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Interview with James Lavino
February 25, 2011
James Lavino is a composer. For information about his work, visit www.jameslavino.com.
Tibbetts: How long have you composed, and what made you decide to become a composer?
Lavino: I started composing eleven years ago, when I was 26. I always loved music and had dreamed of making music my profession, but knew from early on that I wasn't a professional-grade pianist or singer. It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties that I realized composing was a viable career option. And I discovered that I loved it.
Tibbetts: What inspires you?
Lavino: When art (in any form) moves me, I feel inspired. But deadlines also inspire.
Tibbetts: Of all you have done, what do you consider your best work, and why?
Lavino: I suppose it would be Visitations, a piece for 16-part choir (plus soprano soloist and bass drum). It encapsulates a lot of what I'm about as a composer, and it's long enough that it can really establish itself in the mind of the listener.
Tibbetts: What is your 'typical day' like?
Lavino: I wake up at 5:00. This gives me a couple hours to myself before my wife and kids get up, though I don't compose during that time unless I have a looming deadline. When I don't have a commission or deadline, I don't compose. When I do, I do--sometimes 12 hours a day.
Tibbetts: Do you have any words of wisdom to offer to aspiring composers and musicians?
Lavino: I don't want to sound cynical or jaded, but here are three things I wish someone had shared with me a long time ago:
1. Perseverance counts more than talent. A lot of people go into the arts, and a lot of people fall out. Frequently it's not the most gifted people that end up succeeding, but the ones who've stuck it out the longest. (But see #2 below for an important corollary.)
2. You have to know the right people. Talent and/or perseverance alone will not cut it. Even Mozart had to hustle for work. Of course one shouldn't be a boor/bore, constantly networking, smarmily ingratiating oneself with all and sundry, etc. But it's a cold fact of life that people prefer to give opportunities and share resources with people they know--or with people who know people they know--rather than with strangers.
3. Accept frustration, disappointment and rejection as unavoidable features of the creative process. That doesn't mean you have to like them, but don't let them drown you, either.
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