Artists can approach their field of work with a honed specificity, nearing virtuosity in their command of a particular instrument or medium. Many of  Bryce Dessner’s collaborators — Alejandro Iñárritu, Katia and Marielle Labèque, and Anne Carson among them — might fit neatly into this bracket. However, his expansive and cooperative practice seeks the passageways that can be found between art forms and, in turn, art worlds. On the occasion of taking up residence at Yale University’s newly-opened Schwartzman Center, Dessner discusses the push and pull inherent in a collaborative artistic process, particularly the nuances of composing for cinema, and how this can be mapped onto the complementary roles taken within a band.

For Dessner, chamber music and classical composition followed playing in a band, and now the immersive sound environment found in film and installation is a source of insight. In the trajectory of Dessner’s journey, the interplay between classical music and visual art appears with film...