Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nathan Hall. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nathan, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

In a cruel irony, being laid off from a retail job during the pandemic allowed me to do my creative music and art work full-time for the first time- and my opportunities have grown since then to where I didn’t have to return to hourly work. I was already hustling pretty hard, doing creative work about 30% of the time- which includes teaching music composition part-time, making jewelry part-time, applying to grants and commissions make art, and doing online gigs involving music here and there (there are more than you’d think!). I think I was able to see that that all those creative things are really where I find joy, and that life is short- I better do what I love now. One of the best things that happened was staying in my Denver community long enough that I think I’ve made a small niche for myself- and I don’t always have to beg for opportunities; every once and a while I get asked now! I don’t know if I could have sped that up, but I think I could have taken the risk to leave non-creative work sooner. I also think I still underestimate how many people I’ve met over the years and what a network I have built (hopefully with minimal burnt bridges!).

Nathan, 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 composer and artist, and all my works start with music and sound as inspiration. I use music like a painter uses paint- to explore the world around them, and that might be in looking at architecture, exploring aspects of history, trying to know more about oneself and their identity…even understanding and relating better to climate change. I work mostly on unique works for specific sites, galleries, landscapes, and events, so each project is special to that particular location or group. I’ve composed everything from string quartets to choral works, to sound installations, to music pieces for non-musicians to participate in. I also love to bring in visuals- I’ve made sculptures, choreographed movements, directed experimental music videos, all for a particular vision I might have for a work.
I’m most proud of my works for museums and larger groups and organizations. My installations for Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh and the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver have been particular moments of pride for me. I’ve been honored to be commissioned by the GALA choruses of Colorado- all of our state’s LGBTQ choruses together– and also the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. But even the ‘smaller’ projects I have can be humbling, as I’ve been so honored to work with collaborators, scientists, other artists, and queer role models I admire.
If there’s one thing that I think sets me apart from other composers, it’s a sense of keeping true to my own aesthetic while being emotionally accessible–like an album that you know is by a singer you love, but you didn’t expect them to take a turn for a different genre! I probably won’t deliver something ‘easy listening’- but I’ll create something that surprises and hopefully moves people.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

What excites me most is thinking: where can there be a place for music that might not exist yet? Would it add to our lives if we thought about this (whatever it might be) through sound? I love trying to find new places, stories, and fields of research that have musical connections- to help us understand and inhabit our world more deeply.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

It’s impossible to count how many times I’ve seen work offered “for exposure”: unpaid, underpaid, or undervalued. We all know that artists are rarely paid adequately for the time and effort, and training they put into their work. What I think non-creatives, and many Americans in general, struggle to understand, is the validity of being a creative as a full-time existence.

When I lived abroad in Iceland, I experienced a cultural shift–I would tell people I was a contemporary composer and experimental artist, and nobody found this odd. Nobody asked what my day job was, or wondered how I paid the bills. They were more curious if I’ve ever written for a choir, or written electronic music, or done any performance art. My work was (is) a legitimate career, and worthy of real wages, as much as any other kind of work. And they found their lives more meaningful because of my creativity.

I think non-creatives may underestimate the amount of experiences in our lives that are made richer from musicians especially- from the soundtracks to video games to the sound of a ringtone, the infinite playlists on Spotify, to the background music in a coffeeshop–our lives would be infinitely more dull without creatives like me, who deserve a better standard of living.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nathan-hall.net
• Instagram: @thisisnathanhall
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/nathanhallcomposer
• Twitter: twitter.com/thisisnhall
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/nhall123/featured

Image Credits
Lewis Neeff Courtesy Denver Art Museum Chris Bagley Amanda Tipton Photopgraphy Tom Little Buntport Theater