The Inside Story: Lawrence R. Mumford and PRISMA VOL. 5

United by their accessibility and creative vision, PRISMA VOL. 5’s roster of composers take advantage of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra’s ability to lend music an illustrative and narrative quality. The orchestra’s program includes Lawrence R. Mumford’s Adagio: Of Times and Seasons with strident themes and subdued motifs revealed to be similar in nature.  

Today, Lawrence 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 the long road that led Lawrence to a full-time career in music, and his secret desire to shred on the electric guitar…

Who was your first favorite artist(s) growing up?

In classical music I couldn’t get enough of Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, and Vaughan Williams. The longer and more bombastic the piece, the better. But I also liked a lot of popular artists: Richard Rogers’ musicals, bands like Boston and Journey, and vocalists like Luther Vandross and Lionel Richie.

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

I guess I have always wanted to be one, but unfortunately I talked myself out of it several times. Despite being very involved in music K-12, I enrolled in George Washington University as a Political Science major. After one semester I switched to English. After another semester I switched to Psychology. But I kept taking elective music courses on the side because they were the only thing that I really liked. Finally the music department chair said, “Why don’t you quit kidding yourself and just be a music major?” So I did, and earned a B.A. in Music. Yet even after three more years of graduate study in Music Composition at Peabody Conservatory and Indiana University, I still did not pursue a full-time music teaching or studio artist career. Instead I worked at a job in finance for three years — again, composing and performing on the side. Eventually my boss, who noticed that I was writing musical notes on ledger cards said, “Why are you working here? Your future belongs in music.” I got the message, moved to LA, finished a doctorate in composition at USC, and have made a living here in music ever since.

What was your most unusual performance, or the most embarrassing thing that happened to you during a performance?

I was president of my high school marching band and also 1st trumpet. During a halftime show on a rainy November night, while in full uniform and playing the school fight song, I made a left turn in front of 1000 fans and fell flat on my face. My fellow trumpeters kept the melody going while I got back up, but I finished the drill covered in mud.

If you could spend creative time anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

My wife and I love the San Juan Islands of Washington. The scenery is incomparable and it rarely rains there in the summer. I could write in the morning and sail in the afternoon, and I’d be in good company. The noted choral composer Morten “Skip” Lauridsen owns an entire island within the archipelago.

If you could instantly have expertise performing one instrument, what instrument would that be?

I have two answers. I am always trying to improve my piano playing, so becoming a concerto-level virtuoso instantly would be quite appealing. But for many years there was a secret side of me that wanted to really shred on electric guitar.

Is there a specific feeling that you would like communicated to audiences in this work?

It is hard to put musical feeling into words, but terms like “serene,” “hopeful,” “timeless nature,” and even “the natural beauty of California,” my state of residence, come to mind. There are things in this life that we will never fully understand, but it comforts me that there’s a creator who knows both the future and the destiny of each of us.