A LITTLE ABOUT JOHN
John Engstrom is a Grand Rapids-based composer and producer with an affinity towards working within organic and absurd sonic environments. A versatile musician, he has created works for the speaker, the stage, and the stairwell. Often, John is creating music at his private studio, as well as spending time at Western Sound Studios: working on compositions, producing new tracks, or creating content with peers.
"What was so impressive was that John was able to be powerfully creative while highlighting his individual personality, yet still working with retaining the form of the original song .. And that is the mark of a true young professional."
VIOLET BLOOM
QUARTER LIFE CRISIS
SAFETY
“I find myself constantly drawing ambient soundscapes, whether it's the synthetic crashing of waves, the lively chatter of nighttime, or the blooming environment of a biome in a video game. One of my more prouder pieces that best exemplifies this is for the Dalton Center C stairwell at WMU. It was amazing to be a part of an audience that experienced performers playing music on a stairwell; feeling the whole staircase shake and rumble around us was such an immersive sensation. A musician should write considerably for their performer or their audience. I believe art should be both progressive and entertaining. In my piece for a solo performer, we witness the development of a musician, from the early stages of learning, becoming a professional, to losing grips with music entirely. Made for any instrumental performer to play, this piece blends both musical and stage performance. In the piece, the performer is allowed to walk around the stage and interact with the environments they’re placed in. I enjoy this type of interactive performance because it draws the audience in and keeps them invested.”
The House & The Library {2021}
The House & The Library is about two things. The first is about my elementary school teacher who had to move out of her house because the library across the street was expanding onto her land. The second is about my memory of her and how it changed as I got older. The piece is broken into 4 sections: the video, the text, the instrumental, and the electronics. The video explicitly shows no people, but the places I remember. I did this intentionally to allow anyone to put themselves into these environments. I also feel like our memories focus less on the people in the buildings, but the buildings themselves. The text portion travels through different stages of my life: elementary school, middle school, high school, & college. I then had students from each of those stages of life narrate their corresponding stage in the piece. This was to show the change in timbre in the voice as I got older. There are moments in the text where I interrupt different stages in life with others stages to show different inner thoughts and memories. The text becomes more mature and complicated as it continues to also show growth. The instrumental section is divided by all the musical instruments I have ever played in their corresponding stages of development. For example, in elementary school, I played violin and then clarinet. During the elementary section of the text, we hear violin and clarinet. In middle school, I played percussion. We hear marimba during the middle section. Piano in high school and guitar in college. Each section has the instrument perform differently. In elementary school, there is a simple score for violin and clarinet. In middle school, there is a simple technique exercise and motif for percussion. In high school, there is imitation and development for piano. In college there is improvisation on guitar. These are used to reflect my evolving playing style. The electronics represent my current compositional aesthetic and the base of the piece. The electronics are used to reflect the mood of the story. There are moments where it is light and airy, while other moments are dark and intrusive. Another small detail is the noise we hear. I recorded in multiple different sound environments. One is a sunny spring morning. Another is a rainy evening. I recorded the inside of my car and the busy streets outside of my car. I also incorporated noises that correspond with the text. For example, when one of the narrators talks about the creaking of floorboards, you will hear the creak of a wooden floorboard. When a narrator says they hear the rumble of a vent, you will hear the rumble of a vent. These small details enhance the overall experience of feeling like you are actually there with the narrator.