We chat with Associate Composer Martin van de Ven about family collaborations, learning from Phil Nimmons, and the thing to do when we gather again.

Canadian Music Centre: How have you been adapting to the pandemic? Are you still collaborating, writing, editing, listening, researching? What has been your form of artistic engagement?

Martin van de Ven: It turns out one of my collaborators at Jumblies Theatre had some grant money lined up for a series of events across Canada last summer. We moved everything online and I’ve been engaged in composing and performing online. My son is a composer and a violist and currently living at my house—together we have become well versed in creating pieces that work over Zoom.

CMC: What got you excited about music at a young age?

MvdV: I inherited my enthusiasm for new music from my dad.

CMC: What is an important music concert/event you attended?

MvdV: Misha Mengelberg’s free improvisation session in Amsterdam in the 70s.

CMC: What have you been listening to lately? Does any of this make its way into your music?

MvdV: These days involve listening to a lot of versions of Take the A Train. I’ve been lifting solos by Gerry Mulligan and Eric Dolphy.

CMC: What is a significant insight that a mentor shared with you that has guided your practice?

MvdV: I encountered Phil Nimmons during my Masters at the University of Toronto. I played in the schools’ jazz band and watched Nimmons implicitly support all students at all levels of ability and development. He gave everyone the idea that they too could do this thing we were trying for. I resolved to not only keep learning and studying, but to try and become a teacher and embrace those same qualities that Nimmons exhibited in my work with students.

CMC: What is the most important lesson you would share with your younger self in regards to your music?

MvdV: Sometimes the major scale is what you need.

CMC: What is the first thing you plan to do when we can gather safely again?

MvdV: Jam.

Earmark is an ongoing series profiling new Associate Composers of the CMC. Check back regularly for more instalments.