Glen Ridge composer creates moving pieces for underscored instruments

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Lockdowns and forced deprivation can be a powerful incentive for artists to produce work of significance. Historically noted, there was an abundance of paintings created by artists working in Paris during World War II and Nazi occupation, yet much of it remained in studios until the occupation ended.

But with the contemporary virtual world of artists, the pandemic years have been a productive exhibition period for determined artists, including Glen Ridge composer and pianist Amanda Harberg. And with the possible end of pandemic-induced years of virtual performances in sight, she says she is looking for a new direction.

In the thick of the lockdown, the Philadelphia Orchestra gave a premiere of Harberg’s Piccolo Concerto as part of its Digital Stage series, and a virtual flute orchestra performed her “Prayer Project” in collaboration with the National Flute Association. Her “Hall of Ghosts,” a composition for piccolo and dancer, performed in collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, was a spare and mythic performance on a barren stage, which can be viewed online. Harberg said she likes writing for flutes and piccolos.

“I do write frequently for instruments underrepresented,” she said in a Sunday, Feb. 6, telephone interview. “The piccolo is an instrument to add sparkle and brilliance,” but she will write for the instrument in ways it is not ordinarily asked to perform. 

She said the bassoon is another underscored instrument in need of a repertoire, so she wrote a Bassoon Sonata, which premiered at the International Double Reed Society last summer. It was a commissioned work; some 30 bassoonists contributed funding to have Harberg write a composition for their instrument. Harberg said this particular commission was deeply satisfying, because it was for a group of musicians “hungry for repertoire.”

The genesis of this piece is contemporary politics, but the completed work is anything but strident. Harberg wrote it in response to the violent Jan. 6, 2021, disturbance at the U.S. Capitol by protestors attempting to prevent the certification of the Electoral College votes and a new presidency. The sonata is written in three movements for the bassoon and piano. At the opening, the piano is angry and provocative.

“I struggled with the form of this piece in those troubled times,” she said. “I never know what to expect. Each piece is different. But I started this sonata on Jan. 6, a very troubled time, with racial unrest, the election and the pandemic. As an artist, I have to ask myself, What meaning is there in this?”

The second movement in the Bassoon Sonata, according to Harberg, is prayerful. The third and final movement is redemptive and expressed in jazz, a transcendent American art form.

“My music does tend to be joyful,” Harberg said. “It’s hard for me to be dark. Music is a reflection of what’s going on inside of you. I’m always surprised at what comes out. Even when writing something dark, there’s an inherent lightness. There is a beauty in cathartic expressions. You need a contrast of expressions to have a successful piece.”

But for Harberg, composing is a two-edged proposition. 

“It’s important for me to write accessible music,” she said. “My biggest inspiration is to offer engagement and connection. I believe art has the ability to bring healing and comfort.”

What makes her music accessible to the casual listener, she said, is the melodic and rhythmic elements.

“That comes out of the human body,” she said. “You can dance to it or sing to it.”

But the second edge is the difficulty of playing a Harberg composition. Top musicians perform her work.

“I know who I am writing for,” she said. “Some are extremely advanced players. So, I give them something they can sink their teeth into. I offer a challenge for a high-level player. Not everyone will be able to play it.”

Harberg is also an educator. She has private students and is a professor of composition and orchestration at Rutgers University. She was recently appointed as composer-in-residence for the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra.

“It’s so important to do whatever we can to empower and bring the art form we love into the next generation,” she said. “Some of my students become professionals, some don’t. But most importantly, they still play a role.”