SFist Interviews Gabriela Lena Frank

Your compositions Jungle Jaunt and the Mestizo Waltz from the Three Latin American Dances are being performed as part of the San Francisco Symphony's Dia de los Muertos Family Concert this Sunday. Was your orchestral work designed for a family purpose?

The work was actually designed for everyone to enjoy -- adults and children alike. It's a very colorful work with sounds traveling around the orchestra quickly, and there are many things that keep coming back, such as the opening silvery slippery dancing theme in the violins.

Berkeley Composer Gabriela Lena Frank

I love the Dia de los Muertos holiday, and in fact, even have another piece of music that is a 10-scene ballet about the festival. In Perú, it is not as humorous as in Mexico, and the traditions really vary throughout the country.

There seems to be quite a music scene in Berkeley, with lots of composers
living there or studying at the UC. Are you part of this music scene?

To be honest, because I grew up here, I made a point to do my formal musical training at the university OUTSIDE of California when I was a youngster. [Ed. She went to Rice University and University of Michigan] So, for a long time, the bulk of my music career happened abroad and I kept a lower profile when I came home... to rest! This, in spite of being commissioned by such groups as the Kronos Quartet, Chanticleer, and others. Recently, though, I became the Creative Advisor with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and am currently composer-in-residence with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra so I've finally committed to my local civic responsibility to participate more. And I'm finding that the music scene here is indeed vibrant and full of possibilities.

Your bio mentions a mixed ancestry. Is it something we can hear in your music?

Yes, in varying degrees depending on which work you are listening to. Sometimes the Latin influences are quite evident, and sometimes they are quite subtle. And of course, "Latin" can mean so many different things. There is no one single Latin identity, as any Latino/latinoamericano would tell you.

We have this image of the composer at the piano, and you are a concert
pianist. Is this how you work when you compose?

I am not a slave to any one method for composing -- Different pieces demand different means to get to that object of beauty that all composers are trying to fashion into existence. Sometimes I compose at the piano, but often, you'll see me at a coffee shop with just my pencil, a bit of paper, and my imagination.

Where do you find inspiration? What triggers ideas?

Everything is grist for the mill, everything can provide a spark! Creative artists have to hone that skill for collecting the little triggers, the little pieces of magic in both ordinary moments and extraordinary moments that will somehow become music. I spend a lot of time reading stories -- Myths and images do a lot for my imagination. Then, I study a lot of scores for technique so I can learn and build upon secrets that others have discovered, trying to take things to new places.

Alondra de la Parra will conduct this SF symphony performance, but women composing or conducting seem to be the exception rather than the norm. Is there a need for some kind of affirmative action in this sphere?

I am not a fan of affirmative action, although I support its intended end. If you talk to women of my generation who are composers and conductors, most of us will say that we have faced far, far fewer obstacles than our older sisters. Although we are nowhere close to where we need to be in terms of sheer numbers, I predict that the next decade will see huge leaps in the number of women among our professional ranks.