Klau'HaQ

This work is © 2000 by Claudia Pelletier. You may not distribute it without the explicit written permission of the author. It will remain the personal property of the composer and are NOT in the public domain.

My Wild Irish Rose - (midi file, 18.40KB)
My Wild Irish Rose, November 1999
It's the first piece that I wrote without any assistance from my studio partner (we usually work in pairs).

The instruments present are :
violin (melody), accordion, kick drum (bass drum), piano and tambourine.

I dedicated this piece to my mother because she's the one who always encouraged me to do what I feel like doing.

This song is an Irish-American folk song, so it's not a classical Irish tune from Ireland.

  

Interview with Klau
By Nwaado
N: Please tell me a bit about yourself. *s*
Klau: I currently live in the outskirts of Montreal, Canada on an Island called Laval. I have been all over Canada because my parents were in the military. And I'm currently studying Psychology *winks at Zilette* at St-Jérôme College.
N: When did you first get in contact with music?
Klau: When I was in 1st grade, I learned how to play the recorder (don't we all?) and later I started learning the piano at age 8.
N: Right *l*, I still have my old recorder somewhere. So when you started to play, did you feel right away that you had a talent for music?
Klau: No. I totally hated music back then. I was one of the worst in the class *L* But the first time I put my hands on a clarinet, it was love at first sight.
N: So you quit playing the piano, and picked up the clarinet instead?
Klau: Well I didn't exactly quit playing it, I just stopped taking lessons. I can still play but I prefer the clarinet.
N: Have you played any other instruments other than piano and clarinet?
Klau: Well I'm currently learning how to play African drums. It may sound weird but it's fun and easy to play and it helps me find new beats to write in my compositions. And above that, it's a stress reliever! I just play whatever comes to mind.
N: Wow, that sounds interesting, how did you get in contact with African drums?
Klau: I have friends who play. And they've been showing me how to play and I finally bought my own drum last summer.
N: What kind(s) of music do you like to listen too?
Klau: I listen to alternative, Jazz, Classical, motion picture themes and pop.
N: That's pretty broad, any favorite musicians/groups?
Klau: Aerosmith, No Doubt, London symphony, Benny Goodman (Jazz) and Offspring
N: Do you write a lot of music yourself?
Klau: Well I write less music than I did last year because I'm in college now. I sometimes write jazz themes for my instrument (clarinet).
Before college, I wrote some Irish folk music, movie themes ( I even tried a shot at the ST: Voyager theme song) and some percussion songs.
N: Wow, sounds like you've been doing a little of everything. Do you look at yourself more as a composer rather than a performer, or maybe both?
Klau: I'm more of a performer cause it's more fun and a little less complicated to do.
N: For how long have you studied music?
Klau: For about 6 years in high school (intensive studying, not just in instrument but in literature, theory and composition). It's a special program that we had in high school roughly translated from French was called "Concentration Music". It allowed me to have a schedule of high school classes mixed with music classes (sort of like a 50/50 thing).
And added to that, I learned how to play the piano (at age 8) and I had music lessons in grammar school like everybody else.
N: What are your plans for the future?, any dreams?
Klau: Plans for the future??? *thinks* Well after I graduate from University I plan on heading back in the west (in Vancouver) where I plan on working as a counselor or a psychologist. And I definitely plan to continue playing music, it's an essential aspect of my life.

And like I told Robert (my director) after the last concert when he asked me: "Will you keep on playing?" I said: "How could I stop playing? There's so much to learn in music and quitting is out of the question Bob! I don't think that Mozart, Handel or Tchaikovski knew everything about music, it takes more than a lifetime to learn something so complex and yet so beautiful."
He didn't reply, he just smiled at me with the satisfaction that he taught me a lesson in life, to never quit what you love.

And as for my dreams... well I've always dreamed to meet Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) because her role as Janeway was really a muse for me in letting out my imagination and to not be afraid to let out my emotions in every piece of music I play. I used to be a very reserved person before I started watching ST: Voyager.

And another dream I have is to someday play one of my duos, that I have composed, with my past mentor, Christopher Hall. He told me that he wanted to play one of my compositions with me, but we never had the chance to do so before he left for Germany with his family. You can say it's sort of like a missed opportunity.

*is all mixed in her emotions*
N: *s* I'm glad you'll keep playing. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Klau: Yup just 2 things. I encourage everyone to learn music, it's fun great and in certainly made me discover things I never even knew I could do.

And sadly, the school district that financially invested in the Concentration Music program will terminate funding the project somewhere in the next year or so. My fellow music colleagues (who went through the whole program), teachers and I too will send letters to the district asking them to keep the program alive.

Music HAS to be taught!!!