BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE/MAKING WAVES
Have you checked out the third Making Conversation podcast? This week features composer Chris Williams as he interviews Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh about her music. The episode is part of the Making Waves series, which showcases composers through new audio features about the inner-workings of their careers, music, and lives.
In Behind the Conversation, CutCommon ventures into the process of the music journalists who have crafted these podcasts.
Here we meet Chris Williams himself. Chris completed his Masters in Composition at the University of Oxford in 2013, and is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has been commissioned to produce music by Carnegie Hall, and his music has been performed by The Song Company, The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the BBC singers, the Cavaleri Quartet and The Australian Voices, with whom he was composer-in-residence in 2010. Chris has been selected globally for highly respected awards, grants and workshops for his skill in composition.
What is your musical background?
I’m a composer. I grew up playing piano, not practising my scales enough, and always making up my own things. As well as studying classical piano, I explored a wide range of music and tried to play anything I could get my hands on. I hoarded scores (I still do), and I also played guitar – poorly – in a few bands through high school.
My first real experience of music, though, was my older sister’s violin lessons, which I’d often sit in on. I wanted to play the violin too (I still do), but my parents thought – probably very sensibly – that my sister and I didn’t need another thing we could fight about, so started me on the piano instead. We still found other ways to fight, of course.
When did you decide you wanted to become involved in music journalism?
I’m a fan, and an interest in journalism just seems to stem naturally from that. I want to talk to people about music.
I was completely captivated by Andrew Ford’s book Illegal Harmonies when I first read it in high school and it remains iconic for me. I’ve blogged a little bit before about what I think writing – or ‘pod-ing’ – about music can do, and why it interests me here.
How and why did you get on board with Making Waves?
I could probably start this answer the same way at the last, actually: I’m a fan. [MW founders] Peggy Polias and Lisa Cheney are fantastic. I’m in complete awe of them and what they do. Making Waves is such a great project promoting interesting music and community, so when the opportunity came up to do some interviews for Making Conversation I immediately wanted to be involved. Secretly, it was also just a great excuse to have conversations I wanted to have.
Who were you responsible for interviewing, and what was the process like for you?
The process was both scary and exciting. I interviewed three composers: Timothy Tate, Lisa Illean and Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh. They’re all people whose music I really admire.
I’ve known Timothy and Annie for a few years, but first met Lisa when I interviewed her. I enjoyed all the interviews a lot, and I’m still not sure if it’s easier to interview someone you know or someone you don’t know at all. They’re just quite different dynamics and probably challenging in different ways. I was pretty nervous for all of them, though it did get easier once I relaxed into it a bit. I’m not sure how good I was at pretending not to be nervous. I guess you’d have to ask them…
What are some of the things you’ve learnt or challenges you’ve overcome when taking part in this music journalism project?
I’ve always been insecure about my technical skills because I’ve just sort of picked those things up over the years. I was really worried I’d do something catastrophically wrong with the actual recording. Going through the process made it very clear to me that having engaging audio is much more important than it being technically perfect – though, of course, having both is ideal.
Actually, one of the things I love about podcasting is it’s such an intimate and immediate medium. Being able to hear background noise, or mics being knocked, seems to give a kind of authenticity to podcasting that’s maybe not so suited to broadcast radio. It really situates the sound in a compelling way.
What have you learnt about new Australian music and composers?
Part of the project has been a peer review process, so I’ve had a chance to preview a bunch of the episodes to hear what other people have done too. I reckon the most exciting part of this is hearing how stylistically diverse the musical landscape is. There’s so much different stuff out there, and there’s a lot of really great work being done, even if it’s geographically disparate. You will definitely be able to find something you’ll love in there, and hopefully something unlike anything you’ve ever heard before, too! And if it’s from a very different postcode to yours, all the better.
What did you most enjoy about your Making Conversation involvement?
I just took it as a chance to have conversations with people I admire and like, about topics I rarely get to have conversations. I also enjoyed thinking about how best to piece together an episode from the initial interview, where to put the music, how to lead from one answer to the next. That was a lot of fun and actually a lot like composing.
What do you hope listeners can gain from your podcasts?
I hope they discover music they didn’t know before, become curious about the people that make that music, and engaged by they way they make it. I also hope it’s conversation that generates more conversation, so I guess I hope they tell at least one friend about it, too!
What was one of the special moments in your interviews with these composers that really stood out for you?
We had a minor location crisis when I was interviewing Annie in New York City, so we ended up in this park in the East Village, right in front of a dog park. Annie had mentioned earlier how much she loves huskies, and then in the middle of the interview these beautiful huskies showed up. I also love dogs, so we were both pretty happy about the mid-interview distraction.
Where to next for you?
I’m about to go into rehearsal for a new show with the Sydney Theatre Company, Cloud Nine, which opens in July, and then…?
Listen to Chris Williams’ podcast with Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh!
Music in this Episode
Dwindling as the beginning of more vibrant things, by Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh
Performed by The Mivos Quartet.
The music you heard in the opening and closing credits is:
I/O (2014), by Eli Simic-Prosic
For diskclavier, recorded by the composer.
Used with permission.
Support Eli Simic-Prosic:
Making Conversation Production credits:
The Making Conversation: Australian Composers’ Podcast is brought to you by Making Waves.
This episode was recorded and produced by: Leah Blankendaal
Audio consultant: Daniel Thorpe
Mixing and Mastering: Thomas Green
Executive Producers: Lisa Cheney & Peggy Polias Making Waves
