10 Questions with Brigid Coleridge
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the world’s most livable city! Which is Melbourne, Australia (in case you didn’t know).
What made you realize that music was your path?
I’m not sure I’ve ever realized this! I’ve always loved doing a lot of different things, and any “musical career” has been the result of happy accident, kind encouragement, and a curiosity to learn more. But I feel very grateful to be here, with all this music that sustains and challenges me, exploring and making things with my wonderful colleagues. It really is a privilege.
How would you describe the music that you typically create/perform?
Sometimes we play music from countries and times far removed from our own; sometimes we play music written down yesterday by friends around the corner. But it’s always music that speaks to us, that challenges us and asks us to think imaginatively. And we hope that, in turn, it speaks to the people who come to listen and share it with us!
Impossible Burger, beyond burger, regular burger, or turkey burger?
This is controversial to admit in the US, but no burger. I’m Australian, so I’m putting in a good word for the sausage roll.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
This changes (and keeps growing!) all the time. Of course there are memorable, generous teachers, great mentors; friends all around the world who are constantly making interesting, imaginative work; my trio colleagues, who push me to think differently every day; even my wonderful Irish dancing teacher, who taught me age 10 how broad and spacious a bar of a reel could be, and how my feet could make music!
What ‘s your favorite part of your new album INK?
I love the combination of music and words, the ways that they talk to each other. I loved researching for this album, and thinking about the ways all these musicians and writers were responding to the world around them.
Has there been one particular moment in your musical career that you're most proud of?
There are lots of memorable concerts of course, in beautiful halls with generous audiences. But I think that what I’m proud of most are the moments when I’ve gone well outside my comfort zone and tried out an idea that I’m not sure will work, when I’ve risked a lot. Quite a lot of our collaborative trio projects feel something like that. I also did a duo project a few years ago, which involved acting and playing and singing, and putting together a script. I still remember the feeling of walking a tight rope for 90 minutes, the sheer terror and exhilaration of it. I have no idea what the audience thought, but I’ve never felt more alive.
What made you want to record this album/ Where did you get the idea for this album?
When we recorded this album a year ago, we were looking for ways to have purpose, to be hopeful. We didn’t want music to just be escapism - we needed the human stories hidden in the sounds, we wanted to listen to a world that might have something to say about how to live through change. The music and poetry on this disc was made in and around 1914 in Paris - the year the First World War started, a war that would signal the end of the careers, even the lives of many of the artists on this disc. In these sounds and ideas, you can hear people responding to uncertainty, hardship and loss, often with imagination, humor and a keen joy for life. So the album became in part a search for inspiration, for something to hold onto. But the combination of music and words, the sense of experimentation, also felt very intuitive and reflective of our group’s rehearsal processes and the kinds of collaborative projects that we stage.
What’s the next thing for you & Merz?
A return to live concerts! I can’t wait to be in a room with other people again, sharing music. Aside from a full calendar of recitals, we also have video and live performance collaborations planned with two wonderful young directors, featuring music from the album.
If you could have dinner with any 3 musicians living or dead who would the be ( why? )
Last year I wrote a doctoral thesis on Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, and I finished with more questions than I began - so as cliched as it sounds, I’d want to have him there! Although at that point of his life, he was profoundly deaf and quite cross (fair enough), so I’m not sure he’d be happy about it… Secondly, in a nod to our album, I’d love to chat with Mel Bonis. Not only is her music ridiculously good, but her personal life was pure drama - I imagine she’d have a lot to say about being a woman making music, and would be more than a match for Beethoven. And then, last of all, I’d love to sit down for a pint with Tommy Potts. He was a fiddler from Dublin who really played with ideas of tradition and was so inventive and imaginative in his music-making. There are some great recordings of his, as well as clips online of him talking about his musical approach. He seems so kind and thoughtful, a beautiful dinner companion.