever I can. There is nothing more rejuvenating and inspiring than spending time in a great rehearsal with a terrific group like this.
What do you do to relax? Being a Colorado-native, I love to snowboard so on the weekend you can likely find me "relaxing" up in the mountains. Albeit, I'm probably the only one listening to Copland's Third Symphony on the slopes.
Do you have any advice for young musicians? For young composers, I always tell them to absorb themselves in studying the music they love. Acquire the score and deconstruct it from every angle, transcribe a piece just by listening to it, play each part by hand at the piano, take a full orchestral score and reduce it down to a few-staves. This is how you truly learn how to compose.
For every musician and composer, I encourage them to befriend anyone and everyone, be humble, surround yourself with people who encourage you and encourage those around you in return.
Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band. It is always an honor having my music performed by such high-caliber ensembles such as the Northshore Concert Band and even more so under the baton of the incredible Dr. Thompson. I couldn't think of a more perfect night than spending it listening to such a phenomenal group of musicians.
Please add anything else that you would like our audience to know about you. I love to hear from my audiences, so feel free to contact me through my website www.chrispilsner.com.
A special thank you to Chris Pilsner for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material.
Please visit his website www.chrispilsner.com to learn more about this great composer.
West Side Story
Sunday, February 9, 2020, 3:00 pm
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Northwestern University 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, Illinois
Learn more about the Northshore Concert Band at www.northshoreband.org
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