Episode 39: An Interview with Dr. Joel Love

In today’s episode, Heidi talks with Joey who is a composer, pianist, and an educator who currently lives in Houston, Texas. They talk about his compositional process, how music is a great creative outlet, and his commission for the Myrna Brown competition (TFS)! Listen to today’s episode to hear more!

Episode 39 – Main Points:

0:54 – Welcome! 1:28 – Three Images (Saxophone Octet) 4:22 – Joey teaches at Houston Community College 7:17 – Question: What is your compositional process like? 7:26 – “The blank page can be so daunting!” – Joey 8:44 – “I can do whatever I want.” – Joey 9:00 – “I try to explore a new area whether it’s harmony or a musical language.” – Joey 12:20 – Question: What are your goals when writing for the flute? 12:25 – “I think the flute is a beautiful instrument that has a lot of potential in terms of expressivity.” – Joey 13:54 – “When I write for any instrument I try to make it as idiomatic as possible.” – Joey 15:22 – Joey talks about his solo flute piece, “Mourning.” 16:30 – Composer: George Crumb 17:11 – Original title of “Mourning” was going to be “Keening.” 18:45 – Composer’s thought process. 19:46 – “We have this ability as humans to express our emotions very deeply.” – Joey 21:14 – Composer: Chopin 21:34 – “Mourning” for solo flute 21:49 – Joey’s comments about his solo flute piece. 24:33 – Contact Joey if you want to purchase his work, “Mourning.” 25:02 – Question: What advice would you give to the budding new composer? 25:05 – “Do as many things as possible!” – Joey 25:24 – Lamar University – Beaumont, TX 26:28 – “Do your music theory and aural skills homework.” – Joey 26:52 – “Take everyone in the [music] department to coffee!” – Joey 28:37 – “Life is about those relationships...and to better ourselves!” – Joey 30:43 – Graham Reynolds – Austin, TX 32:04 – Iceberg Analogy 33:19 – “Showing up even when you don’t want to show up.” – Heidi 33:40 – Joey asks Heidi a question. 33:55 – “Put your flute down, go outside and get fresh air, eat dark chocolate, and journal.” – Heidi 36:02 – Joey’s latest commission through the Texas Flute Society’s Myrna Brown Competition. 38:00 – Texas Flute Society’s flute festival dates: May 16-18, 2019 at TWU. 39:39 – Question: Any last comments and/or suggestions? 39:55 – “It’s hard work, but it’s worth it if you stick with it.” – Joey 40:45 – Picks! 41:21 – Aaron Copland’s Book: “What to Listen for in Music.” 44:15 – “The music world is very, very small!” – Joey

Picks:

Joey

Soup! Book: “The Joy of Music” by Leonard Bernstein

Heidi

Albert King’s 1968 Album: Live Wire/Blues Power “Blues Sunrise” Audible: The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan

Episode 39 – Resources Mentioned:

Joel Love’s Website Contact Joey! Joel Love’s Twitter Mourning for Flute Solo by Love Three Images for Saxophone Octet by Love (Performed at Texas Tech University) Houston Community College’s Southwest College Heidi Kay Begay’s Website

Episode 39 – Sponsors:

J&K Productions’ Website