BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Should you stay in Australia to build your music career, or travel overseas in search of bigger things? What even are those bigger things?
This new interview series aims to educate you about the best of both worlds. And we’ll give you a hint: there’s no right answer.
We’ve spent a year teaming up with the Australian Youth Orchestra to bring you stories about those who have started to forge their industry path in Australia. But some have remained in the country, while others have stationed themselves across the world.
No matter where you choose to live and work, there is plenty for you to learn. In this interview, we meet William Tanner. He studied a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, and has performed with the school’s ensembles as well as the Queensland Youth Symphony (as principal horn, no less).
William had a chat with us from his hometown of Yeppoon on the Central Queensland Coast, having just wrapped up his second year at the Australian National Academy of Music. He was also accepted into the 2020 AYO Orchestral Management program (he’s previously performed in the AYO’s concert season, too). Go William!
Tell us how you got to be where you are today.
When I finished my undergraduate degree in Brisbane, I considered moving overseas to continue studying. I travelled around Germany for over a month and had lessons with as many teachers as I could – if I was going to move to the other side of the world, to a country I couldn’t speak the language of, I wanted to make sure I found the perfect teacher to make it all worth it.
After receiving lots of very similar feedback about my horn playing from so many world-renowned teachers, it made me realise that it doesn’t really matter what city I’m in, I’m the one who needs to make my playing better. I’m the one who needs to spend the time practising and mastering the instrument. And I realised that doing that in a place where I have family, friends, connections, and a good quality of life is more important to me, which is why I decided to make the most out of Australia before uprooting my life and starting over.
And that’s how I ended up accepting a position at ANAM, and moving just little further south to Melbourne.
How have you found the experience of working to build your career in Australia?
Honestly, I have found it very difficult. There are limited opportunities for work in comparison to the number of capable players. The calibre of musicianship amongst Australia’s freelancers is very high, and there are plenty of musicians who can do the job. Unfortunately, vacancies of permanent positions can be few and far between, and breaking into the freelance scene is something I have found particularly challenging.
So talk us through your daily life — practice routine, work, study.
Between classes with visiting guest artists and rehearsals with lots of different ensembles, no two days look alike when at ANAM. There are weeks that are demanding, filled with rehearsals, concerts, and classes; and weeks that are quiet, which usually fill up with practice to prepare for upcoming concerts and external auditions. Safe to say there are always a couple of balls in the air.
How has studying, training, and working in Australia contributed to or helped shape your identity as a musician?
I feel like in Australia there is a less competitive environment between peers and colleagues, and in its place a nature of collaboration. Of course, we still have competitions and often compare ourselves to those around us — especially in a training institution — but there is a strong sense of mateship in Australia that I believe translates into our music making.
What I mean to say is that it’s not just about the music, it’s about the people we’re with, too. And in my opinion, that’s the whole point of why we do what we do – to come together with like-minded people to share experiences and create something to express to the world.
There’s a perception that Australian artists need to go overseas to ‘make it’. As you’ve chosen to stay, what are some of the benefits you think Australia has had to offer you as an emerging artist?
There may be more opportunities overseas with many more orchestras, training academies and universities, but there is also an abundance of emerging artists and fierce competition. Whereas in Australia, the comparatively smaller pool of musicians is shadowed by the fewer opportunities. I think anywhere in the world presents its challenges, from the small community of Australia, to the language barriers of Europe, or the financial burden of the United States.
However, I am fortunate enough to be studying at a place like ANAM that has so many residencies with guest artists from overseas. We get a taste of everywhere, whether it’s a lesson from one of the best pedagogues in Germany, performing alongside an American wind quintet, or working with a Brazilian conductor. We are exposed to many different approaches to music and styles of playing at a school that boasts an international faculty, and we get it all on our doorstep.
How has your local community supported you as a young musician, and what are your biggest needs from this community?
Rural Queensland does not have the best support for the arts, so growing up there while trying to learn classical music had its hurdles. Fortunately, my local high school had a great music program with some of the most dedicated, caring, and hard-working teachers I have come across, with fellow students who were just as inspired and enthusiastic as I was.
The community I had growing up was so supportive of each other and tight-knit, even though we rehearsed in buildings that were falling down, on instruments that hadn’t been serviced in 20 years. But it didn’t matter, because it was about building relationships and coming together to make music, which is what ignited the spark in all of us to do well.
When I moved to the city, I often saw unappreciative students at wealthy inner-city schools who took their sparkling new facilities for granted. It really irked me to see that — knowing that there are students and communities in rural towns that have so much passion, drive, and love for music but just don’t have the resources.
You trained with the AYO to build your professional experiences as you enter the industry. What was the key message from your training that remains with you now — and that you’ll take with you anywhere in the world?
Playing with the Australian Youth Orchestra gave me the invaluable experience of learning the nuances of orchestral playing and the subtle, unspoken etiquette of it all. One of these areas, for example, was learning each role within the horn section at a high level. Each chair has its own idiosyncrasies regarding leading and following, balance, sound quality, etc., which you don’t experience when playing solos or chamber music. And being taught these skills – either from a mentor or just by making mistakes and figuring it out – early on in my training gave me years of knowledge and experience that has been crucial when playing professionally.
What advice would you give to young people who are undertaking this sort of training, or who have recently completed it, and are looking to build their career in Australia?
This sounds like me, I’d love some advice! But something I always try and do is say ‘yes’ to everything. Learn as much as possible. Take every opportunity you can. Sign up for that course that you’re only mildly interested in. You never know, you could come to love it. Which is how I got into music! I didn’t have any ambitions to learn the trumpet when I was 9 years old, but figured I’d give it a red-hot go to see if I liked it. And here we are 14 years later, forging my career as an orchestral horn player.
This is the final story in our All the world’s a stage series! We’ll be collaborating with the Australian Youth Orchestra once again in 2020 — make sure you keep your eye out for more stories with the emerging classical musicians of the nation!
Images supplied.
