Composition Students Meet MacDowell Colony Fellow and Composer David Rakowski
Recently, nine Keene State College music composition students visited the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH, to attend a seminar offered by Colony Fellow and Composer David Rakowski. He discussed his composing practice and presented three of his piano etudes (“Fists of Fury,” “Quietude,” and “Narcissitude”), an orchestral work called Zephyrs, and his Piano Concerto #2 to the class. After listening to the concerto and following along with the score, students asked questions ranging from his use of technology to how Rakowski secured his first commissions. Rakowski also discussed the challenges of writing for full orchestra, composing on the piano, and the benefits of working with talented musicians.
Student Thomas Fox definitely appreciated the opportunity to visit the private artists’ retreat and learn from a working master. “David Rakowski supplied us with his own scores in advance so we could follow along during the seminar,” Fox said. “His humor and jovial personality kept everyone engaged. It was great to see such an accomplished individual still enjoying their career so much. It’s not every day we have the opportunity to learn from a composer who has been nominated for two Pulitzer prizes, let alone be comedically entertained the whole time. Having the opportunity to spend time with such an individual is incredibly inspiring. When my peers and I left the seminar all we could talk about was how badly we wanted to sit down and compose and integrate new ideas into our music.”
Giving the students a chance to share this experience as a group also had it’s benefits. “Composition, by its nature, can be a very solitary endeavor,” explained Associate Professor of Music Heather Gilligan. “We don’t have much opportunity to meet as a group, unless it’s for an end-of-semester concert, in which there is little occasion for discussion or reflection. The MacDowell trip gave our students composers a chance to travel together as a group, to have a common experience, to listen to an energetic and sharp composer talk reflectively about his work, and to converse with him in open dialogue. David had a lot to say, and the students responded with thoughtful and thought-provoking questions about everything from the compositional process to David’s career choices. It’s important for our students to see the ‘real life’ side of composition. Talking with David and seeing a campus like MacDowell seems to have been energizing and inspiring for our students—certainly an experience you can’t recreate in the classroom.”
