Meet Elizabeth Kennedy Bayer | Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Kennedy Bayer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth Kennedy, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ll be upfront, I do have a day job. But I did pursue two degrees in the arts, I run an arts organization, and I compose. I may not earn a majority of my income from the arts, but I am a composer and an organizer. When I started a little over a decade ago, composition gave me an emotional vocabulary. It severed me well for many, many years. Then I found I could connect with others over the creative process and eventually that led me to start Oh My Ears, where we as artists could connect to the community. I continue composing for the same reason – connection. Even if a piece does not tell a story, I was able to connect with a performer, and they then could make a new connection with an audience. Its really cool to think about the arts through that lense.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Like I said before, I do have a day job. But I do make money from composing, writing articles, guest positions for music organizations, teaching, and the occasional grant. I think my greatest skill set as a composer – I often define this as someone who communicates about music to a performer to my students – is to create scores that are easy to rehearse if its an ensemble, easy to read if I’m doing something nontraditional, and honestly, I usually get the result I’m looking for pretty fast. I used to worry that it means my music wasn’t complicated or academic enough, but most of my planning and thought process isn’t about the sounds – I already know what I want going in. It’s very much how I want to communicate what I want to the performers. I don’t think all compositions should be “results-based” like this. my original motivations were realizing that if you are lucky enough to have an ensemble take up your piece, most likely their rehearsal time is going to be VERY slim. You may not speak the same language as the ensemble. So how are you going to tell them what to do? It’s an interesting challenge and it’s something that has shaped me and how I write.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh! What an unfair question in the middle of a pandemic! Regardless, I’d take them to the art museum, because I honestly do like it. Really, I’d just take them around to what I consider are Phoenix staples – Palabras Bookstore, Songbird Coffee and Tea House, maybe I’d book a personal tour with Marshall Shore. There is an alley in my neighborhood (Coronado) that has a path of rugs and all manner of art tacked to the alley walls. It must stretch a third of a mile. It’s truly a rabbit hole that I’d love to show someone. We’d probably go to Lost Leaf and see what FilmBar and Alwun House are up to.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I didn’t know people were actively composing for ensembles and orchestras and still writing operas until year two or three in my undergraduate degree. And people weren’t just still writing, they were making otherworldly sounds, and expanding the very definition of music and the interactions between music, humans, and technology. I immediately signed up for a “composition for non-majors” course and very honestly, I haven’t regretted that decision once. There are times where I wish maybe I got a data science degree along the way, but I never regret that I signed up for that course in 2006 or 7 and joined the composition studio of Scott McAllister soon after. The studio that he curated at my undergrad was a wonderful, “gate’s open” community. It was the same with my vocal teacher, Robert Best (who was also into new music, surprise, surprise). That beginning has absolutely shaped my vision for an accepting arts community.

Website: http://elizabethkennedybayer.com/

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-uLEXFTLm0&t=3s

Image Credits
Bethany Brown Creative for my headshot