David Hicken : Official Website

Interview by Stephen Cairns of "Piano Heaven"

S.C. Congratulations, David, on your trilogy of recordings which I am enjoying very much. Faeries, Angels and Goddess- it's very much a trilogy with a common theme. Is this an area which holds some fascination to you? What started your interest?

D.H. A few years ago, I took a break from music to pursue another passion - scuba diving. I became an instructor and went to teach in Thailand and Sri Lanka. It was a marvellous experience for me, and I learned a lot about Buddhism and Hinduism. I visited some amazing temples and I think that the idea for “Goddess” was born there. Last summer, as I began writing this trilogy, I decided to create a theme for each CD and I chose the names of Goddesses that “spoke” to me and then allowed the music to write itself. I was so pleased with “Goddess” that I just kept writing, and “Angels” seemed to be the next logical step as well as “Faeries”.

As well as being very beautiful, your music is consistently relaxing and calming. Even when you are composing music to represent one of the more "lively" Goddesses, for instance, you never stray from your gentle approach. I am wondering if your style of music reflects your own personality? I know you are a teacher- do you find that music such as your own helps your students to de-stress? Does a calm approach to a problem facilitate it being resolved in class and beyond? And I must ask you- with every piece of yours that I have heard being "gentle" and "soothing" do you ever "let-rip" on the piano- i.e. is there another side to David Hicken's piano-playing that perhaps the listener does not get to hear?

I am an easy-going individual and I enjoy a stress-free and simple life which I think is reflected in my music. I meditate daily and I really do live a blissful life. I work at an all-girls school in Honolulu and many of the elementary school teachers play my CDs to their students at the beginning of class. They have all commented on how it calms the students, even after they come in from recess. Many of the older students listen to the CDs while they do their homework and they all comment on how it helps them. One teacher at the school has suffered from insomnia for years, but after listening to “Goddess”, she claims that she has found her cure, as it always puts her to sleep immediately. I certainly do “let-rip” on the piano and the organ, but with classical pieces rather than my own. A couple of weeks ago, I was the soloist with an orchestra and played Bach’s fifth Brandenburg concerto, which is quite a workout with many fast runs. I love playing Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin as well as many composers of organ music whom most people would never have heard of.

I notice that you're originally from my own country of England. Apart from the stunning scenery, glorious weather and beautiful women, what first attracted you to Hawaii? Does your local environment inspire you creatively? Are there any tracks which have originated as a result of some natural source on the Island?

I think you’ve hit on all the points that attracted me to Hawaii. It really is like living in paradise and I feel very fortunate to live here. I was also drawn to the laid-back lifestyle, and the kindness of the local people. There is something called the “Aloha Spirit” which is hard to describe, but it is a beautiful energy that is inherent in all who live here. My studio overlooks a beautiful park with views of the ocean and the mountains. The park was once the site of the most important ancient temple on Oahu and although nothing remains today, it has a wonderful energy that has certainly influenced a number of my compositions - particularly for “Faeries”. The magic of this site can be heard in many of those pieces, as I could imagine Faeries dancing in this area in ancient times.

Let's go back to the beginning. When did you start piano lessons? Did you come from a musical background? Were you formally trained? At what stage did you "break-out" into composing your own music?
I began piano lessons with my mother when I was three years old. She was a piano teacher as well as headmistress at a local school, and she put me in for examinations as soon as I was capable. Her goal was for me to get all of my grade 8 diplomas with distinction and she succeeded, because at the age of 15, I had five with distinction. This carried a lot of weight later on and I was offered many scholarships to major private schools. I attended Stowe School in Buckinghamshire when I was sixteen and I took lessons with Nicholas Danby at the Royal College of Music in London when I was seventeen. I left for America at seventeen to attend Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. My father was a singer with a fine tenor voice, although he never received formal training. My grandparents were also musical - my grandfather played piano and my grandmother had a wonderful voice. They performed regularly in local clubs. When I was eighteen, I purchased my first synthesizer and I started composing right away. Less than a year later, I signed my first record contract.

I notice from your web-site that a portion of your sales go to an organisation entitled "The Sole of Africa", which I gather aims to remove land-mines and helps teach the local population life-skills to become financially independent. How did you get interested in this worthy cause, and what can readers do to help?

I have been very blessed, and every day I realize just how lucky I am to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and to be creating music every day. I felt that I needed to give back in some way and after coming across the website www.soleofafrica.org, I was saddened by what was going on over there as well as relieved to see that something was being done about it. Children are being killed and maimed by land mines every day and yet with advances in technology, it doesn’t cost much to detect these mines and safely dispose of them. I encourage all readers to check out the website and find out more about this wonderful organization that is really making a difference. Many Hollywood stars such as Brad Pitt are making a significant contribution to the organization which also helps a lot. My daughter is able to run around outside in complete safety and I wish the same for other children in the world.

I believe you also play the organ and the clarinet. Your three current releases are all solo-piano. Have you considered using other instruments in your recordings in addition to / instead of the piano, or do you feel that solo-piano works best for you and the listener with your chosen subject matter and aim?

I haven’t played the clarinet in a few years, but I am also an organist and in fact, that is my primary instrument. I have recorded two CDs of organ music, although not my own compositions, but I may write some organ music in the future. I have also recorded two CDs of my own compositions using many instruments, although they were all synthesized. The current trilogy of CDs worked perfectly for solo piano, but much of what I am writing now is very “symphonic” in scope. It is a lot more time-consuming to write such large scores, but it is even more rewarding in the long run. I average about two minutes of music per day when scoring for orchestra versus about six to eight minutes of solo piano music. I am currently working on a Requiem which is dedicated to the memory of my father. It will feature full choir, full orchestra and organ, as well as soloists. It will be performed in the Cathedral in Honolulu next year.

Let's talk about the composing process. Are you someone who tinkers with a melody until you are happy with it, or do you have a more improvisational approach? I notice that your three albums were composed within a very short time-frame. Would it be fair to say you are a prolific composer? Do you compose most days? Are you like Vangelis, and the audience only gets to hear a tiny fraction of what you actually write?

I will constantly revise a melody until it is to my liking. I do improvise at first, but then I will find portions of of the improvisation to work with and very often, the end result is quite different from what I started with. For me, the problem with an improvisational approach is that the composition suffers from lack of form. So much music that I hear is pleasant, but meanders and seems to go nowhere. I think it is difficult for people who mainly improvise to dissect what they’ve done and reconstruct it in a better way. I did write these albums in a very short period of time - about six weeks and I don’t really know how it happened. I was really in the “zone” and the music just kept coming. This is not always the case for me, but yes, I think I am fairly prolific. I keep busy with many other things which prevent me from composing as much as I would like. I work as an accompanist at a school, I have a very busy piano teaching schedule as well as being organist at a church and a director of a children’s choir.

I'm interested in the role of technology in music and how you feel about it. You've moved away from using synthesisers with this trilogy, but do you see software and hardware as a useful tool for composing? How would you respond to purists who would frown at the use of technology in the process of making music? Do you use software such as Sibelius? People say that the Internet is responsible for falling sales and closures of record shops, etc. but do you consider the Internet to be a friend or foe?

I absolutely love technology and I always want the latest and greatest gadgets. Software and hardware are extremely useful tools for composing, but they can’t replace the real thing. A “real” composer should still be able to use only a pencil and paper, but technology can really complement their work. It’s so nice to be able to hear all of the instruments in your composition played back simultaneously, even if the sounds aren’t that authentic. What a luxury that would have been for great composers of the past.

Samples are getting better all the time, but will they ever truly replace an orchestra? I don’t think so, but they certainly have their place. There are many excellent documentaries with great music scores which are all done electronically and many people don’t even realize that it’s not a real orchestra. The only problem that I have with technology is that it is making it so much easier for more people to create inferior music. I have met people who consider themselves to be composers who only put looped samples together in programs such as Garage Band. I use Sibelius for music notation and I used it to produce all of the accompanying songbooks for this trilogy of CDs. I also use Apple’s Logic Pro software and the piano was recorded using that software.
The internet is definitely a friend rather than foe. The major record labels have run the music world for so long and they have influenced what the consumer listens to as well as paying the artist very little for their efforts. The internet allows the consumer to have access to more music from more artists which is all accessible instantly. They are now able to buy directly from the artist who in turn can continue to create better music. It is a win-win for all concerned and although it has affected record shops and sales, it is really just a shift that is taking place and musicians and salespeople will still benefit. Even though illegal downloading of music files is very prevalent, at the end of the day, I don’t believe it hurts the artist or the record company as much as they would have us believe.

Are you enjoying the challenges presented by releasing your music independently? Are you happy with the response (both in terms of sales and reviews) to your albums? I believe you are planning to tour in Asia. There seems to be a real market for your style of music over there- why do you think this is? How have you gone about setting up a tour over there? Any plans to visit your homeland again?
I am enjoying marketing my own music very much. I have had record contracts with three relatively large companies, but I realised that nobody will put as much effort into marketing me as myself. It is a lot of work and VERY time-consuming, but it is all worth it. I am delighted with all of the reviews that I have received and I’m happy to say that I haven’t received a negative one yet. I am pleased with sales also, both from downloads and physical CD sales. My songbooks could be selling a little better, but of course, not everyone plays the piano, and I must admit that some of the pieces are very challenging. They are ideal pieces for advanced students. I’m not sure why this type of music is so popular in Asia, but maybe it’s something to do with the whole “Zen” experience. I have contacts in Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand and I’m looking forward to performing in those countries. I don’t have any immediate plans to visit England, but I would love to take my daughter when she’s a little older. She’s now three and a half. I do miss England very much and oh what I’d give for a good Shepherd’s Pie!

Finally, three mini-questions rolled into one. (a) Who, if any, are your musical influences? (b) In twenty or so years of recording, how do you think you have changed as a composer? (style, approach, etc.) and (c) Aside from the tour, what next for David Hicken?
I have so many musical influences, but top of the list would be Bach followed by Saint-Saens, Durufle and Rachmaninov. I also love the film scores of Hans Zimmer, John Williams and Alan Silvestri. When I first started composing, I really didn’t know what I was doing and just put together snippets of music that I thought sounded good. I have learned a lot over the course of twenty years and although I will never stop learning, I am so much better than I used to be. Simply gathering life experiences makes one a better composer. My approach to composing has improved in that I can now sit at the piano with pencil and paper rather than relying on technology. My style has become gentler and yet deeper. As far as what’s next? I will finish my Requiem as well as several choral pieces which are being published by Hal Leonard. I will then be pursuing film and television work.

Thank you, David for a fascinating interview, and may you have continued success with your wonderful albums. Be sure to check them out at David's site: www.davidhicken.com
Interview by Kathy Parsons - January 2008

David Hicken recently burst onto the solo piano scene with an incredibly beautiful trilogy of CDs of original music. Hicken is an overnight sensation, and it has taken only about twenty years to get there! It is rare that an artist will have two CDs on my list of Favorite CDs for any year, but Hicken’s “Goddess” and “Angels” both made the list for 2007 (“Faeries” hasn’t been released yet, or it would have been on there, too!). I have had the privilege and pleasure of editing the piano songbooks for “Angels” and “Faeries,” and know first-hand what a pleasure it is to play Hicken’s music. He has had a very interesting life thus far, and I think you’ll enjoy getting to know him and his music.

Born in Wellington, England, David Hicken spent most of his childhood in a quaint little village called Tettenhall in central England. Known as “the black country” because coal miners’ faces were always black with soot, the village had a pub, a church that was more than a thousand years old, and a park that was the site of a fierce battle between the Saxons and the Normans. David has an older brother who showed early promise as a guitarist and an older sister who was a talented singer. They both quit music around the age of sixteen when they discovered the local discotheque. Hicken’s mother was the vice-principal of a very large school near the family’s home. She was also a piano teacher and taught many students every evening after school. Hicken’s father was trained as a blacksmith and made part of the gates that surround Buckingham Palace. He was also a very talented carpenter who spent a lot of time working in that trade. He had a fine tenor voice and although he didn’t sing professionally, he was featured in local newspapers as well as on local radio.

KP: How old were you when you started piano lessons, and how long did you take lessons?
Hicken: I had my first piano lesson from my mother at the age of three. I continued with her until I was twelve and then moved on to other teachers until I was in college.

KP: Were you encouraged to improvise or compose by your piano teachers?
Hicken: Not really, but it was mostly due to a lack of time. I was constantly preparing for music theory and piano examinations, and with all of the scales, aural tests, Hanon and Czerny exercises, as well as the pieces that needed to be learned, there was no time. When I was sixteen, I attended a masterclass given by a famous Hungarian organist, and was asked to improvise a five-part tarantella. I looked at him dumbfounded and then realized that I should probably learn to improvise.

KP: How did you go about that?
Hicken: I wasn’t particularly good at improvising when I started (at the age of eighteen). I felt that my classical training had inhibited me because I was afraid of the “unknown” and was only comfortable with printed music in front of me. I improvised small sections of pieces and recorded them as I refined them. Then I’d improvise another section. Sometimes I was unable to perform the finished piece because of the way I had assembled it, so then I had to go back and relearn the whole thing.

KP: Do you play other instruments?
Hicken: Yes, I play the organ, which I have always considered to be my primary instrument, and I played the clarinet for eleven years. I haven’t played the clarinet for a long time, but I feel that I could pick it up again without too much of a problem.

KP: How old were you when you wrote your first song?
Hicken: When I was eighteen, I sequenced a Mendelssohn organ sonata and a Bach trio sonata into a synthesizer. I received favorable comments from all who heard it. I then decided to try my hand at composing, and the first piece that I wrote was called “Raindance.” It was on my first CD and is all electronic.

KP: When did you start playing professionally?
Hicken: I played the organ for a wedding at the age of twelve and started working steadily in churches after that. My first public solo recital was on my sixteenth birthday. I started training choirs and playing the organ regularly from the age of eighteen onwards. That’s also when I started teaching piano lessons.

KP: Were you a music major in college?
Hicken: Yes, I was an organ major, but looking back, I feel that I should have chosen composition instead.

KP: When did you come to the US?
Hicken: I came to the US at the age of seventeen to attend Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. It was one of the most exciting years of my life because it was so different from the life I was used to in England.

KP: Was all of your musical training in classical music?
Hicken: Yes, very much so. I worked with Patrick Moraz for a while (of Yes and Moody Blues fame), and he taught me a lot about rock, jazz, and blues, but I had to figure out a lot by myself regarding anything that was not classical.

KP: How many CDs have you recorded?
Hicken: Seven so far. The first was “The Final Toccata,” which was released by President Records in 1990. The second, “The Shadow of Youth,” was released by Prestige Records in 1993. Both of those CDs were a blend of classical and new age music which was all produced using Korg keyboards and samplers. In 1998, I recorded two CDs of classical organ music for Laserlight Records, “Symphony Gothique” and “A Christmas Pastorale.” My trilogy of piano CDs - “Goddess,” “Angels,” and “Faeries,” was recorded at my studio in Hawaii during the summer of 2007.

KP: Is the music for Goddess/Angels/Faeries the first music you’ve written for solo piano?
Hicken: Yes. Before this, I always composed using synthesizers. I love technology and always wanted the latest and greatest equipment, but this became a hinderance to my creativity. I decided to work with just one sound for a change and found that composing for solo piano was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.

KP: Which came first, the concept for the trilogy or the music?
Hicken: The concept for “Goddess” came first and then the music literally wrote itself. This was new for me because in the past I had a hard time coming up with titles. This time, I came up with the concept and the names and then wrote the music to match. It was surprisingly very easy to do. I researched a specific goddess/angel/faerie and then wrote the music that came to me. Even though the music for warrior goddesses such as Ishtar and Pele is very mellow and relaxing rather than fast and furious, I decided to keep it that way because I wanted to focus on the positive. I’m sure that Ishtar’s fury was only one part of her being and she must have had a softer side, which is reflected in the piece.

KP: How long did you work on the music for the trilogy?
Hicken: “Goddess” and “Faeries” were composed and recorded during a period of only two months. “Angels” was composed earlier and took about eight months to complete.

KP: How did you find the artist who did your cover artwork? It’s amazing stuff!
Hicken: My mother had a book by Doreen Virtue, who writes about angels. The cover of her book featured artwork by Howard David Johnson that I thought was exquisite. Upon visiting his website, I just knew that I had to use his artwork, which is now on all three of my CDs. I may use his work again in the future.

KP: What’s next?
Hicken: I’m currently working on another piano CD entitled “Lovers,” which features pieces named after history’s great lovers such as Tristan and Isolde, Pelleas and Mellisande, etc. Needless to say, it’s a very romantic album. I’m also developing ideas for a piano concerto and a requiem.

KP: What made you stop teaching piano to teach scuba diving?
Hicken: When I moved to California, I became highly sought after as a piano teacher and had more than sixty students per week. These were all one-hour lessons AND I travelled to their homes. This made for very long days, seven days per week, and I completely burned out. I needed a break and decided to pursue scuba diving, which was my other passion at the time.

KP: Where did you teach scuba?
Hicken: I taught in Malibu, CA for a couple of years and then moved to Thailand where I taught scuba and English, and later moved to Sri Lanka to teach scuba.

KP: When did you start performing as an organist?
Hicken: I have worked as an organist on and off since I was twelve. I have played for hundreds of weddings and funerals as well as for services of many different denominations. I was Director of Music at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, where Elizabeth Taylor was married once and where Frank Sinatra’s funeral was held. I still play every week at an Episcopal church in Hawaii, and I’m fortunate to be playing on one of the finest organs in the state.

KP: Have you composed much music for organ?
Hicken: I have never composed anything for the organ. I have thought about it several times and I did start one piece, but later felt that it would work better for piano.

KP: Do you have regular playing gigs?
Hicken: I play regularly at a beautiful Japanese temple in Hawaii. It is a replica of a 950-year-old temple in Uji, Japan. I have had a number of requests for regular performances, but it’s hard to find the time to do them. I am doing a series of concerts at universities and churches which I enjoy very much.

KP: What is a typical week like for you?
Hicken: I am the accompanist and chapel organist at a private girls school in Honolulu. I accompany five choirs, which perform a variety of musical styles. When school is over, I teach six piano students each day. By the time I get home, it’s been a twelve-hour day, but I try to get in some practicing and composing. I live on the North Shore of Oahu, and it’s a thirty-mile commute to work, but traffic on this island is really bad and it can sometimes take as long as an hour and a half. My Saturdays are usually free, but I play at a church on Sunday mornings and after that I direct a children’s choir followed by performances at the temple.

KP: How many piano students do you have?
Hicken: Until recently I had sixty-three students per week, but now I’m down to thirty-five which is a lot more manageable and leaves time to compose and perform more often.

KP: Do you encourage your own students to compose and/or improvise?
Hicken: Very much so. Because I missed out on that in my own lessons, I think it’s very important to encourage students to explore their creativity. It makes them such better musicians in the end. Although many students are uncomfortable at first, I will give them a rhythm and get them to improvise a four or eight bar melody using that rhythm. Very often, they are really surprised at what they come up with.

KP: Who or what are your biggest musical influences?
Hicken: Definitely Bach. As Pablo Casals once said, “Bach is the God of music.” I’m also particularly fond of Saint-Saens, Durufle, and Rachmaninov. I enjoy film music, especially by Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and James Horner (whose daughters were once my piano students). As far as pianists, my all time favorite is Vladimir Ashkenazy.

KP: What inspired you to start composing your own music?
Hicken: Nothing in particular. I just thought I should give it a try and then I found that I really enjoyed it. I find that it’s far more rewarding to create a piece of music than to work for hours trying to perfect a sonata written by somebody else.

KP: Have you done any composing for films or TV?
Hicken: I wrote a couple of scores for student film projects years ago, as I was told that my music was perfectly suited for film. However, I didn’t pursue it because I realized that I didn’t particularly care for scoring. I’d much rather write what I want and if someone wants to use it for film or TV, that would be fabulous.

KP: What has been your most exciting musical moment or experience so far?
Hicken: One of the most memorable experiences was when I played for organist Nicholas Kynaston, who was my idol at the time. I had listened to his recordings for years, and to get to play for him was a real thrill. The most exciting time was when I played an organ concerto by Alexander Guilmant with the Westchester Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles.

KP: Are there any specific pieces that you feel say the most about who you are as a person? Any favorites, if they aren’t the same pieces?
Hicken: One of my favorite pieces is “Lakshmi,” which is the first track of “Goddess.”   Its melody is simple yet beautiful, and I feel that the piece is well-balanced in its construction. I like a life of balance and simplicity. I work so many hours that I’m still working on the balance, yet I do live a happy and stress-free life and I think it comes through in that piece. I also really like “Sarasvati” from “Goddess” and “Celeste” from “Angels” for similar reasons.

KP: Is there a particular philosophy that you try to convey in your music?
Hicken: Yes. I feel that, just like a good story, a piece of music should have a good beginning, middle, and end. A clear melody should stand out throughout, and although it’s not always easy to come up with a memorable melody, one should be there. Form is very important, as are dynamics. I hear a lot of pieces that start beautifully, and just as I’m waiting for something to happen, they don’t seem to go anywhere. I try to avoid this in my music as I can’t stand music that meanders. Much of the music that I hear is obviously improvised and it’s hard to create good structure off the top of your head. I feel that improvisation is a good start to get initial ideas, but then the ideas need to be carefully developed; this is a step that is so often overlooked.

KP: Who are your favorite performers?
Hicken: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lang Lang, Kevin Kern, Michael Dulin.

KP: What do you like to do in your free time, or do you have any?
Hicken: I don’t get too much free time, but when I do, I love to spend it with my wife and three-year-old daughter. The beach is only two minutes down the road and I love to walk there. I enjoy kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, scuba diving, and anything to do with the outdoors. I love watching good movies, too!

KP: Do you have any hobbies?
Hicken: Music is my hobby as well as my profession. When not composing and performing, I read books about music history, composers, musical instruments, as well as the music business. I love technology and enjoy exploring new computer programs such as Sibelius and Logic Studio.

KP: What are your favorite colors?
Hicken: Purple and royal blue

KP: If you could have any three wishes, what would they be?
Hicken: To go back in time and meet J.S. Bach; health and prosperity for my whole family (I think that’s two wishes right there); and an end to the senseless violence that is so prevalent in our world today. Perhaps if more people listened regularly to beautiful music, the problems of the world would be far fewer.

KP: Do you have any words of advice for young people who are studying music now?
Hicken: I would suggest that anyone studying music should “live, breathe, and eat music.” It is such as vast subject and there is so much to learn that it is a terrific adventure. If you’re learning a piece by Beethoven, find out all you can about him.   What were the pianos like in his day? What did people do in their spare time then? All of this is important for any music student as is as a thorough study of music theory. Above all, keep at it and never, never give up. No matter how challenging a piece might be and how reluctant we may be to practice, we must keep at it - the rewards will be tremendous. Bach once said, “anyone can do what I can do if only they are willing to work as hard.”

KP: What’s up next for you?
Hicken: I’m looking forward to touring throughout the U.S. and Asia to promote my new trilogy of CDs and continuing to create new music.