Pandemic hasn’t slowed down music prof
Music professor seeks to build cultural capital People get tired of notes and rhythms, but they never get tired of stories. And we’re going to have lots of stories to tell.
We’re checking in with a different Saskatchewan artist each week to talk about their life and work during COVID-19.
This week, we hear from jazz musician and University of Saskatchewan music professor Dean Mcneill. As the conductor of the U of S Jazz Ensemble and the artistic director of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, Mcneill is connected to almost every up-and-coming jazz musician in the city — and he’s still working with students and fellow artists during the COVID -19 pandemic.
Q What does life look like right now, figuratively and literally? A Well, I’m very fortunate because I have a job, so my life in the big picture is fine. I’m social isolating with my family at home … I’m working very, very, hard; my days are very busy with a combination of my own projects, doing recording projects with other people, starting new projects.
So I’m trying to get some exercise every day, I’m getting to my work every day, I’m touching base with my family and the greater community.
Q What’s new? What projects are still happening ?
A I’ve started a little miniseries with (writer and historian) Bill Waiser that’s going to be on CFCR starting on July 1 … the idea is that, this is not the first time that Saskatchewanians have been faced with hardship. And when people are faced with hardship, unquestionably, the fine arts play a role in that.
So I thought it would be cool to sit down with someone who knows Saskatchewan like the back of their hand — which is why I approached Bill — and have some conversations about hardships in Saskatchewan in the past, and I’ll play a little bit of music and talk about the music related to that time period.
So the six-part series is called Adversity Meets Resilience.
I thought I’m going to have to get better than I am right now at producing online materials. I can put together a pretty darn good concert at this point in my career, but I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of months getting good at music software … so I have some of the essential ingredients to make half-decent quality online products … It’s been a hard time, but I’ve developed some interesting skills.
Q How have things changed for you, as an artist and as the head of multiple bands?
A With the SJO, well, we don’t do concerts anymore. So we are in negotiations and discussions and planning to do all kinds of things, from live webcasts to doing recordings. I have a theory, and that’s one of the things in music that is not particularly affected by COVID-19 is composition.
I think — and I hope — and I’m kind of banking on there being an explosion of extraordinary compositions that are going to be readily available to be performed when we can get back to the business of playing music in some way, shape, or form … music generally, and composition specifically, is a way of telling a story.
People get tired of notes and rhythms, but they never get tired of stories. And we’re going to have lots of stories to tell.
So what I’ve done is … with the board of the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, we commissioned some artists.
We said, ‘You’ve got time on your hands, we’ve got a little bit of money, go write some music, and then we will première it when we can première it.’
With respect to the U of S and teaching specifically, it has been a hard time. I was scheduled to adjudicate at six music festivals … supposed to be a teacher at four music camps this summer, those have all been cancelled
… I think the teaching piece is coming together, and some really cool ideas are coming out of it.
Q You’re going to again become head of the U of S Department of Music this summer. How have your thoughts on teaching and connecting with students changed during this pandemic? A There’s all these different aspects of teaching, and I enjoy pretty much all of them. I enjoy being in a classroom, I enjoy being in front of an ensemble … I do miss all of the human interactive aspects of teaching and working with students. We’re losing something there, and I dearly hope it comes back very soon.
Every fine-arts institution is looking to augment its relevance in a time where they could easily be seen as … falling off of peoples’ radar.
So how do we do that as a music department? As you can see in our newsletter … it’s kind of a celebration of all this cool stuff we’ve been doing in the recent past. It’s unbelievable how busy this department has been.
So that was part of my little strategy as department head, is to make sure the community knows we’re still around and we’re still busy and we’re still doing interesting things.
Q The fine arts, as a whole, are going to look different when this is all said and done. What are your thoughts on the Saskatoon arts scene post COVID-19? A Any time a culture, large or small, is faced with adversity, fascinating art comes out of it … Now, I think (the situation) is going to suck. Fine-arts organizations, at the best of times, tend to live right on the knife’s edge of finances.
I think there are definitely going to be some hard times, but I think art is going to survive and I think music is going to survive. So I think what institutions like our Department of Music need to do is figure out how to adapt and we need to figure out how to maintain that which can be maintained and pursue new things, that if there’s something that we’re doing that’s not working right now, that we do something else that’s relevant and helpful.
Just do our best to help build the cultural capital of our community in a music-specific way that is meaningful and has resonance.
Q What kind of media have you been consuming in isolation?
A I’m listening to music. The standard practice. I’ve been consuming some really great stuff on the internet about music and teaching. I’m a complete Elon Musk fan, so I’ve been enjoying watching all the updates with Spacex and Tesla … a friend of mine, Ben Hett, just wrote a book called The Death of Democracy. He’s a historian, and his area of research is the law in Germany in and around the Second World War … it’s a very relevant book right now. That’s a book I’ve dived into and would recommend.