This interview was conducted via email in October 2002.

I had the opportunity to meet Brent Michael Davids this past summer at the Oregon Bach Festival Composer’s Symposium. His music is highly provocative and gives us a small insight to his cultural heritage. Brent is an active composer residing in Minnesota and has just spent a couple of months in Arizona teaching American Indian youth how to compose.

This interview with Brent Michael Davids is the second in the Contemporary Composer Interview series exclusive to New Music Forum.

First off I would like to thank you, Brent, for agreeing to this interview. The first question I have for you is how did you first get into music?

I can’t even remember when I first heard anything, the origin has gone out of my memory, or I was not even conscious of it when it occurred. I started piano at 8 because my parents wanted me to, and composing at 16 because I wanted to…

Over the next few weeks, I will be going through the New Music Forum Archive and posting interviews, concert and album reviews and other related materials.  The archive posts will occur at least twice a week.  So please check back frequently as we will be adding a lot of content to New Music Forum!

This interview was conducted via email in July 2002.

This interview with Alex Shapiro is the first in the Contemporary Composer Interview series exclusive to New Music Forum.

To start with, I would like to ask, how did you first get into music?

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household in which classical music was played constantly. My father adored music and had an incredible LP collection, and particularly loved late Beethoven string quartets, Brahms chamber music, and Mahler symphonies. My mother was a talented amateur flutist who studied for many years with the New York Philharmonic’s principal flutist, John Wummer, and she practiced every day.