By Lily Leventhal
First-year music major Mia Paul thrives in the chaos of sound; it’s where she finds herself most fulfilled. Music constantly pours out of her dorm room, ranging from contemporary rap to classical composers.
Paul, who grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, has played cello in every academic setting, and has also performed in prestigious ensembles such as the CSU Northridge Youth Philharmonic and the Idyllwild Intensive.
As a woman of color composer in predominantly Western classical music culture, she looks to reinvent the way people view classical music through education and awareness. Paul spoke about her experiences in a recent interview.
Where did you first become passionate about music?
I’ve been playing cello for 11 years, so I’ve definitely grown up with music surrounding me. My parents were both professional classical musicians so my everyday drive to school was practically a music theory and history class!
I grew into my passion for cello through my love of performance. It’s a magical experience being able to perform with others; it’s such a different level of communication. You're able to portray such strong emotions without saying a word. And the audience reaction only drives that love.
In high school, I would perform at retirement homes on the weekends. It was incredibly touching being able to see the effect music had on the audience. I would speak to them often after performances, as they would tearfully tell me about how the song reminded them of a lost loved one. Music speaks to people’s souls; so many memories are deeply tied to songs.
How has your identity as a woman of color affected your perspective on music and your compositions?
The biggest difference in perspective I’ve found as a woman of color compared to my peers is the recognition of how different ethnicities and cultures bond and create a shared experience through music. Growing up in Los Angeles, music constantly surrounds you. You can walk down the street and hear Hispanic, Persian, and Ethiopian music carry through the air. It’s hard to be oblivious to the ways that ethnic groups carry parts of their homeland into American life through traditional or contemporary cultural songs.
Cellist and first-year UC Santa Barbara Music major Mia Paul practices daily for the Chamber Ensemble. Photograph by Qiele Guo.
Why is it important to you to have diversity in your performance repertoire?
The audience of classical music is constantly evolving and changing. Classical music composed by people of color often brings a different perspective or feeling to what we’re currently used to in the Western repertoire, with icons like Beethoven or Mozart. The music often brings clarity and confidence to a diverse audience, like UCSB’s student population. Different composers can draw great connection from the audience to the piece, as they can relate to it on an emotional level.
There were an incredible number of composers alive during the Classical era, and it is easy to find Classical or Romantic composers of color with touching and heartfelt pieces. It’s heartbreaking to see pieces composed by talented musicians relegated to special events, like Black or Asian American History Month. It also implies their music is outside of the canon of classical music.
Cello has been a life-long passion for UC Santa Barbara music student Mia Paul, who started her music career at age 12. Photograph by Jennifer Kloetzel.
What is the usual representation of POC composers in a typical ensemble?
In the professional orchestra world, representation is a hot-button issue. Throughout the recent diversity and inclusion movements, many philharmonics are gradually progressing in diversity of composers. The Los Angeles Philharmonic, for example, recently had a season with music composed by 22 women and 27 composers of color.
How has UC Santa Barbara made strides in POC representation in its orchestra and ensemble programs?
There has definitely been a lot of recent push from ensemble members for more diverse representation in the music choices. Traditionally, our orchestra has had a strong emphasis on the Classical era with Beethoven and Haydn. However, our new repertoire has some amazing representation, with pieces by African American and Hungarian composers that bring a heartfelt new perspective to the performance, while also challenging our abilities as an ensemble. I’m particularly excited for the piece by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, as he was a favorite of my family growing up.
Lily Leventhal is a third-year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Communication. She conducted this interview for her Writing Program course Digital Journalism.