Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathleen Supové. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kathleen, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I grew up studying classical piano. When I made it to The Juilliard School for graduate school, I struggled to find a place in the “large pond” of amazingly talented players. A few had bright futures as performers, many would teach and “see what happens”. As an undergrad at Pomona College (an entirely different civilization in Southern California), I had discovered modern music, not just Bach and Beethoven, but a world of the NEW, started by a Viennese ex-pat named Arnold Schoenberg (whose piano piece, Suite Op. 25, I had flipped for). I discovered there was classical music being created by people who were still alive! I also discovered I identified very strongly with this music and had “a knack” for it. By the time I finished schooling, I realized I could go on being the 300th person to play a certain Beethoven sonata, just following the traditional norms, OR I could create my own tradition by playing pieces and working with composers on something brand new. I became and continue to be a beacon for people making new concert music and creating new concert traditions. In the last few years, I have also begun composing and creating works to be performed by other adventurous spirits. I don’t really know if I would call this an ability, but it was looking at myself with clarity and seeing what I could give to the music community and to music history. It took some courage to break away from the usual path and feel that one’s credentials could be established without a traditional portfolio! I also had huge support by being in the composer community, remaining their friend, supporter, even cheerleader! In 2012, I received the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) John Cage Award “for the artistry and passion with which she performs, commissions, records and champions the music of our time.”
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve continued to produce and perform the newest, most cutting-edge music in concert under the moniker of The Exploding PIano. Through the years, it has evolved from presenting new music, to adding theatrical elements, to wearing more contemporary clothing, often on a theme such as female superheroes, and adding spoken interludes and props. In recent years, the themes have become more worldly and not just musical. For example, how can music address issues of migration, suffering, climate preciousness, etc. I’m continuing to evolve these explorations. Another way I’ve expanded in recent years and leading up to last month (May 2024) is that I’ve branched out more into jazz and world music languages via collaboration, for example with renowned Techno music pioneer Jeff Mills, with whom I appeared at Brooklyn Academy of Music. For the newest of my events, you can visit my website, www.supove.com, or go to my Instagram page, @kathyexploding, and look at my linktree in bio.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
First is knowing yourself, what really interests you, that is the most important quality. It sometimes allows you to go on a path that no one has taken before. Which leads to the second….
Second is persistence. You may need to hang on to your path, even if others around you aren’t. And the hardest challenges come from observing others who may seem close to you in their endeavors. But only YOU can do what you are drawn to do, and NOTICE what you are drawn to, even if you don’t expect it.
Third, keeping current. It’s easy to rest on laurels, just knowing what you learned in your “formative years”. Mostly I try (and it’s challenging, with so little time) to know about the newest composers coming to the scene and the newest trends in music creation. This feeds me directly!! It’s also important to know what is feeding you and what you can ignore!
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I’m not happy unless I keep improving, and we shouldn’t be, should we?
Since I’ve started composing (initially about 4 years ago, but now much more actively), it has been a different kind of will and confidence to develop! I’ve come to accept that I compose in a way that is different from many composer colleagues, such as my husband Randall Woolf and others (Randall never interferes with my composing, only encourages)! I notate in a combination of image, landmark riffs, and actual written out music. It’s my own idiosyncratic hybrid of improvised and notated! And often there is an object signifying something about the piece and interacting with the piano. I’ve had to tell myself that it’s what I want to do, not a phase I’m going through. (Examples are my new pieces “Glacier” and “Nautical Twilight”.
Another area I’ve taken a leap in is that of collaboration and high-level improvisation. This May, I did an entirely improvised concert with Techno legend Jeff Mills, along with flutist Rasheeda Ali and drummer Sundiata. Sundiata, Rasheeda, and I had never met until the day of the concert! I knew Jeff, but had never performed with him. It was a super challenge that I thought about for many months, but until the concert was happening, I could only calculate. But in the moment of the concert, I felt like I grew an extra brain and extra limbs! It was a life-changing experience, even at this late date!
Finally, I expanded the concept of The Exploding PIano in the past year with the “Nomadic Keyboard” project. I take a keyboard to the streets (on a conveyance cart), playing while I’m walking (with the help of 2 assistants pushing). I improvise as I go, inviting people to join in, either at the keyboard—which I share with them, or with their voice, or an instrument. I try to visit highly public places with foot traffic, and my preference is underserved areas of town. I did this in Portland, Oregon last summer (2023), and I plan to do it on Governors Island in NYC in July 2024.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.supove.com for general info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathyexploding/ go to linktree on that page for up-to-date concert info
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supove also explodingpiano page for some pro info
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kathleen+supove also search “kathyexploding” or “kathyexplodingtoo” on youtube
Image Credits
First image, the basic one with me on the big screen:
Ana Raquel
Additional images from left to right:
Headshot: Aleksandr Karjaka
Me with electric red hair: Hiroyuki Ito (it is a Getty Image)
Atau Tanaka (me, as Mrs. Incredible)
drawing by Rossa Crean (influenced by, but not using A.I.)
Please feel free to use whichever images you want, in whatever way you want!
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.