We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Lowry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, why did you pursue a creative career?
Well I think it’s impossible to answer that question without first mentioning the role my parents played in introducing me to music. Both my parents were trumpet players who both encouraged me to start playing trumpet at a young age. When I insisted that I start on guitar instead they were both very supportive and saw that I pursue it to the fullest. For them they saw music as an extension of my education. Having that sort of support made pursuing music almost easy (almost). Growing up music served as a foundational part of my identity. All my friends I met through school music programs. When we wanted to hang out we either would listen to new albums, watch the latest released music videos, go to concerts or even have jam sessions. Music was ever present. However it wasn’t really until I began writing my first songs at around the age of 12 or 13 that things began to click. I found an avenue to really begin expressing myself as a person. My joys, my aspirations, all of my frustrations, I began pouring all of it into my most basal and primitive verses. From there I never really stopped and thanks to the support of my parents and my teachers I was able to start carving out a path to pursue both and academic and professional career devoted to the craft.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Well I suppose a major element of music is tied to my background as a rock and metal guitarist. Growing up I was a huge metal head trying emulate the sounds of guitarists like Mark Tremonti, Kirk Hammett, and Tosin Abasi. The orchestra was one of the last things on my mind growing up. All that changed when I was around 16 years old when my high school band director introduced me to Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It was an epiphanic moment. It was unlike any other piece of music I had ever heard before. It was wild, it was dramatic, it was cacophonous. It was heavier and more aggressive than any Metallica or Slayer Riff I could play on guitar. At that moment it hit me, nothing was more metal than the orchestra and I had to play it. That was the genesis of my orchestral pursuits but I soon ran into a huge obstacle. I was an amateur rock guitarist attempting find his way around the orchestra. I was suddenly attempting to compose long form songs for ensembles nearly 10 times the size of the bands I had been writing for prior. I had spent over a decade training and practicing music and suddenly it was like I was starting all over. Starting out was difficult but I did have some idea of the direction I wanted to take my music. A number of guitarist pror to me had successfully made the transition from rock guitarist/musician to successful film composer. However my main issue with the path that many of them had taken is that they had never really evolved as composers. They still sounded like guitarists writing rock songs, they just replaced the Marshall half-stacks for absurdly large cell and brass sections. That just wasn’t the kind of music I wanted to write. I wanted to try and participate in this larger tradition of orchestral music historically written for the concert hall. I really wanted to write music that felt as home in a concert hall as it did in a cinematheque. But I didn’t just want to write music that sounded at home in a music in a music appreciation course but actually try emulate some ethos of my heroes Stravinsky, Penderecki, Ligeti and try and push the art forward. So that sort of became my biggest challenge while at university, trying to learn how to write idiomatically for classically trained musicians, but also try and introduce new and more progressive ideas as well. All the while I was simultaneously trying to avoid emulating any of the rock and metal music I grew up with in my compositions. It hasn’t always been a seamless transition. I remember one recording session with an orchestra I caught several confused (and some annoyed) stares from the string section when I asked them to scrub their bows across their strings. The delicate, yet harmonious effect I had envisioned in my head never materialized and instead I the recording I was left with was unusable. thankfully every session, successful or failed served as a lesson that helped me grow as a composer and get close to the sound I originally set out to find. As I’ve grown as a composer I’ve slowly learned to become more accepting of my musical roots and less sectarian so to say in my writing. I’ve slowly learned how to incorporate elements of my musical past in my music without straying too far the concert tradition that I’m ever looking to emulate as well. Finding a balance between the two is still difficult for me but I find the internal conflict has produced some beautiful results.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Growing up in LA I learned quickly that one has to have a little knowledge of the area in order to get the most out of a trip and avoid getting dogged in tourist traps. My go to spot for whenever friends and family come to visit is the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd street mall. Its the archetypal California experience, whether you want to explore the pier, dip your toes into the sandy beaches, or enjoy a nice meal and drink Santa Monica has a bit of it all. Another option for someone that wants to stay near the beach is to do lunch at the Malibu Beach Inn. You can enjoy a delicious lunch and drinks and watch the sun set over the waves. Another favorite spot of mine is the Getty Villa in Malibu. It’s a gorgeous little art museum featuring numerous pieces of classical art. The history nerd in me is always enthralled at that sight of classical graeco roman art. A personal favorite spot of mine is Braemore Park in Porter Ranch. Its a little public park on the edge of a cliff overlooking the San Fernando Valley and I always love going there to just ground myself. It overlooks my home town and has always been the place I go when I need to reflect on where I am in life and wrestle with big questions when I’m looking for clarity. Lastly no trip to California is complete without at least one stop at In n Out. It was probably the thing I missed most about home when I was studying at NYU. Sorry Mom and Dad.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well there are probably too many to mention but Ill do my best to highlight some of the folks that served as cornerstones in my development as both an artist and as a person. Firstly I have to thank my parents. They were the first people to really invest in my craft both emotionally and financially. They always treated music as an extension of my education and gave me the space at a young to chose a professional path of my own. I also have to mention the tireless work of my numerous teachers who aided and molded me along my musical Journey. I have to thank Judy Taulbee, my very first music teacher in grade school who guided me in some of my most nascent development. Ted Kraut and Chris Blondal my first guitar and drum instructor whose patient tutelage formed some of my most fundamental skills as a musician. And I also must mention all my friends and Colleagues from Guitar Merchant in Canoga Park, California. That little guitar shop was such a magical place to grow up in and work in. I really got to grow up not just as a musician but as a person in such a loving and encouraging atmosphere. I got to play my first shows there, got my first job, and taught my first student all under the same roof. I also have to thank every wonderful instructor I’ve had the pleasure of working with at College of the Canyons, San Diego State University, and New York University. They’re the ones that took an amateur and a hobbyist and made me a professional.

Website: https://www.daniellowrycomposer.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellowrycomposer/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH-P7jqFmDkOfzg28HpTFQw

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11174983/ open.spotify.com/album/5WL0MVaFleue47GEcA9jSe?si=Gqf3QmETRPSkEQov7R0E6A

Image Credits
All images belong to me

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