Meet the Institute Composers: Reinaldo Moya

What started you on your musical compositional journey?

My career as a composer really started in college. I had started college as a violin-performance major; I had written some music before, but nothing all that serious, and I had never taken lessons. When I saw the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra perform Debussy’s La Mer one night, I realized I wanted to start writing my own music. So the next day, I went and saw my advisor, and I signed up for composition lessons. About a year after that, I switched my major to composition.

 

What key experiences have shaped your path as a composer?

 

I went to Berlin and studied with Samuel Abner in 2005. It was a fantastic experience that opened up my mind to possibilities. Working with Sam was one of those really life-changing experiences that was a very important moment in my formation and training as a composer. More recently, seeing and hearing my music performed more and more by really great musicians (like hearing some of my opera music done at Carnegie Hall) continues to reaffirm my passion for what I do and my desire to continue to do it. I’m also really excited about this Institute—I’m so thrilled for this great opportunity for me, and I know this is something I’ll be able to to add to my list [of key experiences].

 

What attracted you to the NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute?

 

I saw a post about it on Facebook, and I thought it looked really great. I had a piece [Siempre Lunes, Siempre Marzo] I had been wanting to get more people interested in, so what better opportunity than to submit it here? I’m just so excited and pleased it was chosen.

 

What do you hope to get out of the Institute experience?

 

So many things. A performance by a great professional orchestra is such a luxury, and [the four Institute composers] get to work not only with a great orchestra like the NJSO but also with a great conductor like JoAnn Falletta. I’m excited to work with Steven Mackey, one of the great composers working today, [and one whose music] I’ve admired for years. I’m looking forward to meeting the other composers, seeing what others are up to and getting a sense of how my music fits into a larger pattern and context; getting a chance to work with a larger orchestra and getting their feedback; sharing my music with a whole new audience I haven’t had a chance to share my music with before.

 

How would you describe your compositional style? What inspires you?

 

I recently had this kind of epiphany moment when I was writing an artist statement. In those moments you start to look inside yourself the work you’ve been doing, and ask yourself questions about your process, who you are and what excites you as an artist. One thing I realized was that many of the pieces I’ve written in the last few years has to do with writing about music from places that don’t exist. Like the piece you’ll hear at the Institute, inspired by One Hundred Years of Solitude … that’s something that interests me. I think it comes back to being an immigrant. Home to me is not a fixed place to me. I feel like wherever I go I can find a home, but I also find I can always feel a bit like an outsider, and I think that is reflected in the kinds of scenarios I like to play with in my music.

 

 

Get to know the composers of the 2015 NJSO Edward T. Cone Composition Institute, and stay tuned for more from these exciting talents in the week leading up to the FOUR: New Orchestral Works concert on Thursday, July 16.