"Mining means for me to belong to the extraordinary musical social system"; Gabriela Jiménez

On the occasion of his participation in Minería's tour of the United States (October 19 to 30), where he will perform the soloist part in the Voltage Concert by Ortiz, Gabriela Jiménez offers us this exclusive interview to talk, among other things, about the fascination she feels for rhythm, her triumphant passage at the Manhattan School of Music and the spiritual intimacy she has developed with her instrument, which "I consider an extension of me, and simultaneously I consider myself an extension of it".

 

Maestra Gabriela, what does Mining mean in your life? She has been a member of the orchestra since 1991. That is to say, you have worked with all its artistic directors: Jorge Velazco, Herrera de la Fuente, Carlos Spierer and Carlos Miguel Prieto. How has this development been (both yours as an artist and that of the orchestra as an ensemble)?

Being part of Minería means more than I could explain in a few lines, because, as you rightly say, I have been part of our beloved orchestra for 32 years, and it has allowed me to grow, build, learn, innovate, develop my capabilities and potentials as a creator of my own sound and style, from the knowledge, aptitudes, attitudes, innate and learned skills, as well as the enormous enjoyment that comes with playing in an orchestra where all individuals have their own voice, starting with the composer and the conductor of the orchestra, who gives his own idea of each work performed.

So the result is a colossal sum of efforts, wills, virtues, talents, and above all, unparalleled experiences. Each time is a unique, unrepeatable, unlimited, and infinite universe of possibilities, always highly enjoyable. The fact of having worked with different teachers has implied and continues to imply the greatest challenge (individual and collective) of the musical work, because in this collective (orchestra, administration, direction, logistics, catering, security, etc.) we need to have total responsibility and professional flexibility to unify criteria every moment, moment to moment. This is how we work in the orchestra, and each part is necessary, in total responsible freedom. I could say in one word my experience in the mining industry, with each director:

• Velazco: elegance
• Herrera: magnificence
• Spierer: taste
• Prieto: innovation

And in a sentence, belonging to La Minería means for me to belong to the extraordinary musical social system, which is constantly updating itself, listening to different audiences.

 

Could you share with us your experience studying and interpreting the Suite voltaje What is the role of percussions in this work? During your study process, did you interact with the composer?

My experience with the great composer GABY ORTÍZ with the Voltage Concerto dates back to 2011 approximately, when we commented that there was no timpani concerto written by a Mexican composer until then (there were EU-Vic Firth, Guatemala - Sarmientos, and some European...), so we decided to propose that she would compose a concerto where I, as timpanist of the OSM, would premiere it. We brought it up to the orchestra's directors, it finally paid off and we premiered it in 2013. I must say that we are both academics at the Faculty of Music of the UNAM (formerly ENM), and in our possible moments of work, she would visit my classroom, and simply ask me to improvise on the timpani. So Gabriela Ortiz would write down the ideas I played in real time. We also discussed how many timbales to use (if there are too many you might not be able to play anywhere), that you could also sing that is: to build melodies, and we decided that 5 timpani would be fine. We made the same decision for the accessories (bowls and almglocken octave), to enrich the texture of the sound, and contrast in the second movement.

Once we had a release date for the concert, we got to work together for the world premiere in 2013. It is approximately 27 minutes long.

It was very exciting to work with her closely; I would show her what she could do with a pair of drumsticks: speed and virtuosity, power and projection, melodic and harmonic links, tempo, rhythm and meter changes, diverse textures and colors, as well as the idiomatic language of timbales. He wrote everything down, quickly. I also answered some questions. And once I received his music, I was studying it. The date was approaching, I had to study and solve seemingly untouchable passages. A major challenge, but definitely very rewarding when we did the two concerts in program 3 of the 2013 season. Total jubilation, exciting to infinity.

I have played it on several occasions since then, but it has definitely been a great success when Maestro CMP asked me to make a reduced version (no more than 15 minutes), to combine it with the works of the USA 2023 Tour, which means an extraordinary opportunity for this concert to be heard in several US cities and by more people, and more occasions, thus emerging the Voltage SuiteThe result is the Voltage Suite, without moving the timpani from their place, taking full advantage of the soloistic qualities of the instrument within the orchestra itself, allowing a great balance and fluidity.

Definitely innovative.

As for the specific function of the percussions in Voltaje, their very first function is rhythmic, an extraordinary quality, being sounds produced with total articulation and clarity, with an almost infinite range of different sounds, creating endless color palettes, always depending on who makes each instrument sound. This rhythmic function is primarily gestural as it is concert music, where everything academic is enriched by the experiential. In short, the science and the art of knowing how to make the essential rhythm of life and existence itself are concatenated. Then the sonorous richness of the instruments allows us to exploit and explore new ways of being and making music. The sum of efforts and wills, potentiates the capacities of the individual and the system, which enriches each and every one of those involved.

 

Some of the great classics of Mexican music, such as Sensemayá o Indian SymphonyDid this influence your decision to study percussion?

In short, rhythm is intrinsic in every human being, in every living being, in our entire planet and the entire universe. Rhythm is part of our existence from the first moment to the last. Everything is cycles, which translates into rhythms. In other words, life itself benefits us with the power of rhythm, at all times and at all moments. It is, so to speak, that which emits the being, and its own need to say here I amand more deeply, I am. I could cite countless examples, but the ones I consider most important are breathing and heartbeat, which are our vital functions, and by which we know that we are alive, which by the way, the blood flow is the first thing we hear when we are in the womb ... already there we perceive the rhythm and we make it our own. It is given to us!

This is closely followed by cultural values and benefits, especially those related to music, as you rightly point out. "Sensemayá" is one of my favorite works, both because of the 7/8 time signature and other irregular time signatures, which allow for an accent that is also irregular, yet at the same time “normal,” by combining the regular with the irregular. In other words, the meter and rhythm of this sublime work by Revueltas complement each other perfectly, highlighting one of the most important Mexican symbols: the serpent (sensemayá la culebra), and thus Revueltas creates an exquisite, fluid, and precise work in a style and language that are entirely his own and completely original.  

On the other hand, Chávez with his Indian Symphonyallows us to enter into what it could have been like to be in ancient times, during a Mayan rite, with such different pre-Hispanic scenarios, including the musical instruments of the Mayans. The snail, which represents the unified communities at its call, allows us to simultaneously feel the ancestral cultural manifestations of Mexico and its surroundings. We are very fortunate to have such an ancestral musical presence.

Incidentally, when we donated pre-Hispanic instruments to the Glinka Museum in Moscow, after a concert with diplomatic protocol, with Ambassador Norma Pensado, we had to explain that they were replicas and not originals, which are in museums in Mexico and the world. There is enormous respect for our culture all over the world, totally invaluable.

To finish the question, my decision to study percussions was mainly due to the fact that in a PERCUSSIONS concert (I was studying piano at the CNM, and had played flute in the Band), I could see the magnitude and scope of such an INSTRUMENT confirmed by many instruments at the same time, which also produced very varied sounds, all impressive and different from each other, with a range of dynamics (sound force) totally new to me. I could see the potential in the percussions and me in them.

Many years later, I have been able to realize that I didn't really choose the percussions, but that they chose me.

The same with each of the instrumentalists of each orchestra, it is a phenomenon worthy of study.

 

Over the years you have become one of the most popular performers with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería. Your performances often provoke individualized applause and enthusiastic fans who seek you out to talk to you after the concert. What is it like to receive such a direct response from the public regarding your art? How important is it for you to receive such expressions of appreciation?

I consider that music goes far beyond a language per se. per se, in which each person can communicate their emotions, feelings, ideas, knowledge and tastes, but also, being mainly vibrations, we can tune in as a unit, something that transcends the material body itself, and we can perceive the vibrating energy of each one of us.

That is to say, when we allow ourselves to enter into resonance not only with the music (art), but also with the sounds created and their combination with the silences, it allows us to generate the perfect communication of the music, where the actively attentive audience is part of the creation of the musical moment. If we add to this the importance of the enclosure where the music is created, where the acoustics form a fundamental part of the result, an infinite range of correspondence and human contact is produced, in unequivocal communication of being.

My constant search not only for mastery of the instrument, but mainly for personal mastery (mental, emotional and physical techniques), has allowed me to achieve a particular style of execution and interpretation with my musical instrument, which by the way, I consider it an extension of me, and simultaneously I consider myself an extension of it, or I can also explain it as my tool to create is not only the instrument, but primarily my body is my first tool to create music ... in other words, we are one.

And once I have achieved this communication with myself, I am ready to generate communication with everyone present.

The first to thank them for creating with me the music of the composers of all times are the conductor and the musicians, followed immediately by all those who make our task possible (technicians, administrators, managers, stewards, security, support), as well as all the indirect ones (acoustic engineers -the Nezahualcóyotl Concert Hall is especially extraordinary-, builders of musical instruments, music editors and producers, etc), and finally the audience, to whom all the individual and collective effort is directed. We are all part of the great creation called music.

That is why I deposit my heart in every moment and instant, without filters, so that it reaches everyone who opens his heart, also without filters. Every movement I make is part of the creation, construction and result in that communication... Curiously, many people see dance in my performance, but I never think of dance (I couldn't play if I did), I only concentrate on time, pulse, rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, text, context, texture, color; that is, musical creation in all its splendor.

I call it assertive communication. It is an act of constant and continuous gratitude from my perspective and experience. It all begins in that wonderful active and expectant silence, prior to the first sound generated by the orchestra and the audience. That moment is one of the most exquisite that can exist, it is peace and harmony, and at the same time the knowledge that something is about to happen, which is precisely what only live music (in person) generates in all those present.

The moment in which the work ends, and we receive the applause of the generous audience, becomes the impressive moment of receiving back everything that we musicians have built (initiated by the composer, whether he is alive or not), with all the emotional charge that it confers. It is a wonderful moment in which all the experiences lived by those present are summarized, the experiences of each person in his life (that is, there is no way to take away what has been lived, everything adds up), making the moment eternity. This is how I live it.

And definitely, it extends to the exit of the venue, when the audience waits for the artists who are about to leave. It is totally exciting to be able to see the physiognomy of the applause, it is indescribable the emotion that causes that someone stops to shake our hand, take a picture, ask for an autograph, know the name of the listener, feel how the emotion of the music persists, listen to their comments and messages, everything is totally invaluable for the musician, and its continuous construction and creation.

The effort turns into enormous satisfaction, highly gratifying, having achieved assertive communication. assertive communication with music.

That's why...

It has surely helped that I have practiced and studied classical and contemporary dance, jazz (dance), Olympic gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming, Tai Chi, zazen meditation,

Simultaneously, I was also part of the CET 92 Band (we marched in the November 20th parade), of the ISSSTE Wind Band, of the Cuauhtémoc Delegation, I have been a drummer with Flüght, as well as part of the World Orchestra for Peace, in Moscow and St. Petersburg). That is to say, the range of action is very rich in forms and styles, each one enriches my doing and creating, my perspective is wider.

 

Over the years she has become a highly specialized percussionist, as evidenced by her Fulbright scholarship and time at the Manhattan School of Music or her awards from the George Schick y Mozart Medal. From your experience, what is the role of a musician in the modern world, and do you consider that art, specifically classical music, should have a social purpose?

Actually, the percussionist specializes not only in percussions, but especially in some or some of the instruments, and therefore styles, areas or fields of action.

In my case I specialized in marimba (as a soloist) and symphonic timpani (as an orchestral musician), which I loved (literally) from the beginning. For a percussionist it is extremely difficult to keep all the playing techniques of all the instruments at their best, but in the end, the mere fact of having the drum in your hands, allows you to keep all the techniques in shape.

At the same time I must say that the different disciplines of music: music theory, history, analysis, counterpoint, fugue, choir, ensembles, etc., are indispensable for the continuous development of the musician, as well as languages, humanities and science. Everything shapes us.

In order to obtain the grant, I made use of all possible tools for creation and construction, always with maximum effort, in the shortest time possible, attending to all facets. The Fulbright process takes a year, it requires constancy, honesty, responsibility and total commitment.

Thanks to the Fulbright scholarship I was given an additional scholarship to study English, which I took full advantage of (maximum effort). I also entered the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) solo competition, my only chance to win to play solo with one of the two MSM orchestras, and without knowing I achieved the incredible: in 100 years of Manhattan School of Music's existence, a percussionist won one of the first two and only two spots to play solo (master's degrees are 2 years). I won with Robert Kurka's Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra. Since then, it seems percussionists at MSM continue to win one of the top 2 spots every year.

I explain all this because, in my experience, everything starts from hard personal work to achieve the highest possible level, thanks to the maximum possible effort, always, with total freedom, responsibility and creativity.

Thanks to that effort and an iron will (that is, no matter that others say it can't be done or it is impossible to achieve), trusting in that effort and will, and breaking through with total freedom, commitment and strength, not even listening to the voice of can it be done? Just do it, always looking for the individual and collective good and welfare, with total affection and honesty.

These are precisely the social values that allow every artist to shape his art during his creative and creative existence.

It is required to be done from the heart so that it reaches the heart. There are no intermediaries or intermediaries, it is a direct message from the being (musician) to the being (listener).

 

What works have been written specifically for you?

I am very fortunate not only to have premiered in Mexico and around the world several plays, an always extraordinary experience, where there is no reference other than oneself (total construction).

However, when the work is dedicated to oneself, to me, it becomes an infinite possibility of expression, with total freedom of being and doing, allowing me even more to be part of the composer's creation.

Millions of proposals come from within, to solve each passage, each note, each movement.

This is the case of three works, which I performed world premieres:

• Peachsolo for marimba by Mayer Kupferman
• Pistachefor multi-percussion by Mayer Kupferman
• Voltage concertfor timpani and symphony orchestra by Gabriela Ortíz.

 

What are your future plans?

To keep creating, building, learning, both as a soloist and as part of the orchestra, as well as a teacher. To continue sharing the wonderful music of all times, always. Although I could retire from ISSSTE, but never from music and music teaching.

 

What is your life like when you are not working in music?

I live in the forest, surrounded by nature. I attribute my peace and tranquility to the constant contact with nature, I manage to feel part of the whole easily, almost immediately. This allows me to enjoy every moment, place, circumstance and environment in general to the fullest. And because this forest is in the mountains, I can see the sunrise exactly when the sun rises each day. Those rays are extraordinarily beneficial to me. I manage to perceive and receive the warmth, light and energy of the sun, for which I am infinitely, unlimitedly and eternally grateful.

I also perceive the fresh scent of the trees, as well as the mountain air. It is an indescribable benefit, always enriching. The simplest thing is the most important and valuable, in my perspective.

And all this array of goodness is there to be received. It is only necessary to be attentive. In addition to this, and thanks to being able to understand it, it also allows me to understand that everything happens for the good and growth of myself, and therefore, of humanity.

I am more than happy and grateful for the goodness of our home called Planet Earth.

I love being with my family, and also my doggy family (there are 10 of them), great company and protection.

I walk in the woods, read, watch Korean series (they're great), and talk with my daughter as much as I can.

I rest as much as I can, to regain energy.