CC Interview with Gary Gackstatter

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am an artist, composer, conductor and teacher here in St Louis. I was born in Oklahoma, taught for many years in Kansas and moved here 3 years ago to be head of the music department.

What music department are you the head of?

St Louis Community College at Meramec where I conduct the Orchestra and the Symphonic Band, which was just chosen to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Conference last January. We played several premiere pieces, including my arrangement of music written for the film "To Kill A Mockingbird."

Tell me about a defining moment in your artistic career.

Writing a symphony based on the childrens' books of MB Goffstein really changed the way I think of concerts and how music and art and literature are really fingers of the same hand. When used together, it's a powerful thing. I'm still exploring new ways of combining the arts in performance.

How did the symphony project come about? Why was MB Goffstein chosen?

Quite by accident, actually, which is usually the best way. I bought my first book by Goffstein years ago; it was "An Artist". The opening line of the book is "An Artist is like God, but small." Her writing and illustrations are so minimal but so poetic and powerful; I started collecting her books. I had already written my first symphony which was based on the book "Jacob the Baker" by Noah benShea, another book I bought back in the '80s that was a source of inspiration. While I was writing "Jacob", it came to me that I should do a symphony based on children's books. As I went back to my Goffstein collection, melodies started to appear to me. The final product had her books projected page by page onto screens on either side of the stage while I narrated and conducted. I ended up doing 12 of her books in that manner.

I also have written a symphony accompanying the silent cartoons of Max Fliescher and another based on the artwork of Mark Flickinger. And in March we'll premiere my symphony based on the masked characters of Rob Faust, called "Face: The Music".

Can you tell me about more about your pen & ink drawings? Which images are your favorite and why?

My favorite images are of things that draw me. There are spirits in those old trees or those old bridges that whisper to me and make me pay attention. I have to have that connection or I won't be able to sustain the concentration it takes to finish. I think of working in pen and ink as paying tribute, drawing portraits of these things; I am trying to honor them and represent them in a way that lets them 'speak'. Often they are scenes or objects that nobody notices or just walks by, but when I walk by them, I hear them say, 'Stop here. Wait. I have something to say to you." That's where it all starts.

Why draw in pen & ink?

It's the old way of doing things, ancient, really. It takes about 2 hours per square inch, so it's very intense. I draw with pen and ink because it can do things nothing else can, if you take the time. In a world where everything is faster, faster, pen and ink forces you to slow down, pay attention and give yourself entirely to the process. It's a form of meditation.

Tell me about artistic experiences you have had on your travels.

I often travel to hear groups perform my works, but there's one trip I made with my symphony that stands out: I put together a show featuring the music written for the film "To Kill A Mockingbird" that also featured the stars from the film (Scout and Jem) talking between the songs about the film and what it means to them. We took that show to a town in Oklahoma where the book had been banned from the high school. The day after the performance, they reinstated the book. The effect of combining the arts won the day.

Tell us more.

For Elmer Bernstein's 75th birthday, he re-recorded the film score for "To Kill A Mockingbird." I bought that cd because I think "Mockingbird" is a near-perfect film and the music is some of the best ever written. As I was listening, I got to thinking that it needed narration. By weeks of research, I was able to get in contact with Mary Badham, who played "Scout". Eventually, the show grew to include 9 songs from the film combined with "Scout", "Jem" (Phillip Alford) and the late Brock Peters ("Tom Robinson"). We did the show in several different venues in Kansas and Oklahoma, and one in Santa Barbara CA. We were planning a much larger project for PBS when Gregory Peck died.

I had heard the book had been banned from the schools in Muskogee OK, so I contacted the library there and together, we put the show on in the Muskogee High School auditorium!!! What a thrill. WIthout a doubt, this is the most powerful concert I have ever been a part of. It hits people on so many levels. It's so honest, being seen through the eyes of a child. To this day, "Mockingbird" stands out in my life as a successful combination of art, theatre, music, film and audience- what a show!

Click here to visit Gary's profile and view more of his art work.

Tags: CC Interview, Gary Gackstatter, MB Goffstein, St. Louis, To Kill a Mockingbird

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