Hi Gisela, please can you introduce yourself to our Making Miss Mogul readers?
My name is Gisela Paterno; I was born in Argentina from a Spanish and Italian background. I have been living in London for nine years. I am a musician dedicated to composing, performing and teaching music in these areas as an educator.
How did you get into music composition?
I have always been interested in how things work in general; I have always had this insatiable curiosity since I can remember, and composition is the area of music that studies how music works; actually, the word composer comes from a Latin word that means “the one who puts together.” I went to the National University of the Arts in Argentina in my twenties; I had the privilege of studying with many maestros such as Eduardo Checchi, Guillermo Pozzati, Santiago Santero and Luis Arias, among others, for whom I am forever grateful.
Your musical compositions have been presented all around the world. Did you get to travel, too?
When I perform it, yes, but that is not usually the case. What I do is work with the performers during rehearsals before the piece is premiered: sometimes they send me a recording, sometimes through Zoom, it varies according to the interface available. However, there have been cases in which one of my pieces is requested, and I have no contact with the performer, only after they played my music. This can be a rewarding experience, as I have heard the same piece played by different people in different countries, and the versions are entirely different.
How do companies contact you to work with them?
I generally don’t work with companies. Instead, I work with independent ensembles and musicians that I collaborate with on projects that I find interesting from an artistic viewpoint. However, one of my last commissions involved a Camerata that works for the Argentinian Airforce, which commissioned ten female composers to pay homage to ten female pioneers pilots and paratroopers. Is there a particular musical style you like to compose? I compose in various ways (I would say styles, though) over the years, from tonal, to atonal, serial, hyper-chromatic, spectral, and modal; I would like to think I combine anything needed for the specific piece I am working on. The idea comes first, and the rest are just the means to bring life to the initial thought that gave the energy to make that piece of music happen. Although I consider myself a composer within the boundaries of tonality, I can use a wide range, from either bitonality, polytonality, dronal or modal systems. One of the main aspects of my style is that I like to work more with live musicians, and not so much recorded or electronic music. Playing live is one of the most rewarding and unique characteristics of music; every performance is exceptional. Every musician gives their energy and imprint to the piece.
Can you tell us about a highlight in your career?
I consider everything I do essential to me as it has to have artistic and personal sense. Therefore, I choose projects only if I feel passionate about them; otherwise, I would not do it. I measure my experiences according to what I can learn from them, from being the founder, composer and Director of an experimental ensemble in Argentina, to premiering pieces in different parts of the planet, working with musicians, teaching and conducting; it is all enriching, helping me to learn more and more.
You teach piano and composition music in London and online; can you tell us more about it?
I am proud to say that I have been teaching at WKMT piano studios in London for nine years, and I enjoy it every day. I am the co-director at WKMT, working alongside the Director and founder, Juan Rezzuto. My professional life stands on two pillars: one is as a music composer and performer, and the other one is as an educator. I am equally passionate about them, and they have been the focus of my studies and my career. As every piece of music is different and presents specific challenges, every student represents the same thing; it is a world that opens in front of you, full of new possibilities. At WKMT, we cater our student’s journey with knowledge, responsibility and overall, love; this is the utmost feeling an educator, at least in our view, feel about their students, as it is paramount to teach: Caring, watching and helping on every step of the way. It is not only passing of information; it is about knowing them deeply and guiding them with the best of our knowledge, discovering the path that unfolds before us together. That has been the generating force at the studio since the very beginning.
How has technology enabled your job?
Technology has touched every aspect of my job. In composition, it would be almost impossible to carry on without technology, from notation software to making conference calls with the performers long-distance instead of rehearsals. In the area of education, technology is part of our system, actually. For example, I created an online platform for piano students starting out. They log in and have all the lessons stored, progress, and milestones etc. This started to give consistency to the learning process at WKMT piano studio in London. I also created a reports system that serves to communicate to the student clearly and concisely. At the same time, Juan Rezzuto and I can follow and supervise regularly to track our students’ progress, facilitating the learning experience.
Has the coronavirus pandemic changed the way that you work?
It changed it very positively. Students, for example, are not missing lessons if they travel or don’t have enough time to go to the studio as they know classes online are as good as in-person lessons. During the pandemic, as our teachers returned to their home countries, we were forced to unify all the contents and procedural tasks, migrating them online, making the teaching material available. After all, it was an enriching experience, and the studio came out stronger and better after it.
How can our readers follow in your footsteps?
If people are interested, they can follow my activities within the frame of the WKMT website, my website, and both Youtube channels.
In this link, you can find some of my works, our student performances, Juan Rezzuto’s performances, and free streamed live courses in Harmony and Counterpoint I provide to WKMT teachers: https://www.youtube.com/c/WestKensingtonMusicTeamLondon
My website: https://www.giselapaterno.com/
If you would like to listen to some of my works, this is my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/giselapaterno6114/videos
For all the information regarding our next concerts, events and articles – https://www.piano-composer-teacher-london.co.uk/piano-scholarsh
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