Aural Histories

In his essay “The Paradoxical Theory of Change,” Gestalt psychiatrist Arnold Beisser wrote that “change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not.… It does take place if one takes the time and effort to be what he is.” 

I quote this line a lot, but it felt especially resonant while speaking with flutist and composer Nathalie Joachim. Joachim was 10 when she began her studies at Juilliard as part of its Music Advancement Program. In 2005, she became the first person to graduate from all three of Juilliard’s main programs: the MAP, Pre-College, and College divisions. Despite this—or perhaps precisely because of it—Joachim’s career has diverged broadly and frequently from what the expectations were for a Juilliard graduate in the early 2000s. Instead of seeking an orchestral position, Joachim has combined conservatory-honed technique with a roving curiosity to forge a path as a composer and flutist, one who also works voice and electronics into many of her works, both as a solo artist and as one-half of the art-pop duo Flutronix (along with fellow multihyphenate Allison Loggins-Hull). 

Beisser argues that it takes effort to be what one is. Joachim (who still teaches at Juilliard) concurs: “That’s always been a part of my personality, wanting to achieve or to be doing all of the things that I’m supposed to be doing.” Her efforts have paid off, most recently with the Grammy-nominated “Fanm d’Ayiti” (2018), a work for which Joachim conducted hours of sound recordings and interviews including with her grandmother, in her family’s home village of Dantan, and the country’s underrepresented female vocal artists. The musical dimensions added in by Joachim, at once precise and expansive, add dimension to her collected oral histories. 

We spoke about her love of archives, writing for Pamela Z, and music-making with her grandmother. But first, and in the spirit of history, I asked about her connection to a long-shuttered record store that once sat next door to Lincoln Center.