Interview with David Hicken, February 2014

I first heard David Hicken's music in 2007-08 when

he released three solo piano CDs called Goddess,
Angels, and Faeries. I loved the music (still do!) and
helped out with proofing two of the three
companion songbooks. Then I stopped hearing
from him and often wondered what happened, so I
was thrilled when David contacted me late last fall
with a request to review his new solo piano
Christmas CD, Carols of Christmas, and to proof
the songbook. Since then, David has released a
"best of" collection called Serenity, which also has
a companion sheet music book. A busy piano
teacher who founded his own music school in
downtown Honolulu, David Hicken is now taking
his original, music in some new directions with
more orchestration, a bigger sound than his earlier
music, and music videos to accompany the music.
We talked about all of this and more in this
interview, so enjoy!

KP: Hey David! It's

very cold and dreary over here right now, so I'm a little
afraid to ask how things are near Honolulu? 11.10i I II. 1114_ I. F.

DH: Well, it's a little dreary over here right now too, but this
doesn't happen too often, and in a couple of days it will be
back to sunshine and blue skies. I think the weather in
Hawaii is perfect and it's one of the many reasons that I
Love living here.

KP: We did an interview back in 2008 when you had

released three CDs in quick succession and followed them Click the album covers to read
up with piano songbooks. Then you disappeared (from my Kathy's reviews. For Michael's review
of Faeries, click here.
radar anyway) until you released your wonderful. Carols of
Christmas CD late last year and blew me (and a lot of other
people) away with your arrangement of The Bell Carol"
("Carol of the Bells"). Did you take five years away from
music in that period of time or were you working on other
projects?

DH: During that time I was Director of Music and organist

at an Episcopal church, as well as choir director at a
private girls school. in Honolulu. I conducted performances
of*aldys Gloria Bach's Magnificat and Pergolesi's Stabat
PIWilewell as many others, and along with a full load of
piar4csitudents it didn't leave any time for composing. I am
no longer directing, so I have much more time for writing
new music.

KP: I should have guessed that you weren't sitting around

watching soaps and eating bon-bons for five years! You
founded The David Hicken School of Music fairly recently.
Where is that located and how is that different from being
an independent piano teacher?

DH: My music school is located in Downtown Honolulu

across the street from the Royal Palace. At one point, I
used to teach seven days per week, but now it's down to
just a couple of days, as I have other teachers who work
for me. We hold classes in music theory, music history,
composition, ear training etc. and prepare our students
for Royal Schools of Music examinations. We conduct
private lessons also.

KP: Do you just teach piano there or are other instruments

included?

DH: I teach organ as well as piano, although there's less

interest in the organ these days. I also teach voice and
composition and help people with software such as
Sibelius, Logic and GarageBand.

KP: I understand your daughter is quite the up-and-

coming pianist. What kinds of music does she enjoy
playing, and where do you see her going with her music?

DH: Anna is now nine years old and is quite comfortable

playing Bach 2 3 & part inventions as well as works by
Mozart and Beethoven. She started when she was just 3,
and now she is used to practicing her scales daily as well
as working on her music theory. She really loves music
and she plays violin and sings too. She says she wants to
become a musician, and I don't think she'll have any problem finding a successful career
in this field.

KP: Didn't she play a jazz piece for her most

recent recital?

DH: Yes, she played "Dizzy Fingers" by Zez

Confrey for our Christmas recital. I was
impressed that she played it all from
 memory, as it has a LOT of notes,

KP: That's a workout for a scsoncd pianist,

Let alone a 9-year-old!

Goddess, Angels, and Faeries were the three

albums you released in 2007 and 2008 and
they are still among my very favorite albums.
Did you come up with those themes with
your young daughter in mind? If not, what
gave you the idea for those titles?

DH: I found
some inspiration
by reading Grimm's Fairy Tales to Anna at bedtime. I would
also tell her a little about the Roman Gods and Goddesses,
so it all came together really.

KP: Those weren't your first albums, though. You were

primarily an organist and actually played for the Queen when
you were in your later teens. Tell us about that experience.

DH: Yes, the organ was always my primary instrument and

my first love, although it did inspire me to delve into the
world of synthesizers. I performed for the Queen at St.
George's Chapel, Windsor Castle when I was 18. I performed
a program of Bach, Widor, Vierne and Durufle, and although
it was a little nerve wracking, it was a tremendous success.

My first CD was released by President Records when I was

19, but it was actually a new age recording. It was followed
by another with Prestige Records when I was 21, and then
Later, two organ CDs with Laserlight.

KP: I reviewed the very powerful Symphony Gothique quite

recently and loved listening to it full blast in my car driving
between Central. Oregon and the SF Bay Area. How old were
you when you recorded that album?

DH: I was 26 when I released Symphony Gothique.

KP: Have you composed music for organ as well as piano?

DH: As much as I love the organ, I have never written any

DAVID IICKEN
music for it. I've certainly improvised a lot during church MIIIADVSY 421,

services, but never felt compelled to write anything for the

instrument.
KR--,Y,ou're an amazing organist! Do you plan to do any more organ recordiRg?

DITIAltkough I will be incorporating the organ in future recordings of my own works,

have no plans to make another organ CD per se.

KP: Some of the carols on your Christmas album have a

very big sound that is very different from your earlier solo
piano recordings. I have to say again that The Bell Carol"
is a mind-blower that I absolutely love. You have sent me
some samples of new work that you are doing and that
big, glorious sound continues. Do you have any idea of
how and why your style is evolving in a different
direction?

DH: I prefer a bigger sound, which could be due to my

background as an organist. I love the big Toccatas and
Fantasias, and Widor's Symphonies for organ are some
of my favorite pieces of music. My previous piano CDs
W MEW
began as improvisations and all came to me very quickly.
I never actually set out to write solo piano music, but it
5 EitifAlitttu
just happened. Now I'm composing more deliberately,
1114: kW Ui ;loom] 111L'IgIEN
1.0 and I enjoy layering the sounds together.

KP: Are you going to continue with solo piano or do you

plan to add more instrumentation and orchestration to
your music?

DH: I'm not entirely sure yet. My primary focus is to add

orchestration, but on occasion I'll come up with
something that I really like and feel would work best for
solo piano. I will probably do another solo piano CD, but
as a side project. My current works are a little more
symphonic in scope (although not in the classical sense).

KP: Your "Bell Carol" video was quite an undertaking and you weren't at all sure the
weather would cooperate with the video shoot. Tell us about it.

DH: We're very fortunate to have beautiful.

weather in Hawaii all year. We do get some
rain during the winter months, but nothing
much to complain about. However, on the
day before the shoot, the heavens opened.
We had forked lightening (very rare here),
torrential rains and VERY strong winds. A lot
of planning had gone into shooting the video
and I assumed it would be a no-go, but
amazingly, the following morning we found
that the skies had cleared a lot in the very
ar eanted to shoot. We could see Artist/Album Search
o`r,616'!",6louds in the distance, but it
relAinescl clear for a few hours and we were
able to film successfully. It was very windy
however, and at one point, I thought it might
blow the piano lid over to one side. It was
6.1

tough keeping the cameras steady, but we

made it work.

KP: Since I
did so
much
raving
about The Bell Carol," several people asked me about
the storyline of the video. I wasn't sure, so I'll ask you
about it. For anyone who hasn't seen David's "Bell
Carol" video, it is still on his website, and on YouTube.

DH: The idea was to have the story be a dream. A

young lady discovers an old music manuscript and
plays a few notes on the piano. She then enters a
dream where she witnesses a performance of this
piece. Later, she finds herself in the woods where she
falls asleep in her dream. It was a challenge to fit all of
our ideas into just a few minutes. We also had time
constraints and had to film in just one day.

KP: Thanks for that. You recently released a "best of"

album called Serenitythat draws from your first three
solo piano albums. How is it doing?

DH: Serenity is very popular - particularly in spas. Many massage therapists enjoy playing
it for their clients. I chose "fan favorites" from Goddess, Angels and Faeries, and people
tell me that they like to have them all together on one CD.

KP: It's a great album! Do you plan to do

much concert touring this year? We have a
tentative date for the second half of April
here in Florence, and I'm REALLY looking
forward to it!

DH: Yes, there will be concerts this year, and

I'm very excited to get out and perform. I'm
still firming up my schedule, and will put it on
my website when it's ready.
KR-Are you still teaching a lot as well as composing?

DH: Just a couple of days a week now,'but thcy arc vcry full
days of teaching. I now give myself more time for composing,
and feel that I have a better balance in my life.

KP: What's up next for you?

DH: We'll be making another video over the next couple of

months which I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to
sharing my new material, with my fans.

KP: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

DH: I see myself continuing to be content by writing new

music and sharing it with the world. I'm looking forward to
doing more traveling, too.

KP: Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?

DH: I'm working on some new music that is orchestrated, but still features the piano. It
will also incorporate some Hawaiian elements such as chanting and polynesian drums.
I'm excited to create the new video for this piece.

KP: Something to really look forward to! Thanks for chatting, David!

For more information about David Hicken and his music, be sure to visit his website as
well as his Artist Page here on MainlyPiano.com.

Kathy Parsons
February 2014