Jade Conlee, pianist
Jade Conlee is one of my favorite new music specialists. She frequently performs both as a soloist and a collaborative pianist presenting thought-provoking concert programs. She is also a talented composer and scholar of new music. Jade and I met back in 2013 when we both participated in the new music festival, June In Buffalo. Since then, she has been a huge inspiration for me and I had a privilege to take photos of her and interview her to learn more about her upbringing and thoughts on her career as a pianist.
- How did you start playing the piano?
My mom plays the piano and we have the piano in my house. Apparently baby Jade was already obsessed with it, walking around it, trying to climb up the bench all the time. But my mom didn’t let me take lessons until I was able to read. Since her professional field was childhood cognitive development, she had some ideas how to go about musical training for a child. Eventually I started taking lessons when I was six and I had such an amazing piano teacher. Soon after my first lesson, I begun writing music. I loved the sound of piano and I was already favoring dissonance. Composing was something that came before becoming proficient at piano.
My mom plays the piano and we have the piano in my house. Apparently baby Jade was already obsessed with it, walking around it, trying to climb up the bench all the time. But my mom didn’t let me take lessons until I was able to read. Since her professional field was childhood cognitive development, she had some ideas how to go about musical training for a child. Eventually I started taking lessons when I was six and I had such an amazing piano teacher. Soon after my first lesson, I begun writing music. I loved the sound of piano and I was already favoring dissonance. Composing was something that came before becoming proficient at piano.
- What’s your favorite moment being a pianist?
It was a big deal to me to meet pianist Marilyn Nonken. I was in high school and I was interested in composition, but at the same time I became more serious about piano. I didn’t know anyone at the time who could give me some guidance in composition and also my dissonance-heavy music wasn’t really popular in my hometown in Utah. Until I met Marilyn, it never occured to me that I could be a new music pianist. She performed Rakowski piano etudes at University of Utah and I was so shocked by the performance - I totally loved it. After seeing that, I really wanted to study with her and decided to go to NYU. In my freshman year, I played Stockhausen’s Klavierstuck IX, and all of a sudden, I understood how to listen to myself and the sound of the piano. Performing sometimes puts me in the space where I can’t really listen to the sound and where I can't let go of the fear, but this piece let me listen and let go of those anxieties. It was magical. While performing, your sense is so heightened... it’s such a vulnerable space to be in. It’s so magical to just listen to the sound developing. Since then, I’ve been trying to cultivate the expansiveness of the sound through the music.
It was a big deal to me to meet pianist Marilyn Nonken. I was in high school and I was interested in composition, but at the same time I became more serious about piano. I didn’t know anyone at the time who could give me some guidance in composition and also my dissonance-heavy music wasn’t really popular in my hometown in Utah. Until I met Marilyn, it never occured to me that I could be a new music pianist. She performed Rakowski piano etudes at University of Utah and I was so shocked by the performance - I totally loved it. After seeing that, I really wanted to study with her and decided to go to NYU. In my freshman year, I played Stockhausen’s Klavierstuck IX, and all of a sudden, I understood how to listen to myself and the sound of the piano. Performing sometimes puts me in the space where I can’t really listen to the sound and where I can't let go of the fear, but this piece let me listen and let go of those anxieties. It was magical. While performing, your sense is so heightened... it’s such a vulnerable space to be in. It’s so magical to just listen to the sound developing. Since then, I’ve been trying to cultivate the expansiveness of the sound through the music.
- What is your challenge as a contemporary music pianist?
We’re in 2016 and the new music itself has been pretty monitored. It’s not radical anymore compared to how it was in the generation before us. Even the minimalist music that has originated as somewhat unmonitored and liberal is now totally commercial. I’m performing something that I love (especially European modernist music) and I’m programming music that creates interesting contrast and interesting environment. My recent concert program juxtaposes the old and new. I’m trying to optimally frame each piece to fit in the venue, theme, and audience. As a contemporary music pianist, it is interesting to find ways to be able to write about and talk about the experience of the music as a part of the concerts that I give - how much we talk about the pieces without controlling the audience's interpretation of the pieces, and how to draw them in...etc. It is more like a populist way of approach but I would like to make art about making the art.
We’re in 2016 and the new music itself has been pretty monitored. It’s not radical anymore compared to how it was in the generation before us. Even the minimalist music that has originated as somewhat unmonitored and liberal is now totally commercial. I’m performing something that I love (especially European modernist music) and I’m programming music that creates interesting contrast and interesting environment. My recent concert program juxtaposes the old and new. I’m trying to optimally frame each piece to fit in the venue, theme, and audience. As a contemporary music pianist, it is interesting to find ways to be able to write about and talk about the experience of the music as a part of the concerts that I give - how much we talk about the pieces without controlling the audience's interpretation of the pieces, and how to draw them in...etc. It is more like a populist way of approach but I would like to make art about making the art.
Thanks for the inspiring conversation, Jade! If you would like to know more about her artistic output, check out her website: http://jadeconlee.com
Here's the video of her performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klavierstuck XI that she talked about in this interview.
Here's the video of her performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klavierstuck XI that she talked about in this interview.
Interview & Photography by Michiko Saiki
November 17, 2016