Faculty Member’s Album Highlights Collaborative Process

While his name may be the only one on the cover, Victor Marquez-Barrios, associate professor of music, is the first person to acknowledge his latest album is a collaborative effort brought to life by the work of countless individuals, many of whom are his colleagues in the Department of Music.

“A lot of work and love, by a lot of people, went into making this album happen,” Marquez-Barrios said. “I hope that people take the time to listen to it with an open mind and with open ears, and that they enjoy doing so. This is me sharing some of my stories and telling them in my own way, with more than a little help from my friends.”

“The Moments Between” is Marquez-Barrios’ latest work, streaming on major platforms Dec. 15 with CDs available from Blue Griffin Recording and marquezbarrios.com. The album is a contemporary blend of his different musical backgrounds, including classical, jazz and folk music from different parts of Latin America. With many of the compositions requiring classically trained performers on a variety of instruments – most of which Marquez-Barrios does not play – he called on a plethora of guests to complete the project. From Truman alone, contributing artists include faculty members Jesse Krebs, Xin Gao, Elaine AuBuchon, Lanjiabao Ge, Brian Kubin, Eric Dickson and Michael Bump, as well as pianist Lucy Zeng and former graduate student Jessica Alvarado-Brenes. Another former graduate student, Theo Greer, assisted as the recording technician for sessions in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

“I very much enjoy working with my colleagues in Truman’s Music Department, and I have been fortunate to collaborate with most of them on different musical projects over my time here,” Marquez-Barrios said. “This album is an example of that, and I am very happy with how the process went and with the final product.”

In addition to Truman collaborators, Marquez-Barrios worked with other friends throughout his academic and musical career. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the University Institute for Musical Studies in Venezuela, he added master’s degrees in musical composition and music theory, along with a Doctor of Musical Arts in music composition, all from Michigan State University. He has worked with longtime friends and collaborators at other institutions throughout the U.S., including Albion College, Ithaca College, Virginia Tech and The University of Oklahoma. To accommodate the logistical complications of collaborating with multiple artists and recording in venues across the country, Marquez-Barrios made use of a sabbatical to complete the album. Now in his ninth year at Truman, he plans to take lessons from his experience and incorporate them into the music theory and composition courses he teaches.

“This project was motivated by a desire to make my music easily available to a wider audience and accessible to anyone interested. A significant amount of work goes into making that happen, beyond the composition of the music,” he said. “I want to be able to share that with my students. Not only how to carry a creative project to completion successfully, but what to do afterwards to make that work available to interested parties such as performing groups, music festivals and the general audience.”

While he may have had the better part of a year to bring it all together, this project is a labor of love for Marquez-Barrios that has been 22 years in the making. With all due respect to a certain pop phenomenon, “The Moments Between” could be seen as his own personal “Eras” tour. From the music he heard at parties as a kid, to what he learned in guitar lessons and songs his father wrote that he listened to while growing up, every piece on the album draws from a different time in his life.

“I like the fact that each piece represents a different version of me and of my work. I don’t often go back to revise old works. I prefer to think of pieces as representative of a time and place, like a picture from a certain period that I accept as such and enjoy,” Marquez-Barrios said. “Being able to hear compositions from different times will hopefully give the listeners a better representation of my work, and maybe the ability to witness how it has evolved over those two decades.”

In recent years, Marquez-Barrios has used a portion of his work to explore his identity as an immigrant. Previously released pieces such as “Nomadic Variations” and the song cycle “A Path Home/Camino a Casa,” which recently premiered at Truman, are examples of this aspect of his compositions.

A track on “The Moments Between” that carries significant meaning for Marquez-Barrios and others associated with the Music Department is “Waltz for Kyle.” It pays tribute to Truman music alumnus Kyle Rieger who passed away unexpectedly last year.

“He’s one of the best students I’ve had the pleasure to work with, and we remained in touch after he graduated,” Marquez-Barrios said.

After 22 years of personal compositions, recording sessions in Kirksville, Oklahoma and Michigan, dozens of friends and fellow musicians volunteering their time, along with the work of sound engineers, professional audio mixers and the artist who created the cover art, “The Moments Between” is ready for its moment at the forefront. Marquez-Barrios also credits a grant from the School of Arts and Letters to helping bring the project to fruition, as well as his wife who contributes the spoken voice on one of the tracks.

“It really took a team to make this album happen, and the collaboration went well beyond the music,” he said. “It is a joy to make music with friends, and I consider myself fortunate to have been able to do that on this project.”