Hi Logan and welcome to College Radio Charts! How have you been?
I have been well, thank you for asking! I’m excited to partake in this conversation with you. Thank you so much for having me!
You’re a bassoonist, pianist, organist, conductor and composer. Can you tell us how you got started in music?
It started when I was about 11-12. The movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest had come out. All my childhood I was obsessed with everything pirate related, so of course I had to go see the movie. There’s this scene where the antagonist, Davy Jones, plays this epic pipe organ aboard the flying dutchman. Something about that music and instrument grabbed hold of me, and it was a whirlwind from there. I ended up figuring the piece out by ear that summer, and went on to start growing a love for the pipe organ—which inevitably brought me to Bach, who I absolutely worshiped in my early years. I was fortunate to have two loving and supportive parents who provided lessons for me at my request, and that developed my passion for music. From there, I started to dip my toes into composition which made me want to learn everything I could about every instrument and technique.
In middle school, my director took notice of my passion for music and recognized how absolutely bored I was playing quarternotes on the snare in class. So she approached me about playing bassoon, which has been my primary instrument ever since, and paid for practically two degrees!
Conducting started when I was in high school, and was a result of my work as a composer. I was lucky and had some excellent opportunities to conduct even at the collegiate level from 14 years old. At 17, I had no regular conducting outlet, since I come from a small town, so I started my own wind ensemble. I ran the group all through college. All the while, I took a lot of opportunities in college to grow my conducting career. I started my Doctorate in conducting at the university of Utah, but it was interrupted in 2019 right before the pandemic. Some personal and family struggles occurred, and then the pandemic altered course even further. I plan to finish it one day to become “Dr. Blackman”, but my priorities now are to continue recouping from the pandemic!
You recently released the Sonata for Bassoon and Piano. What was the writing process like for this piece?
The process for the sonata actually was a key moment in finding my voice as a composer. I premiered it in December of 2017 at my senior recital. I started the piece in July of that same year, and was pretty much finished with the whole thing by late August or September. Normally, for a work this size it takes considerably longer for me to develop, but this just kind of happened. At the time, I didn’t quite know how, but as I’ve grown, I understand it’s because I let go and let myself have fun while writing. Early on, I was obsessed with “correctness”, hardly even dealing in dissonance (boring, right?). So at that point I just decided to go with the flow, have fun, and let it be a love letter to my time at the University of Kentucky. The whole piece is satirical, and never takes itself seriously. If you think it does at any point, the music is just giggling at you.
Compositionally, I play around with structure a lot—particularly in the first and third movements. The first movement is a suggestion of traditional Sonata form, the middle movement can be dumbed down to ABA form, and the final movement is my take on “Sonata-Rondo” form.
I also have to add most of my inspiration came from Carl Maria von Weber, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. For the bassoonists out there, yes; I do quote the Mozart and Weber concertos—I hope you can find them!
Did you come from a musical household? What sort of music would be heard in your home?
Yes and no. My mother couldn’t carry a tune if it had handles. My father had some musical experience, and he did have an ear, but didn’t actively partake in music. My paternal grandfather was a musician by hobby though; he sang, played fiddle and guitar, even some keyboard. I believe he had a band he played with when they were much younger as well. But this talent I’ve been blessed with did kind of come out of nowhere. Luckily though, my parents and family were so amazingly supportive of it!
As for the type of music, mom didn’t have too many preferences and would listen to most anything. Dad however took a lot of interest in rock, blues, jazz, and country. We listened to a LOT of rush, pink Floyd, AC/DC, B.B. King, Kansas, the list goes on. Most of my personal tastes lean to jazz and classical, so some of it was hard for me to relate to. But the older I get the more I realize the man had some great taste in music.
You’re a graduate of the University of Kentucky. How did you choose that school and how was your time there?
UK ’18, go cats! My time there was unexplainably wonderful. I chose it because of three reasons really; my professor of bassoon, my conducting professor, and my late composition professor. I was in contact with my bassoon professor from high school, so I knew his name, I knew his work and his sound. When I came to audition and tour, he introduced me to the director of orchestras and the head of the composition department. I just felt welcomed there, I felt safe and supported. I also felt like these people genuinely cared about my career and education, so it really wasn’t a hard choice, and it ended up being one of the best choices of my life. I had so many performing opportunities on bassoon, several compositional opportunities, and a plethora of conducting opportunities. I was able to premiere some of my works on performances such as a NASM (National Association of Schools of Music) recital, UKSO’s 2017 season, and some of my own events. I guest conducted the UK Wind Symphony, UKSO, and ended up as assistant conductor and librarian to the orchestras and opera theatre in my senior year. I was able to attain two degrees at the same time, and fill my cups with everything I loved about music.
Can you walk us though your setup when you’re composing versus recording? Do you typically record these pieces by yourself or are you going into a studio?
-Sure! It’s fairly simple though; I know I don’t have the fancy stuff a lot of musicians have. For composing, I really only use two tools; my grand piano and my composition software (Finale). I simply go between the two—I’ll play something out on the piano, improvise for a bit, play around with ideas I like, then just enter it into my scores on my computer (which I have setup in the same room). All of my current recordings are from live performances, which is what I prefer. I make it a point to be involved in the recording of all my works—whether it be performing or conducting!
Who would you say are some of your biggest influences, either classical or contemporary?
Good question…there are so many. Classically speaking, Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, and Mozart without a doubt when it comes to composition. Other musicians I have to mention would be Wilhelm Furtwangler, Mitsuko Uchida, Vladmir Horowitz, Ian Tracey, Natalie Holt, and Ludwig Göransson.
How has the pandemic impacted your work, either in how you write or perform?
It pretty much halted everything. Very shortly before the pandemic, I had some personal and family struggles that pulled me out of performing and composing. Then once that had settled, the pandemic hit! I don’t consider it a bad thing though. Since I’ve been out of the game, it’s given me a lot of time to focus on “me” instead of music, which has only strengthened my love for it. Having that time to just enjoy it more as a hobby definitely brought me closer, and gave me a new insight and appreciation for it. It’s strange to say, but I definitely feel like it was a pause that was meant to happen. Now I feel 10x’s the musician than I used to be!
What would we find on your Spotify playlist? What has been grabbing your attention lately?
I listen to a lot of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and Sammy Davis Jr. in the car. I also listen to the Steven Universe Sound track very frequently. Rebecca Sugar and her team are geniuses, truly. You’ll definitely find all things classical, with a dash of Doja Cat or even rupaul here or there.
Any advice for other musicians out there that you wish you had known when you were starting out?
Music is very personal—whether you’re writing, performing, listening or studying. If you’re worried about fitting in with the crowd, you’re doing it wrong.
What’s next for you and where can people find out more about your music?
My next project is going to releasing a piano album. I’m currently working on a good body of repertoire for it, and hope to start the recording process in the next few months. You can find out more by following my Soundcloud, youtube, and facebook pages! I will be uploading my journey there.
Find out more online:
https://soundcloud.com/logan-j-blackman
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSUtkib-sUKa2m7K0NOJREw
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086576674178
https://twitter.com/loganjblackman
