John Kochevar: What originally interested you in new music?
David Hoose: I started playing the French horn as a kid. And, then, on my own, the piano. From that, I started composing, fumbling around really, probably because the music I liked the most was the newest. The dissonances didn’t scare me - in fact, they don’t scare many young listeners… that happens later when we get set our ways.
When I was studying composition at the conservatory it was the late 60’s and I imitated what I heard. I loved Stravinsky, but also Stockhousen, Boulez, and the complex avant-garde composers.
The best thing composing did was to let new music open my ears. I really had to listen.
Kochevar: Do you still consider yourself a composer?
Hoose: Not really. After a while I discovered I was more in love with the idea of composing than with composing. That told me two things. One, I shouldn’t be a composer, and, two, that I could be still be involved in the process.
While I prefer to conduct, I am in awe of composers. I believe I should do all I can to help facilitate the introduction of their works.
Kochevar: You conduct a lot of premiers. What are the rewards?
Hoose: The act of composing seems like giving birth. Sometimes composers are unable to let the piece go but they have to. Composers feel like their “children” are utterly dependent on them. Unfortunately, their creations really can’t have a life until they are released. We have to build a trust so composers will feel their pieces can stand on their own… that their lives aren’t going to stand or fall on any one aspect of the performance. The most important thing we do is help them to trust the strength of their own work.
Kochevar: How did you get started with Collage New Music?
Hoose: For a long time Collage did not have a regular conductor. Frank Epstein often asked me to conduct as a guest. Not all of these concerts were entirely successful. John Harbison too often reminds me of a concert where we were going to perform L’ Histoire du Soldat with a puppet theater. The concert began with a substantial piece by Andrew Imbrie called Pilgrimage. It was very difficult and somehow we lost our way just in the final moments. I had to stop and announce to the audience that we were starting over again. Now, disasters are not unknown to new music audiences, but I felt a little sorry for all the people who had come just to see the puppets.
Of course, we have also had a number of triumphs -- ones people call the best performance “ever.” Fortunately these are remembered just as well…
Kochevar: What makes Collage New Music different from your other ensembles?
Hoose: With an ensemble this small, I often have a sense that the players really do not need me – especially when they are this good.
I am always in awe of the Collage musicians. The music is frequently complex, but so are the musicians. I can’t tell you the number of times I have fretted before the first rehearsal of some very challenging piece, and then they get it beautifully -- the first time. It’s just amazing how gifted these people are….
Kochevar: What draws the musicians to Collage?
Hoose: One or more of the following. They like the technical challenges. They are inspired by the musical challenge. They like being involved with a work hot off the press. And, they enjoy the close give-and-take relationship with the composer.
These folks choose to play in Collage. Not every musician embraces new music, but these players seek it out. I think it enhances all of their music making.
Kochevar: If they don’t need you, what is your function?
Hoose: Most often I try to be a facilitator - someone who can help the players do their best, singly and together. I do not put a stamp on the piece like we often think conductors try to do, but at least I get to be on stage with these fantastic musicians.
I also get to choose the music. The advice of local composers who know a lot of what’s out there - Harbison, Fussell and others - helps a lot. People from all over the country send me tapes of new music. Then, as Music Director, I get to choose the challenging music that I believe in. Believing in the music is the most important thing I can do.
Kochevar: You often say “New music keeps old music alive.” What do you mean?
Hoose: We can’t hear Mozart with the ears of an 18th Century person. Our entire breadth of 20th Century experience, from television to The Rite of Spring prevents that. We do not have virgin ears.
The relevance of new music in our lives today can remind us that old music need not be an artifact, but can be a living thing. Any other approach is play acting. When we realize how relevant old music can still be, we are more able to see the role of new music in our lives. A great circle….
Kochevar: How important is good hair to a conductor?
Hoose: (Laughter) Not really… actually people often come up to me, beaming, and I think they are going to thank me for the wonderful musical experience they just had and they ask me how I get my hair to move this way….
Kochevar: What kind of support is there for new music?
Hoose: Well, our audiences are growing. When the performances are exciting and the music is compelling, people will come. And, people will come from all backgrounds. You may suspect that the only people who go to new music concerts are composers. That’s not our experience. We do get the composers but there are more people who are regular concert-goers and many who are not interested in standard musical events.
Money is another matter. All musical organizations must struggle for funding. They are not called non-profits for nothing. New music will never have the draw of the Three Tenors, but these concerts are necessary, even essential to our musical lives. In many ways new music is the music of the future and it certainly deserves a broader base of support.
Kochevar: It took me a while to learn to like new music. What kinds of advice can you give people who think they don’t like new music?
Hoose: When I was young I hated tomatoes, green beans, fish and wine.… It takes a while to acquire a taste for certain things. How interesting would your diet be if you stuck to foods you ate when you were five? Your musical experience, your emotional experience, is stunted if you limit your listening to music you liked yesterday.
Also, remember that new music is not dangerous. It is not going to hurt you! Don’t try so hard and maybe just let it wash over you…. You’ll be surprised what can happen.