Ethan Knox

As a student composer, Bryan Junod derives creativity from places as unlikely as dying crickets.

“The house I live in had a cricket that was stuck in a vent in the floor right next to the table where I work,” Junod said. “I would be sitting there for hours and hours working with this cricket constantly chirping. My mind made the connection to the incredible number of different species of insects going extinct. And this is now turning into a short multi-piece movement for string quartet, where each movement is based on a different extinct species in the cricket family. There’s excitement and inspiration to be found practically anywhere in music.”

Originally a native of Cicero, NY, Junod is a graduate student at Binghamton University pursuing his master’s degree in music with an emphasis on composition. In 2018, Junod graduated from the University with his double bachelor’s degree in mathematics and music.

Through his work, Junod combines his degrees to find art in both the humanities and subjects which are generally not considered musical, such as the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field.

“I’m really enjoying the mode that I’m working in now, which is taking inspiration from places outside of the arts,” Junod said. “Instead of poetic texts, I’m looking in places like science and technology and trying to find interfaces between those two. I’m hoping to continue doing more of that before I finish here.”

Other examples of his ability to bring together two distinct focuses can be seen in his recent orchestral piece and chamber music.

An upcoming piece titled “A Few Thoughts About Mercury” will show the element mercury’s line spectrum translated into vibrations and will be premiered by the Binghamton University Symphony Orchestra. Another upcoming piece, titled “Al-Karajī’s Incredible Triangle,” features the Binghamton University Chamber Singers and Fifth House Ensemble, and will showcase a proof of the binomial theorem turned to song.

Junod believes that this mix of source materials, genres and styles allows him to “have fun” with his compositions while creating an environment which is receptive to ideas from all parties involved.

“For a long time, I was just putting notes on paper,” Junod said. “It was just ink to paper in thinking ‘This’ll sound good.’ Since then, I’ve moved in the direction of trying to collaborate with the performers, the people that I’m working with, asking them questions about, ‘Oh, what do you think about this technique? Will this work?’ And coming prepared with a set of ideas rather than just giving them a product.”

This conceptual approach to writing music is a byproduct of Binghamton University’s Music Department’s instruction and his own training. Junod began playing the violin around age nine and is also trained on the piano and musical saw, among other instruments.

Junod’s mentor, assistant professor of music Daniel Davis, along with the department itself, aided in Junod’s decision to continue his education at Binghamton and to experiment with his art.

“I’ve had great experiences with this department,” Junod said. “My mentor, Dan Davis, is indispensable. I stayed [at Binghamton], so that I could continue to learn from him. The environment of this department, there’s almost never a hard, ‘No, you can’t do this.’ It’s more like, ‘I’m not sure this will work the way they will think it will. What are some other ways we can get the same effect that you want?’ We’re all in the mindset of working together to create what we can with the resources that we have.”

The collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of Binghamton University Music Department has led Junod to opportunities in his career, both at Binghamton University and beyond.

“I wrote music for the theater department’s production of Seamus Heaney’s ‘The Burial at Thebes,’ which is a version of Antigone,” Junod said. “It’s a straight play, so there’s typically no music, there’s no singing. I was brought on to work in collaboration with the director, Elizabeth Mozer, to create a musical score underpinning the dramatic action that was happening on stage. It was a difficult project, my first time writing for something staged like that. It took some working with to figure out, but we brought these ideas to the table and by the end we made something that we were proud of.”

Outside the university, Junod’s work has been performed by a number of groups and ensembles, including the Momenta Quartet, Contemporaneous and the Modern Medieval Trio of Voices.

“As a composer, it’s easy to get stuck in the work, staring at the page for hours,” Junod said. “It takes getting to the point of working with the ensemble and having it performed to really realize ‘This is what I mean. This is the whole point. This is what it’s about.’ So having one’s work performed, it’s just an incredible feeling knowing that something that you have created or helped to create with these other artists is unfolding on the stage.”

As he approaches the end of his time at Binghamton, Junod is unsure of where he will continue to implement his skills but hopes to make an impact on the world and in his field.

“I would just like to think that the work I do can contribute to the art of composition and the arts in general—enrich it in some way other than just, ‘Oh, you know, he wrote some nice things,’” Junod said. “I want to make it accessible and make it still be interesting. That’s just the kind of artist that I am. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s okay for there to be familiar things, but I just think we can have more fun.”