Ursula Kwong-Brown - Part 1

For Good Measure

For Good Measure, by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT)
Episode 122: Ursula Kwong-Brown - Part 1
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In this week’s episode, we talk to Ursula Kwong-Brown about her path to becoming a composer and how doing research in neuroscience as well as being a sound designer and arts technologist have added to her compositional life. If you enjoyed today’s conversation and want to know more about Ursula Kwong-Brown, check her out here: https://www.ursulakwongbrown.com/. This episode was originally recorded in February 2024.

This podcast is made possible in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and generous donors, like you. Want to support For Good Measure and E4TT? Make a tax-deductible donation or sign up for our newsletter, and subscribe to the podcast!
Intro music: “Trifolium” by Gabriela Ortiz, performed by E4TT (Ilana Blumberg, violin; Abigail Monroe, cello; Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Below the Surface: Music by Women Composers,” January 29, 2022
Outro music: “Lake Turkana” by Marcus Norris, performed by E4TT (Margaret Halbig, piano), as part of “Alchemy,” October 15, 2021
Transcription courtesy of Otter.ai.
Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1903729/15652872
Producer, Host, and E4TT co-founder: Nanette McGuinness
Co-producer and Audio Engineer: Stephanie M. Neumann
Podcast Cover Art: Brennan Stokes
Interns: Renata Volchinskaya, Sam Mason, Hannah Chen, Addy Geenen

If you're curious to hear a little music from our guest Carla Lucero, who we spoke to in our most recent episode, check out E4TT's annual concert of music by women and non-binary composers "Midnight Serenades" on January 25.

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1. Ursula Kwong-Brown - Part 1 (00:00:00)

2. In this week's episode, we're joined by Ursula Kwong-Brown, who we spoke to in February 2024. (00:00:37)

3. So, you're a pianist and a composer. You've got an undergraduate degree from Columbia, and a Doctorate from UC Berkeley. Can you talk about your path to becoming a composer? (00:00:54)

4. And I remember your... what's your degree at Columbia, though? It was an interesting... (00:01:47)

5. Was that what made the penny drop as it were, that you saw what the salaries were? What led you to realize that this was an actual career? (00:02:25)

6. And, a musician would have been the one to notice, as you say. Have they figured out why? Why the different intervals and why they're triggered to the different genetic lines? (00:04:33)

7. You're also a sound designer and an arts technologist. And this is a really terrific combination with being a composer. Can... (00:05:46)