BY KIYA VAN DER LINDEN-KIAN
Writing music can often seem like a mystifying and intellectual process. But for some, the experience can be “uniquely cathartic”.
Mark Holdsworth is a well-known name in the Australian young composers’ community and – the recent winner of the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize for his work Hellfire.
Completing his studies in Perth at the University of Western Australia, Mark’s compositional style embraces a diverse range of genres. He has a knack for exploring the “numerous idiosyncrasies” of different musical groups, and has written for everything from orchestras and large ensembles to smaller chamber groups and solo repertoire. Some notable standouts include the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian String Quartet, and the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Alongside his inexhaustible output, Mark also finds the time to be a passionate advocate for music education with his involvement in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Songbook project. I had a chat with Mark shortly after he received the Arcadia Winds prize.
Hi Mark, congratulations on receiving the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize! I’m intrigued by the breadth of projects you’ve done. What drew you to composition?
Thanks Kiya, I’m really honoured to be the recipient of the inaugural competition. Hellfire is my first attempt at a wind quintet so receiving this award is very heartening.
Composition was something that was born out of necessity for me. As an aspiring concert pianist, I found myself somewhat confined by the thematic scope of the available repertoire. Although much of the subject matter of the repertoire is universal and timeless, I wanted to be personally connected with the music and so I began composing my own. This opened up the possibility of communicating and perhaps purging aspects of my life that I was previously unable to. As such, composition is a very personal thing for me and it takes a lot of courage to present my music before an audience’s scrutiny. However, it is a uniquely cathartic experience that can yield incomparable reward.
I’ve noticed a strong theme of pantheonic and theological references, as reflected in the titles of your works (for instance, your Hymn to Zeus). What influenced your decision to tackle theme themes, and how can we hear them?
I don’t actually have any religious leanings, but I do have a fascination with what people have historically put their faith in. I think that the things people choose to trust in sheds invaluable insight on both personal and collective fears, needs and desires. It’s a perspective that artists have shared and created from for a long time. The stories that comprise religious scripture and tradition often consider how we define our humanity, and this is a central theme underpinning my general creative output.
You’ve studied with a number of renowned and notable composers including James Ledger and Dr Christopher Tonkin. How do you maintain your own compositional voice when learning from such influential composers?
I feel very privileged to have studied under Jim and Chris; I think our teacher-student relationship almost extends a decade now. Jim and Chris are very different composers both in terms of aesthetic and their approach to teaching, but they are the same in their emphasis on personal voice and identity. All of my teachers and mentors have insisted that honesty is imperative to establishing a sincere and personal compositional voice. I really believe this and strive for honesty in all of my creative work.
How do you approach writing for a small chamber group versus writing for an orchestra?
The orchestra is a remarkable thing, it has the capacity for sheer force and yet also delicate nuance; its potential is limitless. For these reasons, I love composing for orchestra. I often try to educe the aesthetic of orchestral music from smaller chamber compositions. However, there are also numerous idiosyncrasies unique to chamber ensembles. For me, writing for smaller chamber groups is an opportunity to hone in on select instruments and discover their individual and collective potential in a focused and isolated context. In regards to Hellfire, I’ve tried to marry these two concepts together; full bodied ensemble tutti are juxtaposed against more finessed and detailed soloistic lines.
You’re a passionate advocate of music education and have been involved in the TSO’s Songbook project. How would you like to see music education improve in Australia?
Whether we are active participants or passive recipients, we are almost constantly surrounded by music. This attests to its significance in human life. Because of this, I think that music education is paramount. However, it often seems as though, as children, we are encouraged to create and express; and as adults, we are almost deterred from creativity in favour of more practical pursuits. Consequently, our ability to express is gravely diminished. In this sense, I believe that music and the arts have an important role to play in society’s collective psychology.
Working with Jenny Compton and the TSO on the Songbook project has been a humbling experience and tremendous privilege. I think what they do for music education is so commendable. What I would like to see come about in music education is the establishment of more resources to nourish the growth of new music, as well as a greater emphasis on the performance of it. There is a kind of reticence amongst many performers and audiences when it comes to new music and this, I think, has to do with the lack of education about it.
The Songbook project is an important initiative that endeavours to contribute towards this goal. It is important that we see further projects of this kind emerge across the country.
Where do you hope the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize will take you, and what’s next?
I’m working on two new orchestral pieces that the MSO has commissioned as part of my Cybec Young Composers Residency. Fanfare will open the final MSO Sidney Myer Music Bowl concert in February and Cris de coeur will be premiered at the Metropolis New Music Festival in May. The residency is a relatively new initiative made possible through the generous benefaction of Roger Riordan and the Cybec Foundation.
Similarly, Arcadia Winds is a great supporter of Australian new music and as such they have munificently promoted this prize. I’m hoping that the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize will also lead to future projects, either with Arcadia Winds, with ensembles like them, or something entirely different.
Learn more about Mark Holdsworth and Arcadia Winds. You can even play some of Mark’s music yourself.
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