The O-town Scene

April 07, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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Music People Jeremy Wall, an assistant professor of music at SUNY Oneonta and one of the founding members of jazz-fusion group Spyro Gyra, is also the director of the SUNY Oneonta jazz-funk bands, which will perform for a fundraiser at 10 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the Autumn Cafe in Oneonta. The Funk’d on Phonics show will raise money for the Oneonta High School music department. I’ve caught you in the middle of working on a new composi- tion. What’s it for? I’m writing a piece for the dedica- tion of the new wing of the music building (part of SUNY Oneonta’s Fine Arts building). We were plan- ning to premier it in April, but the work on the building is still being completed, so it seemed like a good idea to wait until that was finished. Is there a finalized end date at this point? It’s in the stage of being ready. We’re going to start moving in there soon, and we’re aiming to present the piece in the fall. I’m guessing that it’s a piece for an orchestra. It’s a piece for the Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Singers, the World Music Percussion En- semble [all SUNY Oneonta student ensembles], and 11 student and faculty soloists. It’s a pretty large piece, and I think it’s going to be about 45 minutes long. It’s nine dif- ferent songs performed together as one big suite. Was this the first time you’ve been commissioned to write music for a specific purpose like this? Sort of, I guess. I actually wrote a piece for piano and orchestra that I played this past fall with the Catskill Symphony Orchestra. So that was the first large-scale classical piece I’ve written, and it’s nice because it’s a new challenge for me to write something on that scale, along with all notating everything for a large classical ensemble. Having said 10 O-Town Scene April 7, 2011 that, my music of course always involves improvisation, and always has elements of jazz, pop, classical, and world music in it. Now that you mention your own music, I need to ask: thinking back to your career as a touring performer de- cades ago [most notably as a member of the jazz-fusion group Spyro Gyra], did you ever imagine that, one day, you’d be standing in front of a classroom? Well, I was never very academi- cally inclined in my younger years. Even though I got into some very good colleges and learned a lot, I was never interested in academic pursuits. But, I feel like my position here at Oneonta allows me to share something much greater than just academic knowledge. When I’m here, I’m able to bring my experi- ence, both music and life experi- ence, into play. How long have you been an assistant professor here? Eight years. So, now that I know you weren’t actively thinking about this before that point, what was it that made you take the leap into academia eight years ago? It was a certain point at which I saw the way the record business was going. I had had a nice career going as a songwriter, record producer, arranger, and solo performer, but then I saw the way things were going in the business, Contributed Jeremy Wall is seen at the piano. and I thought that it would be a good time to focus my energy in a different direction. That involved trying to get a full-time position at a university. Is that just a nice way of stat- ing some negative feelings you may have developed towards the recording industry over time? No, no, I was really just saying: hey, it’s time to go in another direc- tion. What was the transition like for you? I had to go back to school and get my Masters degree first. After that, I taught for four years as an adjunct professor at Ramapo Col- lege in New Jersey, and then I went straight into my position here, and I’ve been really happy. But, as a pianist and creative personality, was the shift into a classroom setting difficult to adapt to at first? Oh no, it was great. I think I’ve been able to keep my creative juices flowing. And it’s allowed me to work in a different way, too. There are things I do that I couldn’t do when I was playing in bars, like writing music for an orchestra, or doing a two-piano version of “The Rite of Spring” with Kim Patterson [another SUNY Oneonta music professor]. How do you feel music education, in its current form at this and other colleges, has changed in comparison to how you learned as a student? When it comes to this school, a big difference is that we have the music industry major, which has a completely different emphasis than that of the typical conservatory ap- proach. I think it’s a great program, and I think it benefits students. I’m also thinking strictly in terms of performance, and how you were trained as, in your case, a pianist. Do you think the philosophy of that type of education has changed at all since you were young? I’m unusual in that regard. I’ve obviously learned from so many people, and have been affected deeply by so many musicians, but I think there’s a sense in which I’m kind of self taught. What I can say is that I got a lot from being a part of a college community. Being around great, inspiring musicians, being encouraged to find my own way and not be forced into certain role, was tremendously valuable to me. You teach a number of differ- ent classes at SUNY Oneonta that span from advanced per- formance and music theory to contemporary issues in the mu- sic industry, which focuses on more business-related aspects. Since you draw on knowledge gained from experience both as a performer and a producer, are there any key concepts you stress in all of your classes that you feel apply to anyone enter- ing the music industry, whether it is onstage or in an office? There’s a basic principle that I teach in all of my classes, and I believe that it’s what I’m ultimately trying to give to students. It’s the idea of freedom within structure. You need to master the structure, so you can operate freely within it. This what I try to show people: that they can work within a structure, whether it’s the structure the world presents or one that a style of music presents, by fully learning it. That allows you to be effective within it, and to maintain creativity and freedom of choice. And what about the student funk bands you direct? How have they developed over time? Well, before I say anything, it’s interesting to think that when I came here to Oneonta eight years ago, most of the bands in town played metal and thrash music. That’s re- ally the only thing that was going on in terms of what students were putting together. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but that was simply the case. So the funk and small jazz combos that we see now as such a big part of the music program didn’t exist at that point? No. Surprisingly, they really didn’t exist in that form. And now that environment is so different. Yeah, now we have quite a number of different groups that are really good.

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