We recently connected with Rami Levin and have shared our conversation below.

Rami , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I wanted to be a composer even before I knew that such a profession existed. There was always music around the house where I grew up. When I was three my parents bought a piano and I delighted in exploring the sounds it produced. Soon I was able to pick out tunes and invent my own. My parents often took me to concerts. At age five I began going to ‘music school’ every Sunday, where I learned to play the recorder, took classes in music theory, and began piano lessons. Each week my piano teacher would help me write down the melodies I had made up since the previous lesson. She told me stories about a boy named Mozart who also wrote music, and she said, “You are a composer.” I went to the High School of Music and Art (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) in NYC, where I learned to play the oboe and took composition classes. We gave concerts of our music, played by our fellow students. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many talented musicians. The opportunity to hear performances of my compositions continued in college and graduate school. I was fortunate to have many excellent mentors to guide me as I developed my craft.

Rami , 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?

To follow my dream of being a composer I needed a solid musical education. I was also drawn to teaching. My academic background (B.A. Yale University, M.A., University of California, San Diego, Ph.D. University of Chicago) prepared me for a career in music. I served as chair of the music department at Lake Forest College and Composer-in-Residence (1994-2010). In 2008 I received a Fulbright grant to teach and compose at a university in Rio de Janeiro for a semester. I moved to Brazil two years later and lived there for 7 years. I was active in the contemporary music scene in Rio de Janeiro, having my music performed and recorded.

Since the 1980s I have been involved in organizations promoting women’s music including American Women Composers, Midwest and the Women Composers Festival of Hartford.

My catalog includes works for chamber ensembles, chorus, and orchestra, which have been recorded and performed internationally. Most of those pieces were commissioned by performers who had heard my music, such as Chicago Symphony Orchestra clarinetist, John Bruce Yeh, the Morley Wind Group in London, American String Teachers Association, Chicago Pro Musica, the University of Chicago Motet Choir, Chicago Choral Artists, Quintet Attacca, and the Rembrandt Chamber Players, among others.

When I am commissioned to write a piece, my goal is to create a work that is personally meaningful to the performer or dedicatee. For instance, when I was commissioned to write a piece for a man’s wife’s 40th birthday, I asked him to tell me about her personality, interests, and distinctive qualities, so that the music could reflect those things about her. Each piece I write is specific to the person or ensemble I am writing it for.

I am especially proud of the releases of two recent albums of my music (Wings: Chamber Music by Rami Levin, Acis Productions, May 2024, and the forthcoming Silk Apples: Chamber Music by Rami Levin, Acis Productions, April 2025).

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

Hearing a work of mine performed is especially rewarding. Unlike graphic artists or writers, whose output can be seen or read by anyone who has access to it, the work of a composer depends on performers to bring it to life. It is thrilling when an idea that began in my mind, which I translated into sound, becomes accessible to others through performance or a recording. Of course I am delighted when performers and audience members are moved or enchanted by my work.

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

My goal as a composer is to create music that speaks to others. While I don’t write with the aim of pleasing an audience, I am gratified when others are inspired by my work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ramilevin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramilevincomposer/

Image Credits

Geoffrey Silver
Arthur Maciel
Rudimar Narciso Capriani