We were lucky to catch up with Nathan Hall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nathan, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

My work is constantly mischaracterized, and perhaps misunderstood in the process. So much of my work exists in a grey space between genres or mediums, I’m a composer by training but a lot of my art involves visuals and other performance elements–many of them queer, or kink-inspired. I’m a misfit in the “music”-only world like the recital hall, but I’m also too melodic and accessible to be pure “sound art”
I have a piece called ‘Tame Your Man’ for piano and bondage artist. Over the course of the piece the pianist gets more and more tied up to the piano as he plays. I’ve had it performed several times. And each time, people come up to me and say “I thought it was going to be more like whips and chains and I wasn’t going to be into that”. But the reality of the piece is quite tender and trusting. I think people see the basic concept of a lot of my works and then assume it might be shocking, but often the opposite is true.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an artist and composer, and have been living in Denver for 14 years now. I have my doctorate in music, and since then I’ve loved working on projects as diverse as a windchime pavilion for FEMA, a bondage opera, a music score mural, and several immersive installations. My current favorite things at the moment to create are pieces for chamber ensembles (have a new work being performed for oboe, piano and electronics this summer). I’ve been thinking a lot about how music and sound interacts with many facets of our lives, and how that might be a way to learn about things we care about, like climate change, sexuality, death and grief, historical figures…sometimes the inroad through music can open up a lot of doors we might not have known about by just reading or watching something.
Right now I’m most interested in combining aspects of “classical” music with other visual elements for projects, commissions, live performances. I want to put trumpets on balconies of buildings as fanfares; have singers in the stairwells of museums offering moments of surprise to visitors; and to create moments of community for queer artists in particular to make experimental works and connect with each other.
I currently have a physical art studio at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, so stop by and say hello!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m still unlearning that productivity does not equal success.

I grew up in a family (and a culture in Western NY) where a lot of one’s character was measured on maintaining good grades, being active, doing things around the house–cleaning, cooking, creating, fixing. It’s bled over into my creative life in that I know how to hustle and have been lucky enough to create my own opportunities, but sometimes it’s come at a cost of burnout, overwhelm, and anger, especially at capitalism. I’ll likely never work enough to be financially as successful as someone outside of the arts. But the ways we measure success are so different. A constant fear of inadequacy is no way to live a creative life. It’s important to rest too. Sometimes doing nothing can be healthy and wise. Have I figured out how to be happily unproductive yet? No way.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Jeff Nytch’s ‘The Entrepreneurial Muse’ taught me about finding unmet needs in communities and seeing how doing what I’ve always loved to do could help fill a need, and how to talk about my work to different audiences so it presents the best it can.

Honestly, Björk’s entire output inspires my worldview too: she’s someone who’s never afraid of trying something incredibly new. Sculptures on stage! A music app about science! Vulnerable heartbreak videos in augmented reality! She’s constantly reinventing her work in different media and still stays true to her core beliefs and artistic goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nathan-hall.net
• Instagram: @thisisnathanhall
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanalanhall/
• Youtube: @nathanhallcomposer

Image Credits

Erin Algiere
Mark Woolcott
Amanda Tipton