We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maura Tuffy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maura below.

Maura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In June of 2022, I had the opportunity to sing composer Joby Talbot’s extraordinary choral masterwork, “Path of Miracles,” with the Detroit-based ensemble Audivi. The piece, in its four movements, illustrates the medieval pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The experience of performing this music was singular. It so naturally brought to life this sense of wanderlust that one feels when walking the Camino Frances. I distinctly remember the expressions on the conductor’s face towards the end of the fourth movement and thought “Wow, I really want to conduct this someday.”

Fast forward a few months to September, when I moved back to Los Angeles after grad school. The idea of conducting “Path” was still buzzing in my mind, but I needed a push to get the idea off the ground. I then met a new coworker, Kiyono McDaniel, who expressed a passion for arts administration. I took a leap of faith soon after we started working together and asked if she’d join me on this journey to produce a performance of “Path” in Los Angeles. She eagerly jumped on board and we got right to work.

After nine months of securing a venue, building a roster for the project, raising $9,000 for artist compensation and recording costs, contacting local press, and even putting together a Path of Miracles salon fundraiser, we arrived at the performance in May of 2023. Over 100 people packed the pews of the church and the brilliant sounds of Talbot’s score soared throughout the space. Now, we have two more performances of the work in April in LA and San Diego.

Maura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a conductor and vocalist currently based in LA, and I serve as the Assistant Choral Director at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. In the spring of 2023, I taught a choral conducting course at California State University, Los Angeles, which was an incredibly fulfilling experience (and one that, as a result, has made me more interested in teaching at the college level). Freelancing is another facet of my artistic life, and I’ve had the opportunity to sing with ensembles such as the LA Master Chorale and Conspirare.

One of the sides of my artistry that I’m most proud of is my love for interdisciplinary collaboration––and how loud I am about it. I explored a lot of these ideas of mixing choral music and dance/movement when I was in grad school, and the conversations/work have been invigorating.

Currently, I’m in the process of forming my own professional choral ensemble! With this group, I hope to commission a ton of new works and, eventually, record and tour. More on that soon…

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Definitely the collaborative process. I feel inspired to talk about this thanks to a friend of mine, Camilla Tassi, a brilliant projection designer and human, who has always centered collaboration in her practice. I’ve realized that I extract the most joy out of a project when there are other creatives involved, particularly ones of different disciplines. Oftentimes, it’s easy to be immersed in one single aspect of creative output (artistic, administrative). My thoughts? Push against typical narratives about art-making processes and strike up conversations with artists outside of your direct field. Keeps things interesting and keeps curiosity alive!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami The conversations about music between Murakami and Ozawa are downright inspiring.

All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald S. Passman (the 11th Edition was published in October!)
This is THE music industry bible.

Cracking the Code on Creativity | Astrid Baumgardner | TEDxHartford
Astrid is a former professor and mentor of mine from Yale, and I highly recommend watching her TED Talk and reading her book Creative Success Now: How Creatives Can Thrive in the 21st Century

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mauratuffyartist.com/
• Instagram: @mauratuffyartist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauratuffy/
• Youtube: @mauratuffyartist

Image Credits
Yu Hang Tan, Suraj Partha, Tristan Siegel