New York’s multi-faceted performing arts organization Bang on a Can became known for their successful ‘crossover’ approach to current music. Every year, Bang on a Can organises the Summer Music Festival in MassMoCa, about 2.5 hours’ travel from New York, this year from 15 July to 4 August. The festival is considered an important international meeting place of musicians and composers. Maya Fridman, 2023’s Artist in Residence at November Music and speaker at New Music Conference, was invited to contribute to the festival as a composer. Her new composition for ensemble was studied during the Summer Festival, and performed during the closing LOUD Weekend. Maya Fridman was also involved in several concerts during Summer Festival as a cellist and a vocalist.

About Bang on a Can 

You were invited to Bang on a Can Festival in New York as a composer. Was that a surprise for you? 
“I was so overwhelmed when I read the email saying I was accepted as a composer. Participating in Bang on a Can Summer Academy and Festival was something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time. I was quite nervous, however, since I didn’t really have an idea what it would be like to be there, especially in a role of composer. Let’s say, I had to learn a lot of things very quickly, as composing to me so far was mostly focused on writing for myself (as was the case with my album The Power of Indifference). This time I had a chance to compose for a piece for an ensemble of ten brilliant musicians and was eager to make the best of it.” 

Did you immediately know what you wanted to make? Or did you already have something lying around that you thought perfect for the occasion? 
“The only thing I already had lying around was a piece of poetry I wrote a few months before. I was very happy that the artist who would sing in the ensemble was Alex Koi. In the piece you’ll hear influences from rock music and her voice suited perfectly for this. I started making sketches as soon as I knew for which instruments I needed to write.” 

Can you describe how you got to work when you arrived there? 
“We had a tour around MASS MoCA straight upon our arrival. It was incredibly inspiring to walk through that labyrinth-like gigantic museum together with my fellow composers and performers. There were many semi-hidden places where one could quietly compose, which is exactly what I did the following days in between seminars and rehearsals.” 

Then there were actually two festivals happening, right? Can you describe their scope? 
“Bang on a Can Summer Festival is a three-week trajectory for composers and performers with its culmination in LOUD Weekend. Works by eight fellow composers – me included – commissioned by the festival, were to be performed there. This is just a small part of what LOUD Weekend had to offer. I tried to see as many performances as I could, so in some cases I had to literally run from one side of this giant museum to the other. Meredith Monk left an unforgettable impression on me. And, of course, Bang on a Can All-Stars with their contagious energy and virtuosity!”  

How did your music compare to what Bang on a Can had planned for the rest of the festival? Did you bring a different colour to the program or is that too simple a thought? 
“Personally, I felt very much at home there, with all my ideas and my music. It felt more than special that at my solo recital during LOUD Weekend I could play some of my songs in conjunction with works by Michael Gordon and David Lang, with them being in the audience. And just to be in the group of fellow composers where everyone had something truly unique about their way of thinking and composing. The heartfelt support of Michael, David and Julia Wolfe encouraged me to believe that I fitted in what they planned for the festival.” 

Across the borders

Was there networking involved? Did you meet people of interest for your next steps in the US? 
“Definitely! I am sure that new collaborations with many amazing artists I met there will unfold over time. It was wonderful to have enough time to sit down and talk about future plans with some of my favourite artists, such as Maya Beiser. I am looking forward to having a new possibility to work with amazing conductor and violinist Todd Reynolds. I’ve been extremely inspired to get to know him. All of these things are just a tiny sliver of the meetings I had, though.” 

You always have a lot going on creatively, and politically, in support of the Ukrainian people. Did you have time to touch on things besides the work at hand while in the US? 
“The war was constantly on my mind, but I couldn’t do anything practical regarding benefit concerts for Ukraine in those weeks. But being there gave me so much energy to go on. I was deeply moved by discussions at composer seminars on this subject, and got a better understanding of how Michael, David and Julia deal with many important political and social subjects through their art. 

“Since coming back, there have been several benefit concerts for Ukraine where we collected money for ambulances through the Music for Ukraine foundation of Oleg Lysenko, and there are more planned for the upcoming months.” 

The New Music scene

Is a trip like yours, three weeks, enough to get a taste of how the New Music scene works over there? 
“The new music scene in the States is immense, and I think it would be overly confident to say that three weeks gave me sufficient perspective of the whole scene. This trip made me realize how much I still don’t know and how much there is still to explore. And it made me part of this beautiful, ever-extending Bang on a Can family. Following my new friends and colleagues online, I can also see how much this trajectory brought to them, as it did to me.”  

It may be too early to say, but what did this residency bring to you and your art? 
“It’s brought me courage to pursue my ideas concerning composing and making music in general. To be able to attend composer seminars and get feedback from David, Michael and Julia on my music was a dream come true – I  have learnt so much. This festival is unique because it has an inherently open-minded atmosphere that gives one the feeling that absolutely everything is possible. In one of the first group talks, Michael, Julia and David told us how they started this festival many years ago as friends, striving to give a platform to new music. The beautiful thing is that while the organization grew immensely, the core – their friendship – remained as strong as it was at the beginning of Bang on a Can journey. It sounded so simple when they told us about it. Yet I think this is precisely why this festival continues to draw so many artists from all over the world: because of the human connection and openness their founders radiate. 

It’s brought me courage to pursue my ideas concerning composing and making music in general. To be able to attend composer seminars and get feedback from David, Michael and Julia on my music was a dream come true – I  have learnt so much

What is next for you in the Netherlands and Europe? 
“Currently I am on tour with dance company LeineRoebana. In between the shows, I am finishing my new solo album, Ordo Ritualis. In December I will present a new version of my composition Tree of Life together with brilliant musicians, Ud player Nawras Altaky and soprano Channa Malkin, at the International Chamber Music Festival in my hometown, Utrecht. And, from the beginning of 2025, a new chapter will begin for Maya Fridman Foundation with many international projects and collaborations.” 

Website: mayafridman.com
Facebook: facebook.com/mayafridman.cellist
Instagram: instagram.com/mayafridman_cellist

Interview by Mark van Schaick
Photos by Lora Kmieliauskaite