KM I am thankful that my mother and sister jumped at every opportunity to sing three-part harmony with me when I was a child, and that my Dad, a blues singer and keyboard player, sat down with me at the piano every chance he got. Throughout grade school I was enamored with choral singing, the passion which continued through college to graduate school and now still persists. My roots are richly and diversely musical, and I try to water them as best I can. FLUENT You’re a huge CSNY fan. What did you learn from each of them and the other influences who shaped your playing and writing? KM Absolutely I am. Each maintains his distinct tone, yet their voices blend together seamlessly for their timeless signature sound. Likewise, CSNY’s sensibilities behave the same way with songwriting. I hope that in my songwriting career, I can maintain uniqueness while collaborating with other artists in real harmony. That’s a beautiful thing. FLUENT What’s your education? What’s your take on the state of education in our world today? KM I did undergraduate work at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV, which culminated in a Bachelor of Arts in Music in 2008. Then I attended Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA, where I received a Master of Music degree in Composition in 2012. I remember a harsh struggle during undergraduate study, during which I felt that classical music and folk-style music were at odds with each other. It took graduate work to boost my confidence in my compositional voice such that I could discard whatever pre-existing notions told me that I couldn’t be both a composer and a songwriter.
KM Compare the river to music. And … Shenandoah or the Nile? The river’s meaning in my life is about as mystical and powerful as its behavior. The word Shenandoah simultaneously symbolizes a journey and a place of rest for me. The spirit of the river is that which carries me through the bends and turns of life. And when I need to touch base I know that my family (biological and otherwise) resides just along the banks in multiple towns in the valley. Its beauty is something that I know I’m not ready to tackle in song just yet. The lyric in the famous traditional tune goes, “’O Shenandoah I long to see you.” I haven’t been gone long enough to write a love song full of yearning to the river quite yet; but I want to. Music is a lot like the river: When you submerge yourself in it, it takes you somewhere. And after I visit the Nile, then we can compare the two! FLUENT What’s your take on the arts in the Eastern Panhandle of WV?
Honestly I am rather uneducated when it comes to the state of education in a global sense. (I hope that my father with a doctorate in education will forgive me after reading that.) But higher education has given me some incredibly useful tools for my career as a professional musician. Learning is good.
KM I think that rich Appalachian culture mixed together with proximity to the nation’s capital make the Panhandle a truly unique place of creativity. I am honored to have grown up here. And I would love to see more funding for performance spaces and galleries, and I know a lot of people who feel the same way.
FLUENT The Shenandoah River seems to have had a big influence on your life. What’s the river mean to you?
FLUENT Kipyn is an interesting name, what’s the story on it? u fluent | 7