We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Victor Penniman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Victor below.
Victor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I made the decision to pursue this path professionally when I was 18. Music was everything to me as a child; it was the way I related to the world, and still is. I remember always having music in my head (other people’s… mine wouldn’t start showing up until later)… ALWAYS. I was not exactly encouraged to follow this path, but after having a look around at the work-a-day world and realizing what that would be like for me, it was a no-brainer. Live, die, succeed, fail, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing else I can even imagine doing for my life.
Victor, 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?
My name is Victor Penniman, and I’ve been musical my entire 56-year life, and ardently pursuing the musical professions since I was 16. I’m a multi-instrumentalist (strings, keys, percussion, voice), though primarily a string player (guitar, harp-guitar, cello, viola da gamba, banjo, bass). I’m a composer/songwriter and studio artist as well. I’m conservatory trained, with a doctorate from somewhere, and some other diplomas and such that I got for thinking and writing some things about music. I’ve been a tenured college music professor, which I’d never do again, and I am a partner in the ownership of a music school in Overland Park, KS (www.metroplitanconservatory.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am currently pivoting now, actually. For the last 20 years, I had been working on a one-person show, featuring a electric viola da gamba (fretted, bowed-stringed instrument) that I first had dreamed about playing, and then actually got in 2004 when a fellow in The Netherlands created one and decided I should play it. I did everything I could to play it as well as I could, develop new technique and sounds, and I did. I worked hard, and made some headway. I recorded and released an album, and cultivated a live show. But there are issues, both with the instrument itself (not the least of which is that I can no longer get the strings I like for it, they’ve been discontinued), and with me. The pandemic put a huge damper on my performing (I haven’t played a significant gig in 3 years), and I found that I really didn’t want to continue trying to do the old projects, and I’d run out of ideas for the electric viol. I’ve since pulled my recordings from circulation, and no longer perform the show. I’ve always had more of an affinity for the guitar, and now pour all my creative attention into it, specifically the harp-guitar. Because I cut my teeth in school orchestras growing up, bowed strings have always just been the obvious thing to do, and seemingly the path of least resistance. But I “discovered” (I already know about it, I just hadn’t tried yet to play one) and then acquired a harp guitar last January, and have been practicing it obsessively, as much as I possibly can, and have never been more musically satisfied. The hardest part of any practice session is putting it down and stopping. My writing partner, Mark Hamblin, and I have been rehearsing new ideas and music, and I am/we are close to being ready to make this new direction public, I couldn’t be more thrilled. Watch this space!
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
Art works are objects of one sort or another that artists make with the intent that we should have feelings about them. Ideally, we might then reflect upon those feelings, and perhaps gain some insight into ourselves or the world around us. The feelings can be good or bad, hopefully not indifferent. In this definition of art, NFTs have a place. They are object, however virtual, and people certainly do have feelings about them. Meditation upon the idea of NFTs certainly can give one insight into the nature of our world. Those that like those sorts of things will find them to be the sorts of things they like. And that’s completely fine. My approval is certainly not required. It’s just that, aside from the serious environmental concerns created, I have no interest in them for myself. I feel like they’re not real; like they’re art that’s only there if the power is on, if my battery is charged, and I frankly just don’t feel like I truly have anything if I were to have one. Our technology is neat-o and all. It is. It’s amazing. But it’s ephemeral, tied to power grids and other things that don’t occur in nature; tied to fashion and whim perhaps more than physical objects, and I cannot put faith in its future under the current circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ormesbyproductions.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vpenniman/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorpenniman/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hamblinpenniman5212
- Other: www.metropolitanconservatorykc.com
Image Credits
All photos by Jill Huxtable, JH Design.