By THIRSTY
Christopher Lamb joined
the New York Philharmonic as Principal Percussionist in 1985 and holds The
Constance R. Hoguet Friends of the Philharmonic Chair. He made his solo debut
with the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto
for Percussion and Orchestra and has performed all over the world. In 2011, he won the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental
Soloist.
In 1989, he joined the
faculty at Manhattan School of Music (MSM) and is currently the Chair of the Percussion
department at MSM. In 1999, he was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholars Award
to lecture and conduct research in Australia. During his five-month residency
at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, he presented master classes
and seminars.
Stay Thirsty Magazine
was thrilled to visit with Christopher Lamb at Manhattan School of Music in New
York City for this Conversation.
STAY THIRSTY: What first attracted
you to percussion and when did you know that you would devote your musical
career to playing percussion instruments and to teaching percussion?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: The sound or
sounds of percussion is what attracted me. It really started around 2nd or
3rd grade for me and it was simply about the sound and the
“action” of playing percussion. My parents found me to be a pretty active or
“hyper” kid and they bought me a drum but more wisely set up private lessons
for me. It was the relationship with someone older and knowledgeable that made
things develop beyond just being about sound and activity. And you can see how
this grew as by the 7th grade I had 4 teachers! One for drum
set, one for keyboard percussion, one for piano and theory and one for mainly
timpani and all other percussion instruments.
I think it was in the 7th grade
when I also felt that I wanted to go into the music profession though I had no
idea what that meant. Then in my senior year of high school I determined that I
wanted to be a performance major and had no interest in teaching percussion
whatsoever. Little did I know that I would eventually end up teaching so much!
I started teaching almost as soon as I had my first orchestral job. And the
playing and teaching have developed together through the years with most of my
thought and attention now being given to teaching.
 |
| Christopher Lamb |
STAY THIRSTY: Having joined the New
York Philharmonic as Principal Percussionist in 1985, you are now in your 35th
year with the orchestra. How have your views on the role of percussion changed
over the decades and how have percussion instruments evolved in their role with
major orchestras? What impact has new technology had and are there yet newer
technologies that you see on the horizon?
Manhattan School of Music - Percussion Ensemble - 60th Anniversary
Manhattan School of Music - Steve Schick Master Class
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: I don’t know that my
view on the role of percussion has changed over the decades or that the role of
percussion in the orchestra has changed so much either. Percussion continues to
be either a sound or effect or the spice in the orchestra. It can also be a
driving force in the orchestra, and it continues to be the avenue of “newness”
often introduced to the orchestra through new compositions. World drumming or
rhythms and effects will continue to come into the orchestral sound through the
percussion section. Even with more techno sounds and effects it will come
through the percussion section or through a synth type instrument sometimes
played by a percussionist or the orchestra keyboard specialist.
STAY THIRSTY: What did winning
the 2011 Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Soloist mean to you? How has the
Grammy changed your career or the opportunities that have come your way since
then?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: Winning a Grammy was
a huge honor for me. It gave some sense of validation and confirmation for me
as a player and it came from a larger musical circle which deepened the
confirmation. Though I felt great to be honored in this manner I don’t know
that I could say there has been any career change or opportunities that
resulted from getting the Grammy.
STAY THIRSTY: Tan Dun’s Concerto
for Water Percussion was commissioned for you by the New York Philharmonic.
How was working Tan Dun, who won an Academy Award, a Grammy and a BAFTA, and what
input did you have in the shaping this Concerto?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: The three major
concerto projects that I have done with Schwantner, Tan Dun and Botti were all
set up as collaborative commissions through the New York Philharmonic. I
proposed each of the composers to the orchestra with specific guidelines and
worked closely with each composer on each individual concerto. I knew all the
composers personally and so the collaborative aspect felt very natural and
easy. Of course, at the same time I needed to know when to step out of the way
of the creative process and in the case with Tan Dun he was determined to make
water work! Once I understood what he had in mind I then had to create the
instruments so as to make water work in a concert hall that seated 2500 people.
At first, I was somewhat frustrated at having to consider how to make these
sounds work and yet making sounds was what I enjoyed about playing percussion
in the first place. So, I tackled the challenge with that in mind and it
resulted in my fingerprints on that concerto and the others as well.
STAY THIRSTY: Susan Botti’s Echo
Tempo for Soprano, Percussion and Orchestra was also commissioned by the
New York Philharmonic (NYP) for you. She is a colleague of yours at Manhattan
School of Music (MSM) and has a distinguished career as a composer and singer.
What was the genesis of this composition and what role did you play in its
origination and its creation?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: When the NYP
commissioned Susan Botti to write Echo Tempo, it was started with my
request to have something written by a woman composer. Additionally, I wanted
to have this composition be text driven. Yes, it would have percussion, but I
wanted there to be text and therefore a voice and so the composer, voice and
text were all completed with Susan Botti doing it all … finding text, creating
the composition and singing the vocal parts. It was another creative process in
creating a concerto.
One other aspect of
these 3 concerto projects that should be pointed out … they all involved the
soloist improvising. In the Schwantner Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra
there is a completely freely improvise cadenza at the end of the work. In the
Tan Dun Water Concerto there are numerous places where the percussionist
is asked to improvise in, on, or around the water … more like a performance
theatre piece. And in Echo Tempo there are several hand drum
improvisation sections.
Looking back at the
concerto work I’ve done over the years it’s the improvisation that felt most
liberating to me. An orchestral player being asked to improvise was such a
great feeling. Not being glued to the part or trying to make something that’s
been written down sound fresh was truly freeing.
STAY THIRSTY: You have been a member
of the faculty of MSM since 1989. What brings students to the study of
percussion and how has that changed during your tenure at MSM?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: When I was asked
to chair the percussion department at Manhattan School of Music my vision for
the department was very much influenced by my own percussion upbringing. I had
multiple teachers and so at MSM we have a “studio” that has a team of teachers.
Because the area of percussion can be quite expansive, having input from
different percussion angles or areas of expertise can be blended together into
a single program for students, which in the long run will make them more well-rounded
and marketable. The field of percussion can go in many directions
stylistically. Students can develop careers in solo playing, chamber ensemble
playing, contemporary music, orchestral, studio, show styles and teaching. So,
our program aims to establish core percussion skills so that as the student
“finds their area of interest” they will have created a strong foundation of
fundamentals no matter where they will go next with their developing
expertise.
I would have to say that
the vision itself has not changed since I began but has deepened with how we
use our faculty and guest artists. We have all grown more convinced that our
broad-based approach to the undergraduate years is best for young
percussionists. The program success has proven that to be the case. And the
graduate level course of study takes that confirmation even further as nearly
every graduate student from MSM is working in the music industry with a large
component being in symphony orchestras around the world.
STAY THIRSTY: For those aspiring
students who dream of joining an orchestra upon graduation, what do you tell
them?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: I tell aspiring
classical percussionists the same thing … “if you think your musical appetite
is going to be met by playing in a symphony orchestra you are mistaken.” What
that means is as much as I enjoy playing in an orchestra you need other musical
outlets or interests that will complete your musical career. And, those other
musical outlets will most likely make your job on the stage last longer and be
more fulfilling. I earlier said something about never really giving teaching
much thought early on in my journey. But it’s the teaching that inspires the
playing and keeps it alive and interesting. One needs to have bigger
musical interests then just learning excerpts and winning an audition. That’s
really supposed to be the beginning of finding your musical voice … just the
beginning.
STAY THIRSTY: You are also on
the faculty of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. How is percussion viewed
around the world both in its role with orchestras and in classical and
non-classical settings vs. in the United States?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB: In the United
States percussionists seem to elevate technical skills above all else. And the “all
else” can result in very exact yet robotic playing that lacks phrasing, emotion
or expression. At the same time though I often have found many young percussionists
outside of the US speaking in such a way that it seems expressive and I’m
hopeful for what they will do when they pick up the sticks, mallets or hand
instrument … yet I often find them lacking the technical skills needed to be as
expressive as they had been with their speaking.
The finish of the story
is that we need the technical skills, which is the language to say what we want
musically. And too often I see those in the US, who have tons of chops, but
have no idea what they want to say. And it’s pretty much been that way since I
was a student. I was thinking that recently as a matter of fact. When I was a
student there were always other players and teachers who were ridged, digital
players who thought of percussion strokes as down or up. And that is still
the case today. However, as a student, and now as well beyond those student
years, I never was attracted to the robotic approach and still feel to this day
that playing percussion is not two dimensional as in down and up strokes, but
that it’s far more multi-dimensional. After all, it’s still about the sound,
and I believe we get far more sounds out of percussion when we figure out how
to activate the instrument instead of attacking the instrument. And since all
the percussion instruments are activated differently “down/up” isn’t old school,
it’s expressionless. I think as percussion teachers there is a need to pay
attention to how other instrumentalists are taught, and then we can grow in our
musicianship. Then when we play, we’ll fit better with other musicians in the
ensemble.
Links: