Musicians chart their education through the pieces they play, developing a repertoire filled with the classics from Bach to Beethoven. Music composition junior Garrett Miller began his career on a piano bench when he was 8 years old, but he found himself drawn not to what he could play, but what he heard.
What began as a "horrible punk band" that he and his best friend started in sixth grade would become Miller's first introduction to composing. He started listening to more classical music around this time and was quickly drawn to the contemporary artists of the 21st century.
"That was really helpful for me, because I got that really early on in my musical development as opposed to much later in life," Miller said. "I've really learned and picked up a lot from those guys. The classics are great too, but I've learned a lot from the less conventionally tonal people."
In his three years at ASU, Miller said he has become a completely different composer than his freshman self.
"It's just come from listening to a lot more composers, being exposed to a lot more music, more musicians and being encouraged by my professors to do all of these extra things," he said.
One of those "extra things" is the annual ASU Composers Concert at the Phoenix Art Museum. Music composition faculty choose about eight students each year to compose their own piece that relates to works of art that will be on display from December, when the composers begin their work, to the concert in April.
Juilliard String Quartet violist Samuel Rhodes helps Herberger students rehearse a quartet by music composition junior Garrett Miller to prepare for the Phoenix Art Museum's annual ASU Composers Concert.(Photo by Yvonne Gonzalez)
Kathryn Blake, director of education at the Phoenix Art Museum, helps develop new "entry points," or ways for patrons to connect to the works of art. Currently in its sixth year, the ASU Composers Concert is one of those alternative entry points, and began in April 2007 through a partnership between museum trustees and the University.
"We try to get students to come in and look at the pieces; then it's really up to them how much background information they want to know," she said. "Some want to know a lot, some just want to have a personal response to the visual."
The pieces are performed in close proximity to the works of art by quartets made up of ASU student musicians. Patrons get to both see and hear the art as they move from gallery to gallery in a roving concert.
This year's concert will start in the Phoenix Art Kids Gallery, then move to the main floor of the contemporary wing, up to the modern art gallery for two works of art, then finish on the second floor of the contemporary wing.
"Seeing high-quality student work, hearing what you see, opens up a different avenue of appreciation for patrons," Blake said.
Miller chose a piece of modern art by Arnold Belkin titled "El Sueño," and said his composition is focused on the mysterious way muscular body parts with nonhuman skin tones seem to grow toward the viewer out of a dark, greenish background.
"I heard these growing themes," Miller said. "The piece starts with that initial hit, but after that beginning section, it grows into a more forcible, and then it backs off into a more lyrical thing and ends that way."
Juilliard String Quartet violist Samuel Rhodes prepares to coach a student quartet by looking over the score by music composition junior Garrett Miller and comparing it to an iPhone image of the artwork that inspired the piece. (Photo by Yvonne Gonzalez)In preparation for the April 20 concert at the museum, the students performing Miller's piece were coached by Samuel Rhodes, the violinist for the Juilliard String Quartet, which is the Herberger school's quartet in residence.
Rhodes helped the quartet members portray Miller’s notations, stay true to dynamics and tempo, and note areas where the music needed to be cued more clearly so that the musicians had a map to follow during the trickier, plucked portions.
"It’s very irregular; that’s part of what he’s doing," Rhodes said after the hour-long coaching session. "There's always somebody moving in a (ritardando), and you have to know who those people are."
Larger ensembles have the benefit of a conductor to lead the way through the music, but quartet members rely on one another to stay together.
"An important part of learning any contemporary piece is to learn how to cue your part," Rhodes said. "Know what to watch for, what to listen for. Or else play from score."
Miller said because his piece is based off a painting of a dream, he wanted a feeling of pseudo-reality throughout. While that made it a difficult piece to play, with its intricate parts and disjointed structure with few areas of unison, Miller's hope is that the quartet members enjoy playing it.
"I don't care if it sounds exactly like it's written on the page; no music does," he said. "And plus, I like that aspect, that it could sound different every time, and I like what they put into it."
The concert begins at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and is free with the cost of museum admission, which is $10 for ASU students with ID.
Reach the reporter at ymgonzal@asu.edu
