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Library

Patrick Higgins

June 16, 2015

|

Hudson, NY

Song

Recorded by

Kate Ratcliff

This interview is available in-person only. Please get in touch if you would like to listen.
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Summary:

This interview was conducted with Patrick Higgins at the Future-Past Studios in Hudson.  Patrick was born in the early 80s, grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City, and spent his high school years in San Francisco before returning to NYC to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees at Columbia University.  He is a composer and performer of avant-garde music and new classical work and moved to Hudson in 2013 to open Future-Past Studios.  Subjects discussed in this interview include changes in New York City since the 1980s, the commercial re-zoning of neighborhoods, comparison of New York and San Francisco, life in a family with academic parents, experience at Columbia University, living a creative life, the historical context of Western Art Music, the field of Philosophy, outsider music in New York City, issues related to the recording of performed music, influx to Hudson of creative, young people from New York, artisanal production in Hudson, advantages and limitations of revitalization in Hudson.

This interview might be of interest to someone wanting to hear about the changing social geography of cities, counter-cultural and DIY communities in San Francisco in the early 1990s, issues relating to music and philosophy, Hudson in the present day and questions of who benefits from economic re-development.

Themes:
New York City
,
Music
,
Business Ownership
,
Art and Artists
,
Development
,
Education
,
Change and Gentrification
,
Interviewer Bio:
Kate Ratcliff

I teach History and American Studies at Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont. I am interested in oral history as a way to deepen and expand the historical record, highlight the relationship between individual experiences and broader social contexts, and introduce students to the work of deep listening and engaged learning.

Additional Info:
Interview language(s):
English
,
Audio quality:
High

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Permissions: 

This interview is hereby made available for research purposes only. For additional uses (radio and other media, music, internet), please click here to inquire about permissions.

Part of this interview may be played in a radio broadcast or podcast.

Oral history is an iterative process. In keeping with oral history values of anti-fixity, interviewees will have an opportunity to add, annotate and reflect upon their lives and interviews in perpetuity. Talking back to the archive is a form of “shared authority.”

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