Composer Perry Goldstein
I have just finished 10 days working with American composer Perry Goldstein. He has written works for such notable performers as Juilliard Quartet cellist Joel Krosnick and pianist Gilbert Kalish, pianist Eliza Garth, the Aurelia, Prism, and Capitol Saxophone Quartets, bass clarinetist Michael Lowenstern, saxophonists Cory Barnfield, Arno Bornkamp, Joseph Lulloff, and Kenneth Tse, and the Escher String Quartet.
I first contacted Perry after hearing his excellent alto saxophone & piano work ‘Fault Lines’ performed by Kenneth Tse in Melbourne in 2005 and have remained in regular contact since then. It was great to finally meet Perry in person and he had kindly agreed to be my compositional mentor while I wrote a new piece for soprano saxophone & piano.
I spent each day playing my sax testing ideas for inclusion in this new piece. I used multitrack improvising to help me compose. I would start with a basic piano part and then improvise over the top multiple times into separate tracks. I could then listen back to this material, feed some of it into the piano part and begin construction of the different sections of the work. It is a faster way to work and it feels more spontaneous to me.
At the end of each day, I would show Perry my music. Considering that I had never shown anyone my work in progress, it was insightful to have Perry offering suggestions as I composed. I would usually present a couple of ideas and Perry was quick to identify the strengths in the music and politely jettison anything mundane or trivial. Our discussions didn’t always relate directly to the music at hand but often on the broader social and political implications that music can flourish within.
The idea of mentoring to me is an important one and something I have been wanting to pursue for quite some time. Once musicians finish their study, many flounder without the regular contact with their peers and teachers. Making the transition from student to professional is mostly about putting years of advice from teachers into perspective and moving on to find one’s own voice in front of the concert going public.
Mentoring introduces a new dynamic into a musician’s fairly solitary existence of practice, preparation and performance. Having a mentor to bounce ideas off, to evaluate without judgement and to invigorate relevant thought is an excellent development tool. How do you find a mentor? Ask someone for some feedback who’s work you value, who is considerate and who will allow you to pursue areas that are important to you without enforcing their own agenda on you.
Perry has written about 15 works for saxophone. You can find much of his saxophone catalogue on reedmusic.com and be sure to visit his website at perrygoldstein.com. It is full of information regarding his work and his favourite ‘wine of the week’.
Many thanks to the Australia Council for the Arts for facilitating this opportunity.