The Inside Story: Lucian Balmer and SPRUCE RITUAL

SPRUCE RITUAL from Bay Area violinist, vocalist, and composer Lucian Balmer is a heartfelt dance between western classical and North Indian classical music. While the album is centered around violin, viola, and cello — the string instrument family at the heart of Romantic era chamber music — Balmer seamlessly integrates the sounds of the sitar and the tabla, two pillars of Indian classical music. While the recordings do not contain lyrics, the human voice is also a prominent instrument on this album. This is thanks to the use of sargam, in which the notes of the composition are sung.

Today, Lucian is our featured artist in “The Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn how he balances his career as a registered nurse with his musical pursuits, and how an album from Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin changed him…

Tell us about your first performance

I don’t remember my earliest performances. But I do remember one that helped me conquer stage fright. There had been a few performances to larger audiences where my bow arm would start to shake while playing, despite measures that I had taken to calm myself! I would compensate by playing more forcefully and aggressively. I was using the larger muscles in my bowing arm to try and stabilize the smaller muscles. The result wasn’t pretty — musically or emotionally. 

Anyways, I was around 19 years old and I was playing solo violin for a 15 minute theater performance that was part of a variety show in New York City. I composed the music for that as well; I had created a little theme for each of the character’s entrances. We were supposed to go on around 10 p.m. — however, we got pushed back further and further into the night, and we eventually went on around midnight. By that time, the lack of anticipation and the tiredness made my nerves dull. I didn’t care about the performance so deeply; I just wanted to get it over with. There was a large audience still there and it was actually very well received.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

I work as a RN in the ICU as well as being a musician. Once, an MD asked me, “Lucian, if the NY Philharmonic called you up tomorrow, would you still be nursing?” I said, “yes.” If only a little bit, I’d be doing nursing as well. It keeps me grounded, gives me a different perspective and experience in life. Sometimes it feels like they’re both fighting for my time, and other times it feels like it’s fueling my music. I’m also a husband and the father of two wonderful boys, which is a big job!

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

Anoushka Shankar. Shubhendra Rao and Saskia Rao. Zakir Hussein. An amazing bansuri player. I’d also collaborate with someone from a completely different genre like Jacob Collier. Lucia Micarelli’s name is similar to mine, she’s half-Korean and Italian while I’m half-Japanese and the other half is mostly Greek. So there’s a potential connection there. But honestly, I deeply enjoy playing with the musicians I’m currently playing with.

What advice would you give to your younger self if given the chance?

I would tell myself to trust my intuition more. Trust my music. To continue to be brave with regards to my artistic tendencies and dreams. I’d also tell myself to be more financially responsible!

Take us on a walk through your musical library. What record gets the most plays? Are there any “deep cuts” that you particularly enjoy?

Lately I’ve been listening to the Debussy String Quartet in G minor and the Ravel String Quartet in F major. I like to compare and contrast different ensembles playing those pieces. Nikhil Banerjee’s (sitar) album “Afternoon Ragas,” where he plays raga bhimpalashri and multani has been in heavy rotation as well. I could listen to almost anything by Nikhil. He’s one of my all-time favorites. 

I’ve also been listening to a rudra veena player, Asad Ali Khan. Rudra veena is in the same family of instruments as the sitar, but it’s very low pitched and has two giant gourds on both ends, making it very resonant. As I’m writing this, I’m listening to him play raga jaijawanti.

What were your first musical experiences?

When I was 7, I asked my father why the violinist in the video was making such funny faces. It was Itzhak Perlman playing the Beethoven Concerto. I also remember a gospel choir at Slim’s in San Francisco and Klezmer at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley. When I was 19, I remember listening to Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin on “East Meets West,” and it changed me. I thought, “I need to do this. The world needs to hear this.”