We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ian Jamison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

Best (or worst) investment?

I love old scores. They’re very dear to me. I don’t even consider it an investment, but I always find myself buying more and more sheet music books. I put a lot of time and energy into sight reading other people’s music at the piano. I think of it as conversing with the greats, whereby I can learn from them and respond in my own way with my own compositions. I like to explore the legacy of Western art music .

Just buying what I love and know about has sometimes turned out to be profitable. I purchase used copies of books as much as possible. Used scores sometimes feature details that don’t necessarily exist in new copies. I have a 1902 copy of a vocal score that has the orchestration indicated in the piano part; this stimulates my imagination and brings me closer to the composer’s original vision.

Worst investment?

Sometimes composers get too caught up in purchasing software and gear. There is so much that can be done with pen and paper. Don’t get me wrong, I like the software and use it too, but I notice that sometimes people will be more concerned with their tools than their craft. In fact, one of the best investments is something we already have. I use my phone regularly, when I wake up, inspired from a dream, and hum melodies into voice notes. I also use my phone to film at the piano as I’m exploring and crystallizing ideas. A lot of my music was video recorded on the piano, only later to be written on paper or software.

Ian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Tell us about yourself and your craft. What is the main thing you want people to know about your work?

I am a composer, writing primarily classical music. What that means for most people is that I write for instruments and forms affiliated with the Western Tradition, for example, symphonies, piano sonatas, choral works, etc.

One thing that I would like people to know is that all classical music is not always palatial or for the music hall. Some of the most endearing classical music can be found in more down-to-earth locales, such as movies or video games. It’s not only about its context, but also the content. There are delightful works that do not aspire to the stereotypical notion of Classical Music grandeur.

The scope of classical music has been broad and inclusive since the time of Monteverdi (1567 – 1643), whose own music spanned sacred, pagan, and human themes, with a commensurate variety of musical vocabulary.

How did you get into your craft?

From the time I was five years old, I had a deep, inexplicable certainty about classical music. I played violin as soon as I could get my hands on one—same for piano. I sang in choirs, conducted, wrote, and played in orchestras throughout primary and secondary school. Music became and remains something of an identity.

Even though I got a BA in Business Global Politics at Arizona State University, I still created music. I wrote chamber works, choral works, and piano compositions. I was in choir and orchestra at ASU, and even ran my own vocal ensemble. To this day, I am thankful for all of the music majors that I had befriended back in college. Many collaborations have come out from these friendships. It was more common to find me hanging out in the violin studio than in the business library.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a composer, I’m focused on finishing commissions that will be performed and/or recorded. Recently, I was fortunate to have opportunities to write for alto saxophone. The saxophone family of instruments is as expressive and lovely as can be, and they’ve (understandably) found considerable popularity outside of classical music (jazz, R&B, rock, pop, etc). Nevertheless, saxophone works are not particularly prevalent in classical music.

In 2021, I began working on my first Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano, dedicated to saxophonist, Andrew Dahlke. I furthered my interest in 2023 with Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano No. 2. Both were recently recorded by Andrew Dahlke and pianist, Juhyun Lee in Colorado. I am currently collaborating with Calvin Wong and pianist Siyi Chen on the second Saxophone Sonata, with a recording session scheduled in October.

The opportunity to write for saxophone came about when I was collaborating with Jim Klein, and pianist Adam Żukiewicz on an original piano recording project. Dahlke produced the album, and said that he would be interested in performing an original work for saxophone and piano.

I quickly began to recognize the expressive potential for the instrument. While there are numerous wonderful pieces in the repertoire for classical saxophone, I found, on the whole, that it is niche. An exciting opportunity presented itself: there was either a) super cutting-edge avant-garde specialist literature, or b) arrangements for saxophone and piano of music that might appeal to broader audiences. Is general accessibility overlooked by classical music written specifically for saxophone? Especially in the case of the second sax sonata, I often contemplated, “what would it sound like if, say, Tchaikovsky had written for solo saxophone?”.

As an answer to the original question, I might say that I have recently been trying to write original classical saxophone repertoire that aspires to appeal to a larger general audience.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For you, what is a rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative?

I look forward to attending the Boulder Chamber Orchestra and Boulder Chamber Chorale’s performance of my piece for choir and orchestra, Summation (2021). This is another Jim Klein collaboration, where I set his words to music in what I describe as a “mini oratorio”.

Of course, I continue to “converse” with various composers via sheet music at the piano. Between reading and writing, the experiences I have at the piano are beyond rewarding.

Finally, it has long been said that the pursuit of one’s vocation is its own reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jkleingallery.com/music/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC52cLJ8gDTgKNGgrTlqqM6w

Image Credits
John Keenan, Alex Bleecker