For the Love of Music

It might seem contradictory for an ensemble renowned for creating historically accurate performances of ancient music to feature a new work in practically every concert, but that is part of the Rose Ensemble’s eclectic vision. “Our principal focus is early music,” says Sramek, “but when we commission new music, we work almost exclusively with Minnesota composers who are familiar with our work.”

Hill remains engaged in her ongoing relationship with the ensemble. “The first time I heard them, I knew they were going to take off and I was right,” she says. “It’s wonderful to watch them grow. I am so proud of Jordan.”

For all her creativity, Hill is also a savvy businesswoman. She started her own publishing company, Hummingbird Press, to handle requests for her music and works hard to secure commissions by attending conventions and introducing herself to people all over the country. At a recent Chamber Music America convention, for example, she set up her table next to the table of a violinmaker. By the end of the convention, he wanted to commission a piece for a string quartet from her. (They’re currently negotiating a contract.) “Being nice is the only way to do things,” says Hill. “It’s important to be gracious. [This business] is hard enough without tantrums.”

But she’s also a tough negotiator. “I have to be. It’s how I pay my mortgage,” she says. “I let people know I work hard for my money. But when you’re a really nice person, people tend to give you what you want. I feel guilty about that sometimes. But after I do a piece and know how hard I worked on it, I don’t feel guilty anymore.”

For all her confidence and years of experience, Hill is still prone to acute bouts of insecurity and goes so far as to keep her old orchestration textbook, filled with practical notes for composers, on her worktable as a resource. “When I get overwhelmed, I begin to feel like a hack, like I don’t deserve the success I’m having,” she says. “But I’ve been doing this professionally for almost twenty years! When am I going to get over the idea that the last success was a fluke?”

Hill has no such anxieties about Canticle. “I am lucky that I get to work on things so close to my heart,” says Hill, who, when she finds a spider in the house, relocates it to the backyard instead of squashing it.

Before she started composing Canticle, she says, “My brother-in-law, who is Italian, read the text to me, and I began to hear the music. I got caught up in the worlds of the words and spun with them.”