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Podcast transcription: Joy and Terror in the Art of Annie Poon
Glen Nelson: Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Mormon Arts Center's Studio Podcast. I'm your host Glen Nelson in New York. In our second episode, we present an interview with visual artist, Annie Poon whose award-winning, stop-motion animation films have been exhibited in museums and film festivals across the country. Today. We'll discuss Poon's work, her respect for outsider artists, how her mental health issues affect her artwork, and her daily creative exploration of LDS scriptures and their translation into her singular imagery.
Podcast transcription: Jamie Erekson/James W. McConkie
Glen Nelson: Hello everybody and welcome to the first podcast of the Mormon Arts Center. I'm your host Glen Nelson in New York. In today's episode, we'll be telling the story of one of the great what-ifs of Mormon Arts: the life and music of composer James Wilson McConkie. Sitting in the studio with me--and by studio I mean my studio apartment--is Jamie Erekson, grandson of McConkie, who is currently bringing to life the music of this forgotten LDS composer. McConkie is almost completely unknown now, but in the 1950s, he was poised for a major career in American classical music. He earned a PhD in Composition at Columbia University in 1950 and then went to Paris to study with the legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger. Then tragedy struck at the age of 32.
Podcast transcription: Scott Holden
Glen Nelson: Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Mormon Art Center's Studio Podcast. Two nights ago, Scott Holden stepped onto the stage at Carnegie Hall's beautiful, new jewel box Zankel Hall for a recital that would have sounded preposterous even a few years ago, a survey of classical music by Mormon composers performed in the most important music building in America. It's weird, Scott, now that I hear myself saying that out loud, it seemed almost too grand, but describing it any other way, shortchanges the historical moment it represented for me and the tremendous efforts behind it. So today Scott and I are sitting down together to listen to excerpts from a baker's dozen of LDS composers represented on the program, A Century of Mormon Music, and to describe what it was like to discover and champion these composers' works. Welcome.
Hopi and Hope
I had the great privilege of interviewing composer/scholar/advocate Trevor Reed this week for a podcast. It was an amazing experience. I've known about his work for a while. Two years ago, I wrote an article for an online magazine (SquareTwo) that I titled, "Mormon Masterworks of the 21st Century." In it, I described ten Mormon composers' works. One of them was Reed's "Puhutawi."
Tears and Fears
I didn't anticipate that doing a podcast would be such an emotional thing. But when you're talking to people who really open up about their lives--and that includes bad times as well as good times--you can't help walking around in their shoes for a while.
Into the "Studio"
I grew up with fiction, with movies and picture books and a fascination with the sharing of what life is like for other people. True stories, untold stories, wild and crazy stories: all of them interest me. So when I was asked about the possibility of starting a podcast series ...