Da Capo Conversations 2.0 with Sage Shurman and Madeline Clara Cheng

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 185: Da Capo Conversations 2.0 with Sage Shurman and Madeline Clara Cheng

Looking for a way to listen to diverse creators and to support equity in the arts? Tune in weekly to For Good Measure!

Today we revisit Sage Shurman and Madeleine Clara Cheng’s perspectives on what being a composer means to them. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Sage Shurman and Madeleine Clara Cheng, check them out here and here. Parts of this episode originally premiered in November 2024, click here, and December 2024, click here.

This podcast is made possible by grants from the California Arts Council, SF Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and generous donors like you. Want to support For Good Measure and E4TT? Make a tax-deductible donation or sign up for our newsletter, and subscribe to the podcast!

Intro music: “Trifolium” by Gabriela Ortiz, performed by E4TT (Ilana Blumberg, violin; Abigail Monroe, cello; Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Below the Surface: Music by Women Composers,” January 29, 2022
Outro music: “Lake Turkana” by Marcus Norris, performed by E4TT (Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Alchemy,” October 15, 2021

Transcription courtesy of Otter.ai.
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1903729/episodes/18311320

Co-Producer, Host, and E4TT co-founder: Nanette McGuinness
Co-Producer and Audio Engineer: Stephanie M. Neumann
Podcast Cover Art: Brennan Stokes
Interns: Renata Volchinskaya, Sam Mason, Christy Xu

Chapters

• 0:29 Today we revisit Sage Shurman's and Madeline Clara Cheng's perspectives on what being a composer means to them. Here's what Sage Shurman had to say.
• 1:32 Here's what Madeline Clara Cheng had to say.

Transcript

Nanette McGuinness  00:00

[INTRO MUSIC] Welcome to For Good Measure, an interview series celebrating diverse composers and other creative artists. I'm Nanette McGuinness, Artistic Executive Director of Ensemble for These Times. In this week's episode, we continue our Da Capo Conversations, a mini-series where we'll be giving familiar segments a topical twist. [INTRO MUSIC ENDS] Today we revisit Sage Shurman's and Madeline Clara Cheng's perspectives on what being a composer means to them. Here's what Sage Shurman had to say.

Sage Shurman  00:40

I mean, I think, like I said earlier, the thing about storytelling is really important to me. And I think, like, just like, I think making things is very like, making things that can be appreciated on such, like, a broad scale by so many people like you don't need a certain skill set to be able to appreciate music like, you could just, like, live it and be with it. And that's like, that idea of like, accessibility is important to me too, and like, trying to expand, like, the scope of the classical music audience, because I think, like, what's so special about music is like, it's a universal language, or like, and I think that, like we we can try to do a better job of, like, getting the audiences beyond what they, I guess, what they currently are.

Nanette McGuinness  01:32

Here's what Madeline Clara Cheng had to say.

Madeline Clara Cheng  01:35

So I feel like, as a composer, you're really in a unique position where it's primed for creativity and collaboration. You get a really special look into the behind the scenes of it all. It's this cool intersection where you get to work with performers inherently like you. You know, you have to be workshopping your piece. You have to be, you know, working with them, especially on new collaborations and new commissions, where you want to make sure it's something that they they enjoy playing as well.

Nanette McGuinness  02:02

[laughs] Yes, thank you.

Madeline Clara Cheng  02:04

Yes, exactly. [laughs] You get to work with arts administrators, with venue managers, conductors, ensemble managers, everyone who's part of like getting to make this happen. And you get to work, of course, with so many other creatives who are part of the bigger picture, especially in, I'm in a lot of the theater spaces as well, especially at my school. I'm really into a lot of interdisciplinary work. So it, it happens to be that you have to work with, you know, people who do like the scenic design, people who stage manage. It's it kind of all plays together in this bigger artistic picture, especially when you're doing a lot of, a lot of the interdisciplinary work, or I got to work with with some dancers this year, and it wasn't what I first expected, which was, more you write a piece and they choreographed to it, we were both basically writing the piece together. Even though they didn't have a ton of musical background, they had a lot of creative input into the music. And in turn, when they got to choreograph, I got to watch them be like, Oh, but I feel like, you know this, like, I really like to see this part of the music hit a little bit more. So it was a truly collaborative process. Same deal when I got to work with with an animator, with a film director, for the first time, scoring their piece, and she had so much musical intuition, and it's so fascinating to see how different artists approach music and how they listen to it, because they all describe it in such different ways. And it's fun. They use a lot of metaphors, a lot of things that are more familiar to them, but it's very exciting to create that work. And you know when, especially when creating music and creating pieces meant for live performers. It's you're just creating this living, breathing piece. And I think that writing music or creating any art really is such a meaningful way to make impactful work that you know lives on long after you're gone.

Nanette McGuinness  03:53

[OUTRO MUSIC] Thank you for listening to For Good Measure's Da Capo Conversations, and a special thank you to our guests for joining us today. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast by clicking on the subscribe button and support us by sharing it with your friends, posting about it on social media and leaving us a rating and a review. To learn more about E4TT, our concert season online and in the Bay Area, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit us at www.E4TT.org. This podcast is made possible by grants from the California Arts Council, the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and generous donors like you. For Good Measure is produced by Nanette McGuinness and Ensemble for These Times, and design by Brennan Stokes, with special thanks to Co-producer and Audio Engineer Stephanie M. Neumann. Remember to keep supporting equity in the arts and tune in next week "for good measure." [OUTRO MUSIC ENDS]