An Ear for Music

Former “Mr. Palisades” Composes Album for NOW Ensemble

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Pacific Palisades-raised musician Sean Friar recently composed “Before and After,” the latest album from NOW Ensemble, a group of composers and performers who create “effervescent, genre-busting” chamber music for the 21st century.

A graduate of Marquez Charter Elementary, Paul Revere Charter Middle and Palisades Charter High schools, the composer and pianist received bachelor’s degrees in music composition and psychology from UCLA, where he graduated summa cum laude in May 2007. He also holds a Ph.D. in music composition from Princeton University.

In 2001, Friar also earned the title of Mr. Palisades, a contest run by the Palisadian-Post, now titled Pacific Palisades Teen Talent Contest, with history dating back more than 60 years.

Friar shared that he has extensive experience composing music for orchestras, chamber ensembles, invented instruments and electronics. His music has been performed across the world by ensembles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic Scharoun Ensemble, the American Composers Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Crash Ensemble, NOW Ensemble and others.

Friar said he first wrote a piece for NOW Ensemble in 2009, where he played with the idea of dropping a spotlight on the electric guitars of the group.

“I used the electric guitar as the centerpiece of the group, so everything else that [was] happening in the ensemble was kind of coming out of the sound of the electric guitar, which … is different than a more traditional way where you might write a piece of classical chamber music … and treat all the instruments as if they are balanced and equal,” Friar said to the Post. “They all have their own individual character.”

That piece was released on NOW Ensemble’s 2011 album “Awake.”

He said the group wanted to create more projects following “Awake,” and they began working on the latest album together. They premiered a portion of the piece at UCLA that was 15 minutes long, then decided the piece should be longer.

“There were slower movements and we thought this could be a part of a much bigger piece, something where not everything is slow,” Friar explained. “We came up with the idea that this should be an entire album-length piece.”

He said they did workshops over the next several years and recorded “Before and After” at Guilford Sound in southern Vermont in February 2020—just before the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted all types of music-making. The album officially released on Friday, November 12.

“It’s been a big project, a labor of love,” Friar said. “I’m excited for people to hear it.”

Friar said he has worked on nearly eight albums collaboratively with several composers—“Before and After” marked the first album that is solely his music. He produced and composed the piece for NOW Ensemble to perform.

“That’s another big exciting thing, it’s the longest piece I’ve written by a good bit and it was kind of envisioned pretty early on,” Friar said, explaining the concept and theme of the album stems back to a year he spent living in Rome, from 2011 to 2012.

“The theme of this piece is … imagining the lifespan of civilizations, from rise to fall,” Friar said to the Post. “One thing that’s so different about a place like [Rome] from, say, Los Angeles, is that everything in Italy is really old … you’re walking down the street and there are buildings that are 2,000 years old, some that are 500, some that are new. You’re constantly aware of everything that’s come before you, which definitely gives you a different perspective.

“It got me thinking of this flow of time, all of these different kinds of civilizations, different aesthetics that have come and gone over the years. I think that really put me in the mindframe for this piece.”

Friar previously taught at the University of Southern California and UCLA, and lived in LA until just last year. He is now chair of the music composition department at the University of Denver.

“I was excited about having this opportunity to lead a program,” Friar said about his move to Colorado. And while he is no longer in California, he said he still has family in Pacific Palisades and visits often.

For more information or to access the album, visit seanfriar.com.