Writing music is how I express myself. After all, “where words fail, music speaks.” - Chelsea Loew, composer
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Leading up to Helia Music & Siroko Duo's March 25th concert, Re:Ignite, we'll be posting interviews with our collaborators to offer you a sneak-peak into their lives, their musical process, and their inspiration. Read on to learn more!  Meet Chelsea Loew! On March 25, 2017, Siroko will be giving the world-premiere of her new work Hughes of Sylvia for flute and alto flute. Learn about her background, her piece, and fun facts about her life. Tell us a little about yourself - where you’re currently based, your musical journey so far, and where you think you’re going. In elementary school, I received a light-up keyboard from Santa- he gets me. I’m sure my parents thought I would play with it for a few months and grow out of it and move on. Instead, it sparked my complete infatuation with music, and I was constantly playing it. Side-note: I received an ocarina this past Christmas from my boyfriend who is fully aware of my nerdiness and love of Zelda, and I have successfully driven both him and my roommate at Eastman absolutely nuts! So, if you think you can buy me a musical instrument and expect me to quickly grow bored, think again. ;) Music has that effect on me. It’s intoxicating. It equally fulfills me and leaves me desiring more. And so I here I am, studying to receive my MA in Music Composition from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Within the next few months I will have decided on a school to pursue my Doctorate in Composition, and I am so eager to figure out where that will be! Wherever I end up, I will always compose. Writing music is how I express myself. After all, “where words fail, music speaks.” What inspires your music? Describe your voice. My early compositions are clearly influenced by French impressionism. Being a pianist, it is hard not to just adore Debussy. It fits so beautifully in your fingers. It feels like gliding your hands across the surface of water, and not tumultuous, rough waters. I’m referring to early in the morning when everything is still and asleep, and you see the rising sun’s reflection on top of the water as if looking through a glass window. During my undergrad at College of Charleston, I was introduced to many composers I was unfamiliar with. Three composers that really captivated me were Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Bartok. Like probably any composer living today, I remember the first time I heard Rite of Spring. I was a little freshman in music history, and my professor showed us the ballet with the dancers and choreography. I think one of my favorite musical moments ever has to be at the beginning of Spring Rounds when the basses and the contra bassoons have those rich, low, swelling open fifth downbeats. Swoon. All that being said, I am a big mixing pot of elements of all these composers with a whole lot of my crazy self thrown into the mix. I used to compose purely intuitively, but I’ve finally learned to create syntax for myself while studying here at Eastman. I think limiting yourself to certain syntax for each piece is a really cohesive way of making everything in your music make sense. I have come up with my own take on set theory where I pick certain sets and mix them in certain ways. I let my intuition guide my pitch choice, but I also make sure that it fits into my syntax. For me, music without syntax would be like learning a language and spewing random words which all have meaning, but in no specific order. Just like spoken language, you need grammar and order and structure in music. I’m trying to find that comfortable middle ground of structure and intuition. Tell us about the piece Siroko will be performing. For the literary connoisseurs out there, you may have gathered whom this piece is about purely by reading the title Hughes of Sylvia. I have always loved the work of Sylvia Plath. Her father died when she was only 8 years old - she took his death very hard, loosing her faith in God. She dealt with severe depression, and her relationships with men were often troubled. She eventually fell in love with and married the writer Ted Hughes, whose affair would ultimately end their marriage. Before the affair, Sylvia had attempted to commit suicide a few times, but she succeeded six months after her separation from Hughes. This piece represents a depressed Sylvia (the alto flute) being admired and chased by a man (C flute). They eventually fall in love, as represented by the two flutes entangling themselves in one another musically, but he tires and leaves her. This is less a representation of Ted Hughes specifically, but of all the men in Sylvia’s life – from her father to her lovers to her husband. What was it like writing for two flutes? Challenging? Easy? Tell us about your process. I definitely wouldn’t say it was easy, considering the fact that I started this piece over a year ago and set it aside for quite some time before returning to it. I think I needed time to process what this piece was. It wasn’t really the technical aspect making me hesitate, but the extra-musical aspect of what this piece meant. It took time for me to live with the idea of the work. I love the freedom you are presented with when writing for flute(s). They are so agile and nimble. It allows you to write these extremely intricate, note-filled passages that would be way too laborious for most instruments. In this sense, I found the process to be very freeing. Flute is such a rewarding instrument to write for because of its vast abilities. And when you get to add another flute to the mix, the fun just doubles. ;) Of course, it doesn’t hurt to consult useful resources like Robert Dick’s The Other Flute that talks in depth about extended techniques for the flute. What's a fun fact about yourself? Do you have an interesting hobby outside of music? Being on the water is definitely my favorite place to be. I grew up on the water. Almost every weekend since I was about 4, my family would go to the beach or take the boat out to go fishing, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, you name it. I wouldn’t be surprised if salt water ran through my veins. To this day, if I feel sick or sad or angry, I immediately immerse myself in a hot bath (my poor roommate. I’m a bathroom hog). Water makes everything better. This past summer, my dad and brother and I experienced a scary situation. We were fishing a 50-foot deep shark hole and our boat capsized. It was surreal. My adrenaline made everything mind numbing and it was as if the world was moving in slow motion. I remember very casually stepping off of the boat into the water while the boat gingerly turned over; I’m sure this isn’t how it happened, but it is certainly how I remember it. Thankfully, a boat drove by and saw my brother frantically waving his hands and saved us. You’d think this would deter me from being out in the ocean, but it hasn’t. I still love it with every ounce of my being.  Find out more about Chelsea by visiting: www.chelsealoew.wordpress.com www.soundcloud.com/chelsea-loew Don't miss Chelsea's piece! Re:Ignite - Helia Music Collective & Siroko Duo Saturday, March 25th at 7:30pm Center for New Music (55 Taylor St., SF, CA) $15 general/$10 members, students, seniors Tickets available at the door and online here.
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