Nanette McGuinness 00:00
[INTRO MUSIC] Welcome to For Good Measure, an interview series celebrating diverse composers and other creative artists sponsored by a grant from the California Arts Council. I'm Nanette McGuinness, artistic executive director of Ensemble for These Times. In this week's episode, we continue our conversation with Nina shaker, who we spoke to in December 2023. [OUTRO MUSIC ENDS] So obviously, Bach is a major influence. Beyond Bach, who have your mentors and other major influences been or, you know, you can include Bach, if you want because, clearly, you talk about him a lot.
Nina Shekhar 00:42
You know, if I were to say major, like artistic influences, honestly, my biggest influence is, like, the music that my dad grew up listening to, like he, he was a big classic rock fan. And it's interesting, you know, he's an immigrant, right, he was you moved to the US in the 80s, from India. So the way he engaged with with music was very much like the way he engaged with culture, you know, kind of understanding what Western or American identity looked like, was just by absorbing music. And so he was a really big, classic rock person he loved a lot of like British psychedelic, like he really loved Pink Floyd and so Pink Floyd was like a huge influence for me. And just like the way that they think about time is so expansive the way that they engage with with drones, and like long forums, like it was such a, I feel like such a relationship with that in the way that I approached time to. And there's like a patience in that music and a transformativeness in that music that I think I really aspire to. And Ligeti, I would say, It's like another composer, who I feel like a kinship with in the sense that it's like, it's so funny, again, like people, because music looks complicated, but he really has a sense of humor in his music. And I don't think he wanted people to take it so seriously. And he's kind of like playing a joke on everybody. And I kind of, I'm really inspired by that with my own music. And even just the way he thinks about process is very similar to me, like, you can see on his scores, like there's like a line that'll form, or everybody's entrances are staggered, or things like that. And I kind of feel a kinship with that, and how I think about texture and orchestration, too. But in terms of mentors that have been really influential for me, I mean, I've had so many mentors over time. And, you know, I would say, I was lucky to have some mentors who were very different than me, or their practices might have been different, or their identities might have been really different. And then there are other mentors, who I had a much like, closer background too. And I feel like I learned something different from each of them. So you know, at USC, some of my mentors, where I did my Master's, were Ted Hearne, and Andrew Norman, and, and they were both very influential to me in different ways, I think that they really encouraged me to take risks with my music and try new things, kind of rethink the way I think about form and, like, my conceptual understanding of what it was I was doing, and, and also, I think what I loved about them was, you know, at that time, I was really kind of starting to form my own sense of self, and what is it that I wanted to do, and, you know, what I loved about both of them was that if I disagreed with them, they were like, "yeah, well tell me why!" And they, like encouraged me to have my own opinions and kind of challenged the way they think the way that I think, you know, and I felt like that was a really healthy way for me to figure out my own values as an artist. And then some of my other mentors were Gabriela Lena Frank, who is just such a kind human being just so supportive, and has been through so much in the field and you know, that piece, "Quirkhead", I was talking about, I wrote as part of her program, the first year that she started her Creative Academy of Music. Just like we were was one of her guinea pigs and she had such a supportive environment that I felt safe, being vulnerable and actually putting myself out there in a way that I wouldn't have otherwise. And, you know, Reena Esmail is another one, she's, she was like one of the only Indian American women I knew at the time in our field. And she just understood so many challenges that I was facing. And I could relate so much to her experiences, just culturally, and Natalie's Washington was another one, and she's at Princeton, who teaches here now, and she's also a flutist and composer. So I feel kind of a kinship with her in that. And I think all those women just, you know, they're really strong women of color, who really paved the way I think, for younger artists like me. So I feel really grateful to all of them just for being so honest in the way that they approach the field.
Nanette McGuinness 06:04
That's really nice. So you've been lucky that you found, obviously, really great mentors who let you think and challenge you, but that you found some who had some points of commonality and helped you along your path?
Nina Shekhar 06:19
Definitely, I feel like I am grateful to have had both, you know, I think it was, it felt like the real world way. It's like, you know, I know that not everybody is going to have some of the same background experiences or challenges that they're facing that I do, they might have different challenges that they're facing. And I know that there's going to be people who just engaged with their practice in a very different way than than I do. And I think that's an important thing. Like, I'm glad that that's there. Because then it kind of, not only does it make me want to learn about more about why are they choosing to engage a certain way. But also, it's like, I have to ask myself, why am I choosing my own practice this way? And that's something that, you know, I grew up and in the Midwest, I grew up in a suburb in Michigan, that was not the most diverse suburb I was growing up in, and politically, it was not really, you know, kind of different from my own political views. But I actually am grateful that I grew up and that kind of neighborhood because it forced me to think like, what are my values? Why is it that I believe certain things politically or socially, and why do they believe those things, and it kind of helped me develop a sense of empathy, but also just made me question my own beliefs and really understand why is it that I do what I do?
Nanette McGuinness 07:58
Yeah. Have you encountered challenges as an Indian-American composer or as a woman composer?
Nina Shekhar 08:06
Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, as I said, everybody has these expectations of what they think an Indian- American composer's music is supposed to sound like, or how they engaged with their culture. And, you know, for me, it's like, you know, I grew up India has like, 20, what, 27 different official languages, and my parents don't even speak the same native language, they speak different languages. So they, they grew up speaking in English to each other, like when I like when I was growing up. And, like, so I only learned English. And I, you know, I'm allergic to chickpeas, which is like a common food and Indian like, it's just like, like, these random logistical challenges have definitely changed the way I engage with my own culture. But like, at the same time, I realized, like, there's no right or wrong way to be, like an Indian-American, like I, no matter what anybody says, like, I am very much...it's my decision to identify. You know, however, I want to like with my culture, and what being American means to and I think, like fighting those kind of expectations of what people think I should be like, our stereotypes that they have, has been challenging, but I think over time, this conviction and understanding that, like, all art is written, and everybody's art is going to be rooted in their identities too. I think it's helped me kind of just find my own strength in my own voice. And given me the permission to explore my identity on my own terms.
Nanette McGuinness 09:58
[OUTRO MUSIC] Thank you for listening to For Good Measure, and a special thank you to our guest, Nina Shekhar, for joining us today. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our podcast by clicking on the subscribe button and support us by sharing it with your friends, posting about it on social media, and leaving us a rating and a review. To learn more about E4TT, our concert season online and in the Bay Area, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit us at e4tt.org. This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and generous donors like you. For Good Measure is produced by Nanette McGuinness and Ensemble for These Times, and design by Brennan Stokes, with special thanks to co-producer and audio engineer Stephanie M. Neumann. Remember to keep supporting equity in the arts and tune in next week "for good measure." [OUTRO MUSIC ENDS]