YOUR QUESTION:

09/15/2019 15:35:27 Nathan Mole

Hi Trevor,
Where do you see the direction of contemporary music heading, and do you feel that the work you do has a place along side it?
Whilst I’m at it, I may as well milk the opportunity. I’m 19, and I’ve followed your music for the past few years, and trying to play along to your stuff has greatly improved my playing. From Mr Bungle’s debut, to John Zorn’s O’o.
I haven’t had a chance to catch you in person yet, but when you’re next in sunny ol’ England I’ll certainly save up my coppers and do so.
Thanks. Keep up the great work! :)

MY ANSWER:

Even at the age of 50 I feel as though I’m approaching the “hand off the torch” stage of my career. Maybe that’s self-disparaging but I feel that contemporary music continues to blossom in unexpected ways and I’m talking not only about concert hall music but also electronic music. I recently had the opportunity to see a contemporary concert at the Vienna Konzurthause featuring a bunch of young composers I’d never heard of. The concert was two and a half hours long and I never lost interest. The ideas were fresh and the boundaries were pushed. The music itself will continue to grow as I will constantly push myself to do as well. The real question is will people listen? I suppose if the composers/artists are growing then we can assume the minds of contemporary listeners are also growing and audiences are more open minded. That said, most classical venues still present an over-abundance of Mozart and Vivaldi for my taste.
I’m hoping my work will have a place along side the contemporaries I respect. As a predominantly “rock” and “jazz” musician my concert work has taken a back seat, so I suppose that’s where my focus will be headed once I’m too old to get up on stage myself.