On April 16th, Dubuque’s Michael Gilbertson taught a class at San Francisco Conservatory, joined a colleague for a lunch meeting, then saw a warm but puzzling text message. It said "Congratulations!" He wondered "For what?" The texts and calls kept coming, and the reason became clear. The Pulitzer committee had awarded its annual prize for "a distinguished [musical composition] by an American," and Michael was one of the three finalists. He'd had no idea he was under consideration. Nobody did, to be sure, except the Pulitzer panel. It listens to 180 semifinalists but keeps mum about who they are. That discretion makes life easier for the panelists and also for the musicians being considered, since the Pulitzer is a far bigger deal than the Grammys in classical music and jazz. Previous Pulitzer winners include Aaron Copland, Ornette Coleman, Jennifer Higdon, and Wynton Marsalis, and previous finalists include John Adams, William Bolcom, and Steve Reich.
Major media started calling Michael, something they rarely do for a finalist, but their questions were mostly not about him but about the winner. That's because he was Kendrick Lamar, the first hip-hop artist to receive the music Pulitzer. Michael was able to speak thoughtfully about Lamar's work, and would do so many times in the coming weeks.
I asked Michael about all this yesterday when he brought his colleagues from ChamberFest Dubuque to Cedar Falls for their annual IPR live set. In the short clip above, you can hear Michael talk about the Pulitzer, the Quartet it honored, Kendrick Lamar, the creative process and how Michael's craft was enriched by his Iowa musical education. You can also hear the Iowa premiere of his work Low Hanging Fruit, performed by his remarkable colleagues from ChamberFest Dubuque - cellist Bridget Pasker (also from Dubuque), pianist David Fung, violinist Hanah Stuart, and clarinetist Zach Mani.
If you’re anywhere near Dubuque, make sure to attend the final concert Thursday night at 7:00 at Clarke University in Dubuque, and their public workshop at 5:30 tonight (Wednesday) at Clarke. It’s not only a chance to hear extraordinary musicians, it also supports an excellent cause. Michael founded ChamberFest Dubuque in 2009 to raise funds for his alma mater, Northeast Iowa School of Music, which had been hurt by the great recession of 2007-8. Michael, then a student at Juilliard, asked some of his classmates to come home with him to give a benefit concert, and it became an annual fundraising event. Since 2014, he’s also brought these colleagues to IPR for preview sets (some links are below).
It’s been a pleasure to see these musicians growing both in artistic stature and professional recognition, while returning to Iowa every year to “pay it forward.” We'll have more clips coming soon!
