Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • beats
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    • California Dream
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Roots
    • Eclectic
    • Videos
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight
    • California State of Mind
    • The View From Here
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • Insight Music
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • CapRadio Travels
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support / Underwriting
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Volunteering
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • Classical
  •  

New Classical Tracks: Prolific 'Outsider Composer' Rick Sowash Finds Inspiration In Ohio Roots

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Courtesy of the artist
 

Courtesy of the artist

Julie Amacher | Classical MPR

Rick Sowash has been an elected public official, an arts administrator, a radio broadcaster, an innkeeper, a church choir director and a guard at the Cincinnati Art Museum. He's also composed more than 400 works. Five of his chamber pieces appear on his new release, Seasonal Breezes, featuring cellist Josh Aerie, the Sylvan Trio and a few other musical friends.

Sowash's music is rooted in the Ohio region where he grew up, and where he still lives today. His passion for composing was sparked by two remarkable teachers at a small, rural school in Lexington, Ohio: Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Evans.

"And I said to Mr. Evans, 'I don't know how to write music down. I wouldn't know how to do that.' And he said, 'Well, I'll show you. It's not that hard — you can do it.' I said, 'Well, I don't know what to do first.' He said, 'Come back with three or four notes that you like, and let's see what we can do with them.'

"Then Mr. Dunlap, the band director, heard about this kid writing pieces over in choir. He said, 'Why aren't you in the band?'

"I said, "Well, I play the piano.' But he said, 'You should be in a band, and you should write us a march.' So, he got me playing the drums, and I wrote a march for the band. After that I was just rolling along. And I found that immensely satisfying, and that was the springboard which made me into a composer."

I know that you've always wanted to write music that you say your grandmother would like. Why is that?

I want to write authentic music that comes out of who I really am. Grandma, even though she's been gone for 35 or 40 years, is still a kind of arbiter for me. I still think of it in those terms. I might push Grandma a little bit sometimes, but she's listening.

Most of the music that you compose is written for particular performers. That is the case for the chamber works that appear on your recording, Seasonal Breezes. Tell me about the cellist for whom you wrote the Sonata for Cello and Piano and how that individual's skill or desires may be reflected in that work.

Josh Aerie is a wonderful musician and a dear friend. I originally wrote the piece to which you just referred, however, for Terry King, a friend I've had for a much longer period of time. He's a wonderful cellist and a great inspiration for me. He never recorded the work, but Josh was very interested in this and brought the music to life and recorded it.

I almost always had a specific musician in mind, and I would think of that musician's personality — the kind of gestures they make musically, even the gestures they make with their hands, the kinds of jokes they laugh at and the kinds of things that turn them serious again. In some respects, those pieces are a portrait of those musicians.

What about Dark Forest? This is a work that you wrote for cellist Josh Aerie, and it was inspired by a Russian proverb. Can you share a little bit about that proverb?

"The heart of another is a dark forest." This proverb speaks to the isolation of human beings from one another, even the people to whom we are most close. I've been married to my good lady for 47 years, and even to each other, our hearts are a dark forest. We can't really see very far into one another's hearts. And if this is true of a 47-year-old marriage, how much truer is it of all our other relationships?

So much of my music is bucolic — sunshine and cornbread and eggs and bacon for breakfast. But sometimes I like to go to the darker things and try to explore those.

There's also another association that's fun to share. It's from the beginning of a great story by the Brothers Grimm, "Iron John." There was a king who lived in a castle near a dark forest — as soon as you hear that opening line, you say, "Ooh, a dark forest — I want to know more about that dark forest." And, sure enough, the story delivers.

I hope the title Dark Forest invites people to come into the world of that music with a certain predisposition — a certain preview, in a way, of what this might be like — and then I hope I can deliver that.

You've also developed and practiced a kind of unusual policy for the past decade of giving away your life's work, to the greatest extent possible, to whomever might be interested in discovering it. Why did you decide to do that?

I can't tell you what a joy it is to harvest your own work and then pass it around the table. I picture great bowls and platters of steaming food, with all my friends and fans gathered at this big table, and they were sharing it. You know, it's wonderful!

To hear the rest of my conversation, download the extended podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

    More about New Classical Tracks

  • New Classical Tracks

    Host Julie Amacher provides an in-depth exploration of a new classical music release each week. Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m.

 New Classical Tracks

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

Most Viewed

California Coronavirus Updates: As Live, Indoor Performances Return, Guests May Be Required To Show Proof of Vaccination Or Negative Test

How To Get A Vaccine Appointment In California, And Other Things To Know About The Vaccine

Rattlesnake Season Has Arrived In Northern California: Here's How To Stay Safe.

Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey

Signatures Are In. What You Need To Know About The Gavin Newsom Recall Effort.

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

California Coronavirus Updates: As Live, Indoor Performances Return, Guests May Be Required To Show Proof of Vaccination Or Negative Test

How To Get A Vaccine Appointment In California, And Other Things To Know About The Vaccine

Rattlesnake Season Has Arrived In Northern California: Here's How To Stay Safe.

Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey

Signatures Are In. What You Need To Know About The Gavin Newsom Recall Effort.

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2021, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.