Matthew Bengtson is a concert pianist, professor, and composer. He is an associate professor of music at the University of Michigan, and he is working on recording a second album with Sierra.
John McLaughlin Williams is a Grammy Award winning composer and a concert violinist, pianist, and chamber musician.
What was your musical background growing up?
Bengtson: My parents were church organists. My dad did that for many, many years. My mother’s parents were very musical but not professional. Their table conversations were nothing but music.
Williams: My parents weren’t professional musicians, but they studied music seriously. There was always music of all kinds in the house. Particularly classical but also popular music like Moetown and the progressive jazz of the day. They were pretty well cultured around music and literature too. I didn’t begin to play until years later in the public school system.
What is your musical inspiration?
Bengtson: I also had a lot of recordings that I listened to growing up, we both have in common that we like to explore music.
Williams: I think initially for everyone, the inspiration is the instrument itself — there’s something about the instrument itself that fascinates us. That’s kind of the portal that leads us into a portal of the music. Sometimes it’s the opposite, you hear a piece of music and you think “oh I want to play that” and you end up being attracted to that instrument as a way of realizing that piece of music. There was something very fascinating about the violin that kept me interested and the music was the bonus on top.
What work/accomplishment are you most proud of?
Bengtson: It’s hard to rank them, but playing at the Scriabin festival, it’s certainly an experience I had that others hadn’t. Among other things, it’s probably the highest altitude performance that I’ve given. We both do a lot of different things.
Williams: It’s tough to say. Winning a grammy’s kind of a big deal, to get nominated a few times after that is great too. There were a few performances over the year where I played, maybe getting close to how I thought I could. The real contest is with yourself, it’s like a height one never completely reaches.
How is Hillsdale so far?
Bengtson: John has been consistently praising the music program for as long as we’ve been collaborating. You cannot by any means take it for granted that a strong academic school has a good music program.
Williams: Before I came to Hillsdale two years ago, I didn’t know they had a music program here. I was very surprised and pleased to find out that the music program is so strong here with James Holleman who is directing the orchestras. The level of playing here was surprisingly good, I had no idea there was so much going on in Hillsdale as far as music goes. It’s a famous school for academics, but music is not something it’s known for. I have to say, it’s got to be one of the best kept secrets.