William Gokelman
UIW Music Professor
What got you into music?
I started playing piano when I was 10 years old, by accident. A friend of my father’s stored his piano in our house when he got shipped overseas. The piano was now in our living room, so I started playing it. Had no intention of becoming a professional musician. Eventually I discovered playing the piano with a singer, then eventually moved from one singer to a whole choir. Now, I primarily conduct choirs and I absolutely love it!
Do you have any projects on which you’re currently working? If so, what are they?
I’m always working on a few projects! Currently, they’re all compositions. I’m writing a set of piano preludes, a choral piece, and a piece for orchestra about Timothy the hippo.
What is the inspiration/influence behind this project?
Inspiration comes from many places. The hippo piece is literally inspired by Timothy the Hippo at the San Antonio Zoo. It’s part of a larger collection of orchestral pieces about animals, each piece being written by a different member of the Composer’s Alliance of San Antonio. My piano pieces are usually commissions, so they are based on different ideas, sometimes dedicated to past loved ones, although some just pop into my head, not from a specific source. For choral and vocal compositions, I am usually struck by a text I read and feel compelled to set to music. I never write for voices unless I have a meaningful text first.
Could you explain the creative process for this project?
Wow, how much time do you have? That’s a huge question. People have studied the creative process for many years. Books have been written about it. I don’t know that I can explain it, but I can say that, for me, creativity happens when I begin to let go (let go of preconceived notions; let go of self-doubt; let go of what others, society, may think – that’s a big one), and begin to listen (listen to my inner thoughts and impulses; listen to nature; listen to the quiet truth that is outside of the constant noise of life). This all sounds somewhat abstruse or esoteric, and I don’t mean it to, it’s just that the creative process is a bit elusive, I think.
What are some challenges that you faced while working on this?
Finding time. For me, that’s always the biggest challenge. Our world does not always seem set up to allow people to take time to create and explore artistically.
What are some challenges that you have faced in your career?
For one, I like to do a lot of things (compose, perform, conduct, teach) so it’s always a challenge to find the time to do them all. It’s also difficult for me to “turn off” the outside world for a period of time to allow creativity to happen. I have to really work at it.
What do you hope your audience takes away from this piece?
Whenever a musician performs, whether it’s his/her own composition or someone else’s, you can make a connection with the audience, somehow. You have no idea what that connection will be – it depends on the listener and what’s going on in their life, and how they interpret what they hear. My hope is that whatever the connection is between performer and “hearer,” that it helps heal, give insight, provide clarity, create an emotional response, bring joy, cause reflection – ultimately, make us more compassionate and human.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with your audience?
Music is one of, if not the, greatest languages we have. Performers and composers have a great responsibility and honor to use the language of music to reach other humans. There is a great amount of healing and unity that can happen through shared musical experiences. It is one of the reasons I do what I do.
