By Jennifer Higdon
My Start in Music by Jennifer Higdon
“Band!” That was my answer when asked about my start in music. I was a new Artist Diploma student at the Curtis Institute of Music, standing with the new students, wondering how the heck I had gotten into this school with all of these incredibly talented young musicians. The brass, wind, and percussionists all nodded with understanding. The majority of other students, though, looked at my quizzically; they had begun studying piano and string instruments when they were 3 or 4…band was a foreign concept to them. I was self-taught on flute (having begun at 15) and played in my high school band, where I discovered the power of music and the thrill of being part of a group of colleagues who are disciplined (mostly) and determined (most assuredly) to get superior ratings in competitive shows. With band, I had landed in Nirvana. Though I knew nothing about classical music in general, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life participating in the world of music.
When I went off to do my undergraduate studies at the one school I could get into, Bowling Green State University, I was put into all the remedial classes, and though people said I was starting too late to be able to have a career in music, I decided to ignore them because I knew I was on the right path. The thrill of being handed the keys to a kingdom that held the promise of life-time joy (I still feel that way) gave me enough battery power to erase any self-doubt that I had. And to be honest, I had to earn the keys…they gave me the key parts a piece at a time, and I worked hard to earn the right to have all of the keys. By staying in the game, I got the huge joy of working with some spectacular musician/conductors in my formative days: band director Mark Kelly (“Chief”), conductor Robert Spano, and my flute teacher, Judith Bentley.
Then I got into Curtis (still having tremendous ground to cover in learning; but I put my head down and absorbed as much as I could from my talented fellow students; it is where I switched over from being a flutist to being a composer). And from there I went to the University of Pennsylvania for a Ph.D. Right after I graduated, Penn found itself without a conductor for the orchestra and wind ensemble just weeks before the start of the school year, and having stepped in before, they asked me to take over the ensembles. Most people don’t know this, but I did conduct the Penn Wind Ensemble and Orchestra for a full year (great way to learn about programming and how to deal with students who have to take time off for GRE’s and LSAT’s). Believe it or not, there are people who played in my ensembles who don’t know that I compose…they still think I conduct—and it is fun to run into them occasionally and see the look of surprise when they ask me how the ensembles are doing.
The years following my formal education have been filled with tons of learning. I’ve done so many different things in music, including professional copying, chamber ensemble playing (I kept playing flute for quite some time, including playing for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center), starting a publishing company that has grown beyond what I could ever have imagined, and recording a lot (I think it’s over 100 CDs at this point). I learned how to write for opera, for junior high band and choir, and for some of the most incredible performers in the world (Hilary Hahn, The Chicago Symphony, the American Brass Quintet, The President’s “Own”). And I taught at that school that I still can’t believe I got into. But “professional composer” has always been my full-time job.
This brings me to a few awards I’ve picked up along the way. In April of 2010, at 3:15 one afternoon, the press descended on me without warning and in mass. The reporters informed me that I had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music. It was beyond overwhelming, and I was thankful when I had to leave the ringing phone to attend that evening’s yearly orchestral concert of my student composers at Curtis. I got into the hall, sat down in the last row and tried to breathe. I stared at my students at the front, as they fidgeted…I so remember that feeling (like it was yesterday) in that exact same hall. I sat there thinking, “How did I get here? What just happened?” And then I realized, this journey began with my high school band director, Larry Hicks. It was my fellow band members. It was the contests and the stadiums. It was the patience and dedication that educators throughout my personal history had gifted to me. It was the joy…it emanated from them. While I’ve become known for my orchestral and chamber works, the band world still holds a special place in my heart. Do I know everything there is to know about writing for band? Heck no! I’m still learning. So, Thank You, for allowing me to learn from all of you.
Jennifer Higdon is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers. She received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and Grammy’s in 2010, 2018, and 2020.
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