Performer-Composer Residency beginnings by Ben Finley
How the PCR started on my end: When I was growing up, my life stopped still (in a good way, haha) when I plucked my first electric bass string. (Some people have heard me say this mini-story many times. But nonetheless! It was a pivotal moment for me). Something about the resonance of the bass continues to hold me in its embrace in a veeery particular way. I felt still. and solid. and open. and curious and flowing and without anxiety at that moment.
I don't know why or how, but that feeling cluster remains today when I play it. I'm so grateful to have found that.
After the first plucks, I wanted to experiment with all kinds of sounds (slides, effects, long long, long notes, pointy bloop-blips, bird song moments outside of my childhood window, nail scrapes, songs, jumpy bass lines, whatever...).
That opened up a desire to play music with others who were interested in all kinds of approaches to their instruments, to their lives, and to how we might creatively assemble musical moments together that weave in space to hear where we are each coming from somehow, and celebrate that, share that, sound it out. But getting there came with a long detour.
The first university I went to had wonderful faculty and community. Still, the music-making was tied to very narrow aesthetic and professionalized boundaries (e.g. Ben, you can't join the composition class if you aren't enrolled in the composer program! If you want to play with the bow, you must play orchestral excerpts! Memorize these rules, Ben, from 1750-1820, and we will touch on Debussy in year 3). This did not work well for me. As a performer, I loved being enmeshed in an orchestra sound galaxy, but it wasn't quite the right fit for me. I wanted to try an improv game with them, but there was no power for that. It was hard for me to hold on to my own creative drive because it felt like there wasn't any time to get there after sorting through the requirements of the "you should know ___" 's. I found this kind of proscriptive approach stifling. I learned a lot of techniques and instrument foundations, which I cherish, but I was left uninspired, and it caused me to want to self-isolate.
I transitioned into a jazz program where there was a lot more fluidity with composition and improvisation, which I loved! But in that parallel academic setting, there were a lot of other 'should-knows' which led me to a lot of creative ups and downs. Searching, I became more aware of African American history/lived experience that sprung so many creative ways of improvising/composing and approaching musical agency and community–of which I have been deeply inspired and am indebted to. (Aside word rec: George Lewis' "A Power Stronger Than Itself"). After a super lucky opportunity to learn from and be with Wadada Leo Smith at Banff, he told me about CalArts. I was fortunate to get a golden ticket to go to CalArts for the Performer-Composer Program. A place where musicians from various backgrounds assembled and explored all kinds of sounds together. It was some of the most extraordinary years for me, both creatively and in friendships. However, that school is now (although it was then too) super costly/not financially accessible.
Ok. Reading and wiggle break. Breath.
Snap to today. I feel so lucky and honoured to host and have co-imagined the Performer-Composer Residency with friends Sarah Belle Reid, annais Linares, Davy Sumner and all the supportive folks Westben and many others along the way.
The idea is to welcome musicians of any age, practice, or cultural background to make music together and to exchange perspectives. Instead of having a top-down faculty, we explore what a co-mentorship model means, both in the music and maybe beyond it. To me, co-mentorship (or peer-sharing) means each of us takes on the role of mentor or learner at times since we try to embrace all the unique knowledges and life experiences each participant has. This challenges us to all embrace and make space for the wisdom of life across the human lifespan (and beyond the human too!).
So it becomes a place of exchange not 'shoulds', a place for community members to engage and where diverse musicians seeking ways of sound-exploring their inner experience gather and share together.
We've always prioritized financial accessibility for this program while trying to respect our hosting capacity. In the past, this has come as a resource exchange in various forms. This year though, we are extremely excited to be able to financially support each artist in the upcoming cohort with a stipend in addition to accommodation and select meals.
It's far from a perfect experiment, and we've learned a ton on the way. (Thank you, past participants and listeners, for your patience and for helping us shape all this).
This will be our 6th version! It's been such a whirlwind. Ok, my fingers are running out of juice. Apply! Feel free to shoot me any questions or thoughts.
LOVE and good being y'all! //B
