HCP 25: Stuart Beatch on writing Queer Choral Music
Stuart Beatch, composer and singer, comes to this episode to speak about his journey in writing what feels most close to himself. Queer Choral Music has allowed him to make meaningful art that touches people’s hearts and in this episode, Stuart shares why, how, and his thoughts for composers thinking on embarking to write music that speaks up about their inner feelings.
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In this episode, you will learn:
- Stuart story on how he got into writing queer choral music
- His collaboration with The Fourth Choir
- Stuart love for baking and favorite pie
- How he prepared to write music
- His first steps in choral music
- Being an instrumentalist makes you a better singer and being a singer makes you a better instrumentalist”
- His transition from band to the choir and how he fell in love with choir
- The taboo of choral music in the composition degree at universities
- His mistakes at the beginning of discovering his voice in his choral compositions and how he learned from them
- How he wrote the music he wanted while studying in college and his thoughts on the pressure of writing certain music in college
- His bio and why there are more than one option and one very short one
- Why he chooses to express himself as he is on his website and business cards
- His first steps into queer choral music
- Stuart’s successful project with the Fourth Choir
- Stuart thoughts about audience and his pieces
- Why his first queer choral music had setbacks and why his commission with The Fourth Choir worked out
- Obstacles that he faced while writing queer choral music and how he worked passed them with the help of others
- His residency with The Fourth Choir
- How he looks forward to keeping working on queer choral music reflecting the themes of today
- The trend in chamber music and how it is slowly coming to choral music which is a more conservative and slow process
- His queer song cycle and collaboration with the living/local poet
- Why collaborating with local living poets is rewarding and fulfilling
- His advice for other composers wanting to write queer choral music and writing the music that they need to make
Share it with me
- Have you ever heard, performed, or written queer choral music? Why or why not?
Links mentioned in the show:
- Stuart Beatch Website
- Stuart Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
- Fourth Choir Website
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Produced by Carlos Cordero.
Thank you for listening!
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Hugs,
C.
