Interview with the legendary poet and composer, Regina Harris Baiocchi

1. You're both a poet and composer--how do these two creative identities inform each other in your process?

Yes, I am a composer and poet. At times these “creative identities" inform each other in the sense that I often write poetry to jumpstart a musical composition and vice versa. That is the case with my orchestral piece, Muse for Orchestra. It began as a poem titled Message to my Muse. FYI: I attached the poem. That begins, “Send me a message through the rains/ That will glide on the birds’ wings/ Let in touch me in my heart/ Where the angel in me sings.” I set the poem to music, creating an art song. Then I orchestrated the art song for woodwinds: 3222, brass: 43311, timpani, percussion: 4, and strings.

2. Many of your works blend vocal, jazz, and classical traditions. How do you navigate those intersections artistically? 

Yes, my music often blends vocal, jazz, and classical elements. I don’t feel the need to “navigate these intersections” per se. Often I begin composing by sketching a gesture, concept, or colors. Sometimes the music comes to me from downbeat to cutoff, at once. Other times I have written the introduction after the composition is complete.

I let the gesture, concept, and/or colors “marinate” on the page, in my ear, until I decide what I want to do, or where the music wants to take me. This process can take minutes, hours, or days. 

The idea of blending elements can be conscious or subconscious with me. I avoid overanalyzing my writing and just enjoy the ride. Because I studied jazz, gospel, and classical music, listeners may hear jazz, gospel, or classical idioms. Re: voice training, since I sang in choirs most of my life, listeners are bound to hear vocal elements in my writing.

3. Which composers or musicians have influenced you the most, and how do you engage with their legacies? 

Many composers and musicians have influenced me. My mentor, Dr. Hale Smith had a profound impact on my life. I rarely take a musical step without hearing Hale’s voice. Hale was a master composer who wrote what he called “formal” and “informal” music at the highest level. Hale possessed encyclopedic knowledge of music, the arts, and life. There are very few topics in music that Hale Smith had not mastered: theory, counterpoint, analysis, performance techniques, etc. You name it, Hale knew it intimately. Prof. William Butler Fielder was a master trumpet player who performed classical and jazz at the highest levels. Like Hale, Prof’s knowledge of jazz theory and performance techniques, and classical music literature were seemingly boundless.

Ms. Betty Carter is the vocalist who influences me the most. The breadth of Betty’s harmonic and melodic knowledge was incredible. Her acrobatic scatting is phenomenal. Like Hale and Prof, Betty was the musician’s musician on so many levels. Yet none of them were fussy. All three were straight ahead, standup musicians who were down to earth, despite their stellar chops. To answer your question, I engage with the legacies of Hale Smith, William Fielder, Betty Carter, and other master musicians in that I listen to them as often as I can because they help me to hear my musical Voice and that path my Voice wants to take.