Underwood New Music Readings: Composer Spotlight - Polina Nazaykinskaya
Composer Polina Nazaykinskaya is one of the seven selected composers for ACO's 24th annual Underwood New Music Readings on May 6 and 7. Polina says of her selected piece, Reading the Wind, "Rhythms and sounds can reveal the power of the invisible world. Turning the pages of the Nature’s Book of Life, one may re-discover a sense of mystery that is part and parcel of our existence." Read her full program note here.
Polina was kind enough to answer some questions for SoundAdvice.
Composer PolinaNazaykinskaya
What was your reaction to finding out your piece had been selected for the Underwood New Music Readings?
I am excited and truly honored to have my piece selected for the Underwood New Music Readings. It`s not only a great chance for me to meet and work with the wonderful American Composers Orchestra and Maestro Manahan, but also it's a great opportunity to get a valuable feedback about my music from the mentor composers Derek Bermel, Kevin Puts and Gabriela Lena Frank.
The Underwood New Music Readings is really a dream-come-true in many regards. The chance to work with a professional orchestra is very rare and extremely important for young composers. It can be intimidating as well – what if my music doesn't sound right? What if the majority of my orchestration choices don't work? In any case, it's the best composition/orchestration lesson one can get.
What preparations are you making ahead of the readings with the American Composers Orchestra?
A lot of my preparation went into the revision of the orchestration, as I strived to ensure that the richness of musical material would thrive in the hands of the orchestra. I am always trying to find the right balance between practicality and vividness of orchestration. I also had to go through extensive revisions of the score and parts formatting, which was not exactly my cup of tea.
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Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, Office of Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
