The Inside Story: Gary D. Belshaw and FIGMENTS VOL. 3

A dynamic assortment of contemporary chamber music from today’s composers is brought to life on FIGMENTS VOL. 3. from Navona Records. Featured on the album is composer Gary D. Belshaw’s piece, Piccolo & Chalumeau, a work for flute, clarinet, and piano that captures the whimsy of a cat and dog romping and dashing through their home.

Today, Gary is our featured artist in “The Inside Story,’ a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about his early admiration for Leonard Bernstein, and how he navigated his early musical career as a self taught musician…

Who was your favorite artist(s) growing up?

Leonard Bernstein was my favorite artist growing up. I loved his Columbia Recording of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. I spent much time playing the 5th track of the album. Bernstein brought out several sketches that Beethoven rejected in favor of the notes with which we have become so familiar. I simply consumed that track. I was intently listening to the difference between each rejected sketch and the published one. Even today I ask myself, “is this passage as right as rain?”

I marveled at his conducting overseas, especially when he chided the Berlin Philharmonic that a certain passage in a Mahler Symphony needed to be played differently, because, as he said, “Das ist nicht Mahler.”

Of course, I eventually soaked myself in all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies, as well as his Oratorio Christus am Ölberg, and the Missa Solemnis. But I was a fan of Bernstein the composer as well: the symphonies and Chichester Psalms in particular. One of the great masterworks for orchestra will always be his Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?

By the 9th grade, my experiences absorbing Bernstein and Beethoven had solidified my passion to be a composer. My parents did not fully endorse my career ambitions. When I auditioned at Peabody, I was in no way prepared. I had only about one year of piano lessons, and I never had a composition teacher or tutor. So, until I started my 13 years of study at the Texas Tech School of Music, I was completely self-taught. But I have to say I was fully absorbed with composing music. I had closely studied all nine Beethoven symphony scores, as well as Brahms’ 4. I devoured Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. I also acquired many scores for concert band.

What was your most unusual performance?

In the interest of advancing my career, as a sophomore I organized, rehearsed, and conducted the Easter portion of Handel’s Messiah with students from three high schools. I also accompanied the soloists. Shortly after that performance, I landed my first professional gig. A couple of my favorite years were spent at a Disciples of Christ church in the Houston area. Taking advantage of funds from the Houston Symphony Musicians fund, I conducted members of three church choirs in Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberg with 33 members of the Houston Symphony, along with my Mass in Honor of St. Rose of Lima.

What is your favorite moment on the album?

One of my favorite moments on FIGMENTS VOL. 3 is the middle (slow) section of Thomas Mann Jr.’s Dance of the Lizards. It is such a warm, tender blend of musical lines. It opens with a single high pitch, sustained for about four seconds on the violin, and as the other instruments slowly join in, nothing happens next to disturb the atmosphere created by that violin. Another favorite moment is the very beginning of the album. Jacob E. Goodman’s music embodies that sense of “what else can I do on a rainy afternoon but relax and be soothed by these sounds.” This music strikes me personally because these are the kind of sounds with which I became accustomed during my years at Texas Tech.

What does this album mean to you personally?

FIGMENTS VOL. 3 is my first professional recording. It means a great deal to me that the team at PARMA Recordings and Navona Records are so fully committed to their artists. They are doing for me what I never could do successfully, promoting and distributing my music.

If you could make a living at any job in the world, what would it be?

I’ve been doing it (as a hobby) for the last 60 years.

The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the artist and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views and opinions held by PARMA Recordings LLC and its label imprints, subsidiaries, and affiliates.