Queens Gazette

Local-Express

Nick Revel

 

Nick Revel is the founding violist of PUBLIQuartet, which was the string quartet in residence for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “MetLiveArts” 2016/17 season. PQ has performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, Carnegie Hall, the Joyce Theater, National Sawdust, Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club, and the Newport Jazz Festival. Nick has collaborated with Benjamin Millepied and the LA Dance Project, Björk, Paquito D’Rivera, Billy Childs, JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, and the International Contemporary Ensemble.

As a composer, Nick’s 2017 commission, In DayDream, for viola and guitar was premiered in Carnegie Hall in 2017 and was a winner of Indiana State University’s Music Now call for scores in October 2018. His debut album, Letters to My Future Self (Centaur Records), was released on January 4th on all major platforms. For three consecutive years Nick was commissioned to write pieces for mixed student ensembles at the Talent Education Suzuki School.

 

As an educator, Nick has conducted improvisation workshops around the US, co-developed and implemented a theory curriculum and the chamber music program for the Talent Education Suzuki School, and co-created the New York String Studio, located in Sunnyside.

QG: How would you describe your recently released album, Letters to My Future Self?

NR: Letters to My Future Self takes you on a musical journey through the inside of my mind. This self-produced, self-composed, and self-recorded collection breaks preconceived notions of what a viola can do in a constantly-morphing soundscape of styles and genres. Some of the tracks are layered improvisations, while others are fully notated compositions (some of which I’ve also published). Aside from a few digital instruments, all of the sounds were created only with the viola, because let’s be honest, everything sounds better on viola. It’s my current musical statement to the world and to myself for years to come that I have something to say and it’s OK to say it.

QG: What is most gratifying to you in your career as a composer?

NR: I went to the Eastman School of Music for performance. I trained to play viola at a high level and give expressive concerts. I only took two semesters of composition for non-majors and one semester of jazz theory. So, when I write, I’m almost always writing for myself because it’s fun. It’s selfish the way that I then force people to listen to my music by performing my own pieces in concert. So, the greatest satisfaction about composing is when I learn after a performance that people genuinely enjoyed listening to my music, that they actually got something out of it, that I made their day just a little bit better.

QG: How does one teach improvisation?

NR: Teaching improvisation is fun because you never really know what’s going to happen! I’ve developed all of these techniques with my quartet PUBLIQuartet. One great beginning improv exercise is call and response, where the leader plays a short musical fragment, and the ensemble responds first by playing the same thing back, and later making up something different. To explore consonant and dissonant harmonies, we create a drone, or a continuous unchanging pitch, like a bed of sound, that one by one students can freely hear different kinds of notes against that drone. Eventually as the students start to believe “there are no wrong sounds” they get more comfortable and confident.

QG: What’s exciting in the world of music today?

NR: The music industry (like pretty much all industries) is changing faster than ever. Home recording technology has improved and at a much lower price point. That enabled me to record the entire album myself. The internet’s many music platforms make it so that anyone can upload their music to Soundcloud, Band Camp, or CD Baby and theoretically get recognized. Of course, the downside is that everyone is doing it so the competition gets heavier. I was lucky to be accepted in Centaur Records’ roster. Also, cross-genre pollination is in full bloom. There are so many types of music that are hard to describe let alone label, which means that the field is wide open and people’s musical ideas are all potentially viable.

QG: What do you love about Queens?

NR: Queens is the most diverse place on the planet. Often times when I come home off the 7 train, under the platform there will be a music group, a dance troupe, or some cultural connection like the Taste of Sunnyside Festival. What better entry point into someone else’s culture than through their food? I live right next to the Sunnyside Gardens Historical District, which is a 4×2 block area of residential buildings that have incredible lawns, forests, and gardens. It’s like an oasis of green and fresh air in a concrete jungle. Not to mention, when the 7 is working (ahem…) it’s only 20 minutes to Grand Central Terminal, 25 to Carnegie Hall, and 30 to Times Square. I feel so incredibly fortunate to be able to live in such a beautiful neighborhood so close to so many things.

QG: What are some of your favorite places in Queens and why?

NR: I grew up in Wilton CT, not rural, but there were forests. I am drawn to any place in NY that has greenery. Some of my favorite spots are Gantry Plaza right on the East River, Calvary cemeteries with vast open, quiet, peaceful places, and Corona Park, where sports happen. As far as food goes, my neighborhood pretty much has it all: Thai, Mexican, Italian, Indonesian, Indian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Ramen, Peruvian, etc., the list goes on.

—Annette Hanze Alberts

This column was originated in July, 2013 by Nicollette Barsamian.

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