This month, we are featuring Brooks Frederickson as our Composer of the Month. We will be performing Brooks’ quintet, It Doesn’t Get Dark In Miami at our THEY’RE ALIVE! Concert on April 25th, so we wanted everyone to get to know him beforehand!
Our clarinetist, Elyssa Plotkin, called Brooks on a chilly February night. She was surprised (and somewhat jealous) to learn that he was speaking to her from sunny California! When Brooks isn’t composing (which isn’t often), he works at a The Brooklyn Charter School teaching music to children in grades K-5, and Elyssa had apparently caught him in the middle of his winter break.
“So, can you tell our readers anything about the quintet?”
Brooks explained that he composed the piece at the end of his undergraduate degree at Butler University. He was vacationing in Miami (again with the beautiful, warm climates!) and was on a beach at night, while he looked over to the city and realized it was “glowing.” It was such a nice image that he titled the quintet It Doesn’t Get Dark In Miami, although Brooks clarified that the title is not related to the music itself, as he does not write programmatic music. The quintet does not have a specific story because he wanted each listener to create his/her own unique story while listening to the piece. Brooks’ music is open to the listener’s interpretation and the result is that everyone walks away with a different image and experience after listening to the quintet.
We also wanted to know more about the synthesizer track that goes with the quintet.
Brooks told us that the quintet was his first foray into electronic music, but emphasized that it wasn’t like most electronic pieces; the tape and live music are intended to exist in tandem and more spontaneously than the usual strict, rigid scores with electronics and live musicians. Essentially, this gives the musicians more freedom to play their parts.
Brooks started composing when he was in 4th grade. He admitted that he got tired of trying to play other people’s music, so he started making up his own. He became friends with many musicians in High School and was able to write for them. He then majored in Composition at Butler University. His current project is a composition for The Drew Williams Jazz Nonet that includes group improvisation, something he has never written before.
When it comes to hobbies, Brooks doesn’t do much besides compose and teach music full time. As he said, he “can’t hold down any hobbies.” As Elyssa said, “Well, it’s a good thing you love to compose so much!”
Our final question was a tough one:
“As a composer, what can you do to interest younger people in music and grow classical music audiences in general?”
Brooks felt that music education is the key. The more we can expose young children to music (contemporary and more traditional music), the more likely they are to remain interested in it in the future. We have to “hook them while they’re young!”
SO, whether you are young or old, a trained musician or someone who doesn’t know a thing about classical music, we urge you all to attend our THEY’RE ALIVE! concert this April. You will be exposed to four wonderful pieces, including Brooks’ It Doesn’t Get Dark In Miami and can meet Brooks and the three other composers at a reception following the performance.
For more information on Brooks, visit his website: http://www.brooksfrederickson.com/