#4 Ryan Zerna, flutist
Chicago-based ensemble Mocrep took a drastic aesthetic change after some of the members participated in the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (IMD) in 2014. In 2016, Mocrep was invited to the summer course to host a workshop and had worked with young composers to transform each unique concept into a performance. I got to meet Mocrep's flutist Ryan Zerna and talk about his musical endeavor and Mocrep.
Q. How did you start playing the flute?
A. My older brother is a percussionist, so I was already playing percussion before the flute, but it didn’t feel like it was my "thing". My dad had also played percussion in Philippine, he played drum set in a rock band. He wasn’t classically trained -- it was more like an organic thing for him. I think my brother was inspired by my dad and he became a classically trained percussionist. In my third grade in a music class, we were watching a video of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. William Bennett, the flutist from the Royal Philharmonic, was playing some flute excerpts. When I saw him perform, I thought it was something different. Then I went home and asked my parents if I can start playing the flute. I’m doing it ever since.
A. My older brother is a percussionist, so I was already playing percussion before the flute, but it didn’t feel like it was my "thing". My dad had also played percussion in Philippine, he played drum set in a rock band. He wasn’t classically trained -- it was more like an organic thing for him. I think my brother was inspired by my dad and he became a classically trained percussionist. In my third grade in a music class, we were watching a video of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. William Bennett, the flutist from the Royal Philharmonic, was playing some flute excerpts. When I saw him perform, I thought it was something different. Then I went home and asked my parents if I can start playing the flute. I’m doing it ever since.
Q. How did your ensemble Mocrep start?
A. My original plan was to go to the orchestra route. My brother is a percussionist at New York Philharmonic and I thought it would be my route, too. I thought I would play in a major orchestra and be a "well-known renowned flutist." At the same time, I was interested in new music, especially music of Pierre Boulez. In the third year of college I told my teacher that I wanted to play something like Berio, Boulez, or newer works that seemed very complex to me. During this time when I was trying out new music -- it was just like a few month -- my friend Nick (Meryhew) noticed me and brought me the idea of making a new music ensemble. Soon after, we already had a group. It was very large, like twenty- something people in it. The personnel then was very different from the personnel now. Our aesthetic was also very different then. We were playing something we already knew, like the standard repertoire of new music. Over time we found our voices. When Zach (Moore) and Chris (Wood) came back from the Darmstadt 2014, they had all these ideas and they wanted to change what we were doing as an ensemble. Then we wanted to play what's happening right NOW because we are interested in what's happening now and work with younger composers of our generation.
A. My original plan was to go to the orchestra route. My brother is a percussionist at New York Philharmonic and I thought it would be my route, too. I thought I would play in a major orchestra and be a "well-known renowned flutist." At the same time, I was interested in new music, especially music of Pierre Boulez. In the third year of college I told my teacher that I wanted to play something like Berio, Boulez, or newer works that seemed very complex to me. During this time when I was trying out new music -- it was just like a few month -- my friend Nick (Meryhew) noticed me and brought me the idea of making a new music ensemble. Soon after, we already had a group. It was very large, like twenty- something people in it. The personnel then was very different from the personnel now. Our aesthetic was also very different then. We were playing something we already knew, like the standard repertoire of new music. Over time we found our voices. When Zach (Moore) and Chris (Wood) came back from the Darmstadt 2014, they had all these ideas and they wanted to change what we were doing as an ensemble. Then we wanted to play what's happening right NOW because we are interested in what's happening now and work with younger composers of our generation.
Q. What is your five-year goal as a group?
A. We are interested in destabilizing the hierarchies. The name Mocrep comes from the hybrid of two words, PERformance & COMposition spelled backwards. We see performers and composers as equals. Instead of performers simply following with composer’s ideas, we’re aiming for true collaborations, where composers and performers create things together. Even for the workshop that we’re doing here (at the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music), we did a call for "concept", we didn’t call it a "call for scores". We invited eight composers to join us, we all had very little idea in mind. We wanted to work from there, collaborate, and create something together. I’m personally inspired by being here and by everyone’s unique perspectives. Just being a person, I think I have a unique perspectives, too. I want to work with that.
Q. Do you have any advice for young musicians who hope to start a new group?
A. Always have a goal in mind. Always have an idea and work towards whatever the idea or the goal. And know that the goal will probably change over time. Don’t be afraid to invite change into your group. You’re a just a person, you are growing. And most importantly, do what feels genuine to you and don’t do what you think is expected of you.
Thank you, Ryan!
Want to know more about Mocrep? Watch the video below and visit mocrep.org
A. We are interested in destabilizing the hierarchies. The name Mocrep comes from the hybrid of two words, PERformance & COMposition spelled backwards. We see performers and composers as equals. Instead of performers simply following with composer’s ideas, we’re aiming for true collaborations, where composers and performers create things together. Even for the workshop that we’re doing here (at the Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music), we did a call for "concept", we didn’t call it a "call for scores". We invited eight composers to join us, we all had very little idea in mind. We wanted to work from there, collaborate, and create something together. I’m personally inspired by being here and by everyone’s unique perspectives. Just being a person, I think I have a unique perspectives, too. I want to work with that.
Q. Do you have any advice for young musicians who hope to start a new group?
A. Always have a goal in mind. Always have an idea and work towards whatever the idea or the goal. And know that the goal will probably change over time. Don’t be afraid to invite change into your group. You’re a just a person, you are growing. And most importantly, do what feels genuine to you and don’t do what you think is expected of you.
Thank you, Ryan!
Want to know more about Mocrep? Watch the video below and visit mocrep.org
Jenna Lyle - Stitch (2013/15) from MOCREP on Vimeo.
Photography & Interview by Michiko Saiki
August 5, 2016
August 5, 2016