ITEA Journal Volume 49 Number 3 (Spring 2022)

ITEA Composer's Corner with Zach Collins:
By Michael Waddell

Zach Collins (b. 1981) is currently professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), a position that he has held since 2007. Since taking his university position, he has written many works for tuba and euphonium ensemble such asCinematic Fantasy, Angle East, Cascades, Actions, and several more . In addition to his work at IUP, Collins has spent time as a studio musician in Los Angeles performing on several movies such as Spiderman 3 and Rocky Balboa, and recently recorded his first solo album Chronicle.

Dr. Collins does not make his full-time career as a composer, and composition is not something he pursued until later in his musical journey. Although he did some arranging while in school, he did not really get into composing until he arrived at IUP. There he found himself in charge of rehearsing the IUP Tubaphonium ensemble multiple times each week, and immediately began to both arrange and compose music for the group. When asked about his start in composition, he said:

So, when I got the job at IUP, I had this great tuba ensemble. Gary Bird was my predecessor, and he created this ensemble back in the late 1970s. So, it's not the oldest, but it's one of the oldest, continuously existing university tuba-euphonium ensembles, and so it has a really rich tradition. I knew that this was going to be kind of a cornerstone of my studio. It was also a great lab ensemble for me, so I started writing for that ensemble right away… the very first concert we did had a composition I wrote called "Three Emotions."

Dr. Collins was my teacher during my undergraduate studies, and I first met him in the spring of 2008 prior to my first semester as a student at IUP. As a prospective student, I was invited to check out a Tubaphonium ensemble rehearsal after my audition, and at that time, I had never been exposed to an ensemble like that in my life. They just happened to be doing one of Dr. Collins' arrangements, an arrangement of the theme music from Spiderman 2. I was blown away by this type of sound, but also by how cool it was to be playing music that, at that time, was current and recognizable outside of the classical realm. It was great to hear movie music performed by tubas and euphonium, and that type of sound is also evident in Dr. Collins' original compositions. His composition carries the clear influence of his time performing studio music in Los Angeles. He really strives to bring these types of unique and meaningful musical experiences to his studio. When asked about his experience in the recording studios, and why he bothered to arrange the Spiderman theme specifically, he said:

I wanted to do that [Spiderman 2 theme arrangement] because I thought it was really thematic music. I loved the chord changes in it, and I thought it would translate well to the sonority of a Tuba-Euphonium ensemble… Before I came to IUP, I was a student at USC, but I also did a lot of freelancing, and I got to experience a handful of soundtrack recordings played on 10 or 12 movie recordings before coming to IUP. That taught me so much about being a professional musician, and I wanted to carry that over [to my studio], and it gave me a platform talk about that experience… and I'd also just wanted an exciting piece to play with the ensemble, because it's easy to get locked into the same kind of stuff in a tuba ensemble. You either have the standard literature, which is generally stuff from like the seventies, eighties… classical tunes or marches… We just didn't have a whole lot in the library that had that kind of sound to it.

In addition to the influence from the movie studios, Collins' music is often incredibly tuneful. You can really hear the influence from sources well outside of "classical" music, and there is a dedication to writing a catchy melody, or even a hook throughout much of his music. Asked about his compositional influences, he said:

Talking about some of the music I listened to that influences me… I'm drawn to Bon Iver … that group has come out with quite beautiful music, but they are also deliberate in using distortion, but not distortion in a grungy way… it sounds like they had an issue with the recording software and it's deliberate. I just kind of like that where it makes you think a little bit and that things do not have to be totally polished around the edges. I listen to a lot of Sufjan Stevens music. He goes from being incredibly simple to being very orchestrated and complex. Those are a couple of artists I really like, and I like the orchestral - symphonic nature of both of those groups.

Unlike many composers who may write a variety of commissions for different groups across the world, Collins is very much writing for his student group. The difficulty and style of his works change based on who is in his studio at any given time. He writes for the people he has in front of him to work with. This, along with his desire to challenge both his students musically, and himself as a composer, have guided his compositions across the years.

This, and the nature of his job and life, make his workflow in composing quite different than something from Nicole Piunno, Anthony O'Toole, or any other full-time composer. He also tends to craft his compositions around more traditional pop music forms. Asked about his workflow and philosophy as a composer, he said:

I tend to compose in spurts, and most of the pieces that I write I do in a fairly short period of time. Once I get going on a project, then I will really want to see it through, so I don't leave things dangling out there, but I'm also not constantly composing. I usually have a project going on. We [IUP] host something every spring called Tubaphonium Day… and I've set myself the task of writing a fanfare every year for the event. It just makes sure that I'm constantly working those [composing] chops. It's not a very long piece… usually 60 to 80 bars, but it just makes sure… I'm going to write a fanfare, whether I have the time to do it or not, it's going to happen…

And I'll say that right now, just life with having four kids that are between the age of 8 and 12… I don't have as much time to compose as I used to… sometimes I just get a tune or a chord progression kind of stuck in my head and I'll play around with that. I'll write out eight bars or so… and then I might play around with it and see if I can reharmonize it, or just ways to make it an alternate version.

Once I have that, I'll try to write something that contrasts with it. I would say I work in verse - chorus format. A lot of times I'll have an "A" section and a "B" Section... I don't like for my music to be very through composed. It's all pretty standard forms, pretty easy to follow, I would say. So that's where a lot of it comes from…

This goes to show the integrity of the type of musician that Zach Collins is. Despite everything else going on in his professional and personal life, he has carved out times over the years to compose music that is meaningful, engaging, and fulfilling, to him, his students, and our tuba - euphonium community.

One of his most recent pieces, Actions, a 3-movement work for euphonium quartet, is a perfect example of something that he likes to do for himself musically: to set challenges for himself. In describing the challenges he set for himself and how this piece came to be, he shared:

Sometimes I will set myself a musical hurdle to have to jump over… Like in Actions Quartet… I wrote the first movement, just first of all, as a standalone piece. I wanted to try to see what it would be like to write a perpetual motion, a piece where something happens on every single eighth note.

So that one was written as a one-off as a sort of musical hurdle, saying to myself "Okay. Let's see. Can I do this?" Once I did that, I was thinking of the Ives, I forget what the pieces is, but the stuck key thing. I wanted to try my hand at that. So the second movement I wanted to see if I could write something where there was always a single pitch present as an ostinato to sound like time being taken away. Once I had those two, I thought, well, I have these two pieces, two pieces that are kind of related where I had to jump over some musical hurdles and they also have things to do with time or motion, so I thought I should write a third and put them together.

I thought maybe I'll write something where I'm limited to the whole tone scale, which is really limiting. But I wanted to write it so that it didn't all sound like augmented chords. And so there are some augmented chords, but it sounds like major chords are happening. So that's one way I just set some musical hurdles for myself that ended up in this piece.

This is musical integrity - Doing something to better yourself, and to create something new and exciting. All the success that Zach Collins has enjoyed is a prime example of where hard work and a proper work ethic can take you. I know many successful musicians with solid work ethics, but Dr. Collins' is unmatched. I have witnessed firsthand this work ethic in his daily practice, composition, his pedagogy, his care for his students, and every other aspect of his musical life. He takes this work ethic and drive of being a true musician and instills it into his students and those around him.

As a freshman at IUP several years ago, I thought I knew how to practice. I came into my second lesson thinking I was prepared after practicing a bit the week prior. Long story short, I was grossly unprepared. I was encouraged to wake up earlier, practice more, and get to work if I wanted a shot at a career in music. The next morning at promptly 6:30am, he was waiting for me outside the building, to help me get to work. Many others have similar stories. We should all admire that work ethic, and this should be an inspiration to all of us not just as a tubist or a composer, but as what it means to really be a musician.

Zach Collins is a Miraphone performing artist. You can find more information about him, his music, and his studio at tubaphonium.com.

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