Meet our Artists #2: Self, Stevens, Russell

Our continued series of features to introduce you to the talented folks composing and arranging the music available from Potenza. Please meet: Jim Self, John Stevens, and Jonathan Russell

Or jump straight down to the music available from these three: Music from Our Featured Artists

Jim Self

What or who was the catalyst that led you to begin composing music?

After many years of improvising I finally had “music in my head”. I did not start composing until I was nearly 50 years old.

What do you believe is the role of the composer in today’s world?

Create art and lead listeners to new sounds and passions

How would you describe your creative process?

I use the computer, piano, guitar and tuba. I call my process “additive”. I start with an idea or a “feel” – write one note then another and another etc. I often use a drum track to help establish a “groove” and may dump it later. On the many studio sessions, orchestral gigs etc. I keep notes on cool sounds, instruments and voicings and often refer to my notes for ideas. I only use scales and formulas if I have a mental block.

What three adjectives would you attach to your music?

Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm

How do you feel before you begin a new composition; and how do you feel upon its completion?

Creative before, elated after

What music are you listening to these days?

A lot of jazz and classical music

John Stevens

What or who was the catalyst that led you to begin composing music?

I studied jazz arranging with Rayburn Wright as an undergraduate tuba major at the Eastman School of Music (1969-1973). When I went to Yale to do my Masters degree (1973-1975) I started composing for my instrument because we had such a dire need for tuba repertoire back then.

What do you believe is the role of the composer in today’s world?

The creation of new art, in any form, is as important a part of the human existence as anything I can think of. Speaking for myself, my guiding light has always been to write music that will be meaningful in some way for audiences to listen to AND for musicians to perform.

How would you describe your creative process?

Listen to a lot of music. Learn from everything you listen to. I don’t get “bolts from the blue” – when I’m working on a given composition I make time to sit down and write every day. I have a space that includes a keyboard and solitude (minimal distractions) where I write. I do all my composing and arranging in paper in pencil – because I really enjoy the “art” of putting notes on paper.

What three adjectives would you attach to your music?

Passionate. Idiomatic. Satisfying.

How do you feel before you begin a new composition; and how do you feel upon its completion?

Starting a new piece is exciting. Thinking about it occupies a place in my life that was not occupied before. Completing a work results in a tremendous sense of accomplishment and anticipatory excitement about it coming to life in performance.

What music are you listening to these days?

I listen to a lot of female jazz vocalists. In addition to Diana Krall. Jane Monheit, Dinah Washington, Ella, Billie Holiday, etc., I am completely smitten by Cyrille Aimée. I have listened to her far more than anything else over the past couple of years.

Jonathan Russell

What or who was the catalyst that led you to begin composing music?

When I was 14, I attended a summer music camp in Vermont called Kinhaven, as a clarinetist. They had a student composer concert that summer, and I was blown away by the creativity and inventiveness of my friends who had pieces performed on it. That summer the choir at Kinhaven also sang Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms.” This was my first exposure to Stravinsky. I was very intrigued, and when I got home I listened to “The Rite of Spring” for the first time, which completely blew my mind: I had no idea music could do or be what that piece did and was. That combination of hearing “The Rite of Spring” and hearing my friends’ compositions empowered me to feel like composing was something I could try. I wrote my first composition that fall, for two clarinets and bassoon. I was immediately hooked and have never looked back.

What do you believe is the role of the composer in today’s world?

What I think is exciting is that composers and arrangers today can play so many different roles, from writing “traditional” concert music, to writing for film or dance or video games or just about anything else. In some ways, contemporary “classical” music feels quite marginalized today, but I find there’s a real hunger especially among wind players for new repertoire, whether original works or arrangements.

How would you describe your creative process?

My creative process is highly variable. Sometimes I begin with some sort of abstract idea for a piece, but more typically it begins with actual sounds and musical ideas that grab me for whatever reason. I rarely begin with a plan, preferring to follow the musical ideas where they lead me, letting form and structure arise organically from the musical materials I’m exploring.  As I work, I use a combination of piano with pencil and manuscript paper; recording myself on clarinet, bass clarinet, and/or piano; the audio editing program Logic; Finale notation software; and going for long walks to think about the piece. I try to always stay open to different ways of working, so I don’t repeat myself or get stuck in ruts.

What three adjectives would you attach to your music?

Lively, lyrical, dramatic

How do you feel before you begin a new composition; and how do you feel upon its completion?

Before I begin, I usually feel excited and eager to get to work. Upon its completion how I feel varies: sometimes I feel very confident and eager to hear it; sometimes I feel insecure and worried; usually I feel some combination of both!

What music are you listening to these days?

I’ve been really into Romantic-era symphonic music lately, especially the last three symphonies of Tchaikovsky and Dvorak.  These works are so epic in scope, tell such compelling narratives, and make such brilliant use of the orchestra, I find there is still so much to learn from them.

Music from Our Featured Artists

Selected music from the three talented artists we interviewed is listed below. You can view all music from our featured artists and filter by instrument, ensemble type, etc.