An American sound

Resident composer Justin Writer is set to debut his original piano concerto with UTRGV Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of the all-American composer repertoire “Wild, Wild West!” The performance will feature acclaimed pianist Kenneth Saxon and Aaron Copland’s score, “Billy the Kid.”

Writer, who is a professor in the UTRGV School of Music, said he was approached by assistant professor Norman Gamboa to make an original score for a concert of all-American music that he was directing to commemorate the university’s 10-year anniversary.

Gamboa said composer Aaron Copland embodies the “true American spirit,” and wrote a number of ballets during the Great Depression, such as “Billy the Kid.”

“It tells the story of, you know, this desperado, and then also it pays homage to the culture of the cowboy, which is very big in our identity as a country,” he said.

Gamboa shared that the score has a tranquil beginning. It then transitions to a lighthearted section, with the piccolo representing a stroll. The mood shifts dramatically to depict a gunfight, using percussion and low instruments to create the sounds of gunshots. 

“It’s a very vivid type of composition that really brings things to life,” he said. 

Writer told The Rider he did not try to fit his piece into a Wild West theme, but instead aimed to create a concerto he felt the pianist and conductor would enjoy. He added that historical research plays a significant role in his creative process.

“I spent a lot of time studying whatever type of piece it is … looking at scores, a lot of studying of the piano literature,” he said. “And then from that, I kind of form my own ideas of what I want my piece to be and how much of it I wanted to rely on … what has been done in the past, and how much I wanted to do that was different than what had been done previously.”

For this piano concerto, Writer researched composers Alberto Ginastera, Dmitri Shostakovich, John Corigliano and Béla Bartók. 

“There were a bunch of others, but those four really kind of drew me in because of some of the things that they were doing that I wanted to emulate, not copy, but just kind of emulate the type of emotional responses that it seemed like they were trying to get from the music,” he said. 

The Rider asked Writer how he hoped the audience would react to his piece.

“That’s a tough question because composers can’t really make people have certain emotions,” he replied. “All we can do is write the piece from our emotions and, then, people will bring their own life experiences to that piece.”

Gamboa said there is nothing like a live performance. The experience is what he hopes audiences take away.

“It’s quite different than just putting a CD on a CD player, or for those that are a bit more younger … Spotify,” he said.

The result of this long and fruitful collaboration, according to Writer, is a “roller coaster of aggressiveness mixed with lyrical, melodic lyricism.” He added that he will not know if that is how the listeners will perceive it but enjoys the idea of them bringing their own experiences to the music.

Gamboa said he enjoyed his collaboration with Writer and Saxon.

“The piece of music is an absolute delight,” he said. “It’s very challenging for the pianist, very challenging for the orchestra and it creates a lot of dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. So, it’s a very vivid composition.”

The concert overarching theme evokes the sounds of rugged Americana of the Old West. 

“The early American composers were trying to find their way outside of what all the Europeans were doing,” Writer said. “And so, they kind of developed a style or a sound that sounds … whatever it means to be American. … I think my piece also has those traits, [but] I didn’t limit myself to just listening to American concerts just because it was an American concert. I was inclusive of all composers and just trying to get my ears open to what people have historically done for this genre.” 

“I think it’s super important; the artists … are representing the world as they see it at the time they see it,” Writer said when asked how important it was for listeners to understand history through music. “And if we don’t put these pieces into their historical perspective, we might be missing some of the intent of the work.”

He added, however, that enjoying art without this knowledge is perfectly valid. Historical context allows for a richer, more complete appreciation, and while it is important, it is not strictly necessary for basic enjoyment.

When asked what he would ask Billy the Kid if given the opportunity, he replied, “What kind of music was he fond of … because we don’t really think of Billy the Kid, the music connoisseur, but it might be interesting to know what he liked or disliked.”

“Wild Wild West!” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday in the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg campus. For tickets, visit showpass.com. 

–Sofía Cantú Sauceda contributed to this story.