Composer Jonathan B. McNair comes to the Tivoli Theater
It’s been a whirlwind month for the versatile and inventive composer and UTC professor Jonathan B. McNair, whose nuanced and reflective compositions have been performed recently across the nation.
These include the solo piece “Circus of Dreams” (for flute and metal bowls) in Kentucky, the orchestral “Meditation on Mercy” in Texas, and the string quartet piece “All a-Cryin’” at the TUTTI Festival in Ohio—not to mention several Chattanooga performances.
McNair took the time to answer some questions for The Pulse in advance of the premiere of his symphonic fanfare “E Pluribus Unum” this Thursday by the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra at the Tivoli Theater.
The Pulse: Can you describe the creation of “E Pluribus Unum”?
Jonathan McNair: I chose the title “E Pluribus Unum” after having begun the fanfare. This Latin phrase is on the great seal of the USA, and at one time was also printed on US currency. The meaning of the phrase is “Out of many, one.” That certainly fit the “melting pot” notion of American society being made up of individuals from many places and many walks of life.
It also implies a kind of unity in a large sense of the word, a unity that has become terribly fractured in our current political environment, such that we as a nation need to revisit the ideas and ideals behind the choice of the phrase by our early leaders.
As I thought about the phrase, it also struck me that it fits the orchestra: out of many individuals, one ensemble. Out of many instruments, one unified sound. And, it works musically as well: out of many notes, one composition.
Music director and Maestra Kayoko Dan proposed the idea of commissioning several Chattanooga-area composers for this season, and she and the Symphony Board were able to find the funding to make it happen.
I began working on the musical ideas over the summer of 2018, first by thinking of the nature of the music. What is a fanfare, and what is its purpose? While one could certainly choose to go in a counterintuitive direction with the idea, I chose for this first CSO-commissioned work to let the music be energetic, upbeat, even ebullient at times.
TP: You have a diverse body of work—could you describe a few pieces that represent the range of your compositions? Do you have a personal favorite?
JM: One of my favorites from my catalogue of pieces is “Digressions” for violin and piano. It has been played a good bit, around the USA and internationally, and now by four or five different violinists. It is based on a collection of intervals (the spaces between notes) that are used freely to create a variety of melodies and accompaniment figures and harmonies, making a varied surface that has underlying unity.
This is an approach I have used many times, in place of writing in a “key”. It gets gritty at times, is humorous at times, and is sweet and lovely at times.
I have written a good bit of vocal music (mostly in “keys”), and some of my art-song settings are among my favorites also: using Walt Whitman’s poetry in my “Nocturnal” songs, the third song of the set “This is the hour, O soul...” Simple, and beautiful. A few surprises and a nice build-up. And a setting of Wendell Berry’s “February 2, 1968” for voice and string quartet—such a simple and deeply emotional poem, and the setting is reserved to allow the words to speak.
TP: As a professor, how do you help unlock creativity in your students? And yourself?
JM: For my students, I endeavor to meet them where they are comfortable, ask a lot of questions, make suggestions, and help them get the first project(s) written and played. Then, we can take on more challenging projects.
The goal is to help them discover and develop their own “voices”, not to imitate their teacher. And, to help them develop the ability to ask themselves the questions I would ask them, to think about their music in ways that can help them be independently creative.
For myself, I read poetry; when possible, I read fiction. Some non-fiction. I listen to music and sometimes dissect what I am hearing to understand how it was put together—whether it is Duke Ellington, Béla Fleck, or a classical work.
I get outside and walk, with my dog, hoping for quiet time with no stimuli other than birds and what we can see (no ear-buds). I work in the yard (again, no ear-buds) to maintain a connection to the earth.
Time to think is highly valuable and absolutely essential to any creative person.