JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about a creation of yours featured at this year’s Toronto Summer Music Festival. Why exactly does it matter to you and why should it matter to your listeners?
DAVID BOWSER: I am looking forward to the world premiere of my Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin performed by Heng-Han Hou at the Toronto Summer Music Festival. I composed the piece during the pandemic and chose solo violin to represent a voice of solitude, grief, contemplation and hope. While there are strains of sadness in the opening movement, there is a sense of yearning for understanding and searching for light and optimism throughout the three movements.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your creations?
DB: I tend to find inspiration to compose in two large themes: the universal experience of the human condition, and our connectedness to nature. I try to dig deep into emotions, tap into the universal experience to which we can all relate, and develop a musical expression that is authentic. This process causes the artist to be vulnerable but that can be the very quality that touches the listener.
JS: What causes you to compose or create as you do? Is it because you play a specific instrument, for instance?
DB: Once the inspiration has struck, composing is like a technical-expressive puzzle to solve and each note must fit and support the structure and expression. Sometimes it comes very quickly and sometimes it requires more time and effort. I stopped composing at the piano many years ago and find I have much more freedom when depending on my inner ear and my aural imagination. I believe one’s instrument can be a useful tool for composition but it can also limit compositional possibilities. I am fortunate as a conductor to have developed this aural imagination and I enjoy the freedom this gives me.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
DB: Turning off the brain can be a challenge. When one spends many creative hours a day on a musical composition, it can be difficult to find a quietness of mind to relax, connect with others and even sleep. I do have some techniques to help and have made much progress! I understand that I need some time to transition from composing to socializing (musical to verbal) and I give myself permission. Sometimes, though, I like to be immersed for days on end and cherish the freedom to compose every day without distraction. It can be isolating and one takes care to maintain some balance.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person working in the arts?
DB: It’s probably difficult for some people to understand that every day is different for an artist yet we spend many hours a day on our craft. We work varying schedules each day and that might appear rather chaotic to some. But I love that variety. I am not someone who could easily work a traditional job, and I understand that my work is not for everyone either!
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you create. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
DB: We tend to talk about the arts as a homogeneous sector which is generally neglected. I do see a lot of unique creators in the arts who are actually flourishing and that is hopeful. Having said that, the arts industry in this country has been broken for decades. There is simply not enough support for artists and the capitalist survival-of-the-fittest model leaves many talents on the sidelines and creates unhealthy competition among artists. Politicians use the arts as a wedge issue claiming elitism, but without adequate funding for organizations, concert ticket prices tend to be expensive, reaffirming the elitism argument. Art is not elitist – our society is. I am pleased TSM offers free concerts among its presentations.
My biggest concern is that arts education in the school system has been gutted. The average level of proficiency and experience among first year university music students has inevitably declined. But it’s not just performers – this impacts all of us. People can’t be expected to pay to attend a concert if they have never played a note or been exposed to live concert music. No one cares to sit on a board of directors for a music nonprofit organization without having developed a passion for the arts. And of course, more generally and most importantly, we undervalue the fact that we foster a connection to each other through the arts and when that starts with the young it lasts a lifetime.
JS: What new works are you working on at present?
DB: I have a passion for wildlife and especially pinnipeds. Currently, I am directing a documentary film about sea lions and composing the accompanying music to be performed live by in-person musicians with the film. The project is called A Sea Lion Symphony and will be presented by the Sierra Club Seal Society of San Diego in La Jolla, California in November, and repeated afterwards in Toronto. Also, I am composing text and music for a choral-orchestral piece called The Eternal Earth for a world premiere performance by the Toronto Mozart Players and Oakville Choral Society next April. And I look forward to composing a musical to a new libretto I received recently but I can’t share the details just yet!
JS: What do you yourself like about the music you create?
DB: I strive for a balance in structure and expression that has been so powerful in the works of master composers. I hope my music touches a broad audience and have mindfully developed a personal and expressive musical language firmly rooted in tonality. Themes related to nature, environment and conservation are increasingly present in my work. I love spending time in nature and then I bring that experience home to live with during the composing process.