James Gibson Arts

I seem to have a fascination with ironies and contradictions in the arts. Unlike some composers who thrive on creating dissonance and chaos and mashing things together, I prefer simpler and more gentle statements, on the whole. There can be a lot of loud power and anguish in my music, but I think and hope that the calm and soothing voices generally win out. I love pondering the seeming contradiction of peace, of utter serenity, emerging from an overwhelming gathering of hundreds of voices singing with passion. This is what I experienced recently at a rehearsal of Eric Whitacre's music, conducted by him and featuring Joanna Burrell, soprano soloist. Because she is a friend and colleague, and as I know how beautiful her singing is, I was not surprised that in the gentle simplicity of Goodnight, Moon  she warmly lifted the power of this beautiful music to a hall full of people. So we were all riding high a bit later when 800 voices filled that hall with more music, gripping and exci...

    When those of us in the arts experience tremendous highs of beauty and accomplishment and joy and inspiration -- which can happen often -- we frequently seize the moment. We shout, dance, call our friends, listen to a powerful song over and over....we go out for a celebration, we treat ourselves to something special, we announce it to the world. Today, though, I had an interesting experience. I am coming off of several days of tremendous inspiration and bliss in music and performance...not because of anything I have done, but because of stunning experiences with the music of others. You will read about some of that in the coming days on www.acquatroupe.com.     Oddly enough, and almost uniquely, I found myself withdrawing today into a glorious and silent web of reflection. Fresh inspiration from several performers whose brilliance really struck me this week...a quiet sense of how beautiful and strong humanity can be...memory of special experiences many years pa...

I love it when a little bit of visual magic crosses my line of vision....recently I watched a building float upward and then suddenly dart off to one side, as it was reflected in a window of the vehicle in which I was riding, and we made a sharp turn. If you take selfies, you can become aware of all kinds of cool reflections. Random magic for me is also two long vapor trails which cross in the sky......listening to music but not really paying attention because I am working on something, and then suddenly I get to the part where the music swells and a favorite combination of tones blares its way outward....or seeing a person start dancing spontaneously on the sidewalk.......wondering where the closest place for mundane-but-ok food is, then suddenly passing a restaurant which features one's very favorite dish....... reading something when the TV suddenly gives you the music which perfectly fits the passage you just read. When that happens we ask ourselves whether it is instinct or co...

Following are excerpts from numerous interviews which have taken place over the past few years. All the interviewers are labeled '?' . ?        Who is your favorite composer? Aside from yourself, that is. (Laughter) JG      I'm not sure how often I make it onto my list of favorites! It is a difficult question to answer      because it can change from day to day, and there never is a clear number one favorite. I think I would always have to include Palestrina, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Chopin, Schumann, Dvorak, Debussy, Janacek, Sibelius, Messiaen...and many others. Plus songwriters who are, after all, composers....Brian Wilson, Gordon Lightfoot, Tish Hinojosa, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Schwartz, John Lennnon, Bob Dylan and so many others. ?         When was the last time you shed a tear while listening to music? JG       The last time I watched Les Miserables  on tv. ?    ...

I have two memorable performances. One is at my first Pink Floyd concert. The other was when James opened the piano during a concert and played music on the hardware on the inside of  the piano. --Kathy M. Cyr

                      My Piano Saga....and a new CD     Becoming an artist and maintaining an artistic career is not for the fainthearted or the weak...that is the first advice I would give to anyone who wants to become a performer or creative artist. I have met many artists who survived unbelievable trials and obstacles in order to live out their passions and dreams. I am not sure if I have met even one who had a lifetime of ease and who accomplished their goals without hardship. When I began piano lessons at age eight, I already considered myself to be a composer and I knew I wanted music to be my career. As the years went by I realized, with increasing clarity, that skimping on practice sessions or expecting everything to happen automatically was not in the cards. As an adult I took devious pleasure in reading that Artur Rubinstein hated to practice. Somehow it felt like a validation of my own pantheon of excuses for ...

              As I have previously announced, AcquaTroupe is up and running and is emerging as one of the more interesting and diversified performing groups of today. I hope you have visited, or will soon visit their website (www.acquatroupe.com). Inevitably, any artists who are launching a performing enterprise will think a lot about great performances by others which stand out in their minds. We have been doing a lot of this thinking; recently I asked half a dozen friends to each tell me one outstanding performance -- in the arts, sports, or other public arenas -- that really inspired them recently. Here are the results, in no particular order:                        ***U-2 onstage in California last summer                        ***Alicia Vikander in "Jason Bourne" movie               ...