Welcome to Composer Spotlight, our new interview series with emerging Australian composers.
As the founding Artistic Director of one of Sydney’s young new music and hybrid art companies Kammerklang, Cameron Lam’s compositional experience has been based in practical work and experimentation. He is an avid dabbler and appreciator of the various arts, having completed his Honours in Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and currently studying dance and static trapeze at B&B Studios in Marrickville.
Cameron has written for leading Australian musicians including percussionist Claire Edwardes (‘The Colour of Woods’, 2009), contemporary vocal ensemble Halcyon (‘Orphic Hymn #9: Selene’, 2010), the internationally renowned Nexas Saxophone Quartet (‘Interweave’, 2010), and YouTuber and EWI-ist Peter Smith aka Soundole VGM Covers (‘Daemon: The Pride of Difference’, 2014).
This year, Cameron will release his first song cycle ‘Fragments of Solitude’ for soprano and piano, based on the poetry of Luis de Gongora, as a digital album on the Kammerklang label as well as a second album entitled ‘Mana Cycle’ as series of short pieces each based on different styles of magic.
He is looking forward to recording ‘Cybermemories’ – an entire album of music for the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) with long-time collaborator Peter Smith over the course of 2016 coinciding with the premiere his EWI concerto, Electric Phoenix, by Peter Smith and Strathfield Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sadaharu Muramatsu.
What made you want to become a composer?
I’ve always had a thing for patterns, whether studying maths, telling stories or tinkering with endless board game concepts. Writing music just felt like an inevitable step from my vocal and instrumental training, converting music into the same format as the rest of the hobbies: pattern finding and creative problem solving.
What’s the best thing about writing music from scratch?
Creating new work that fits a niche, tailored specifically to the performer, or its intended use. I love making music that is bespoke, that is inspired by the musicians it is to be played by, or the story it is telling. Writing from scratch allows me the complete flexibility to make something that matches my own aesthetic while also fulfilling its functional role.
What’s your creative process?
I try to make a point of starting each piece differently, just to help ensure a bit of variety. But inevitably, I start with pen on paper sketching out ideas, not necessarily music at this point, but concepts, structure or patterns. If it’s a song, I’ll often write out the poem in my own handwriting – it helps me figure out pacing and structural elements.
Once I have some sketches, I’ll start trying out melodic and harmonic variations on them (generally wandering the house singing or whistling, or bashing away at my old piano). Rhythmic material always comes last for me. I’ll pick out a couple of winning themes and sit down at the computer to score the piece, normally writing from beginning to end in a couple of sessions. Workshopping with musicians will generally take me from this first draft to the final scores, revising balances, creating nuances and shaping dynamics.
How did it feel the first time you heard a performance of your own work?
Exciting and a little humbling. My first premiere was in 2005 as a prize for winning a composition competition run through the Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst (‘Reflections’ for horn and string quintet 2005). It was amazing to have people playing and interpreting my music in concert for the first time.
My first professional premiere was a similar sensation. ‘The Colour of Woods’ for solo marimba and temple blocks was written for and premiered by acclaimed Australian percussionist Claire Edwardes in 2009 at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. It was a work we spent a lot of time working on, testing and negotiating with each other. I was so proud to watch Claire nail it on opening night, and humbled to be working with someone so talented.
Strongest influences?
Mark Rosewater, the head designer of fantasy card game, ‘Magic: the Gathering’ has been a huge influence on my writing style. For more than a decade, I’ve been reading his design column and figuring how game design applies to music. Concepts such as elegance, how to engage an audience, and balancing complexity versus depth, really are universal between each artform and I’ve enjoyed trying to find my own musical solution. It’s been wonderful to finally write a sort of homage to Mark and the Magic team in my recent album ‘Mana Cycle’, a series of pieces each based on a different type of magic.
Musically, I fell in love with Steve Reich’s ‘Tehillim’ during my first year of university after hearing it performed by Ensemble Offspring, Halcyon and Synergy Percussion – I still listen to it on my off-days.
Biggest challenge you’ve faced?
Probably running Vox for Kammerklang in 2010, a two hour concert of new Australian music all written especially for the project, accompanied by an associated art exhibition as well as projected film and dance. It was a pleasure being able to rely on guest artists Halcyon, but managing a 21-piece chamber orchestra on top of the various composers, dancers, visual artists and film makers was a struggle. Possibly didn’t help I was writing my honours thesis at the same time!
Which composition are you most proud of?
If you’d asked me at the beginning of the year, I would have given you the same answer I’ve given for the past five years: ‘Orphic Hymn #9: To Selene (The Moon)’ for soprano, mezzo soprano and chamber orchestra (composed 2010). While I still adore the piece – Halcyon’s rendition of it at the premiere, in particular – my new song cycle ‘Fragments of Solitude’ has finally taken its place.
‘Fragments of Solitude’, due for release on December 14, is a 30-minute choose-your-adventure song cycle for voice and piano originally written for the Boston Metropolitan Opera’s song cycle competition in 2013. The lyrics come from Edith Grossman’s recent translation of Luis de Gongora’s ‘The Solitudes’, a Spanish baroque epic poem. The song cycle allows the singer and pianist to re-order the pieces to create a unique story, re-interpreting the pilgrim’s journey from the original poem.
I’m particularly proud of this song cycle due to its variety and depth; I’ve drawn on all of the composing styles I’ve used over the past 10 years to try and capture each movement, from the atonal and pseudo-serial movement ‘Death’ to the flowing minimalism of ‘Offering’. Soprano Amelia Golding and pianist Alison Cameron have done an amazing job on the recording and I can’t wait to share it in a couple of weeks.
What does ‘new music’ mean to you?
I do wish we had a better (or more Googleable) term for what we do than new music. New music, to me, is music of our time – interpreting our modern world or other worlds through our own modern lenses. New music is as much memes, cat concertos, technology, science fiction, interactive installations, and new stylistic fusions, as it is a continuation of classic art staples.
We invent and create and thus further our own artform. In new art music, we use a traditional music language as a basis to describe our world and ourselves.
Why do you love composing?
Composing is my therapy; it makes me a better human being. It allows me to stop, breathe, and express myself with thought and structure. It allows me to work with amazing people, collaborating to create something more than what I had originally conceived. But most importantly, it lets me communicate with an audience. I’m not amazing with words, but with music I feel like I can express some of what I’ve experienced and share it with someone else.
Greatest piece of music to have ever been composed in the history of the world?
A tough question. I’m sure my answer will be different tomorrow, but for today I’ll say Gesauldo’s sixth book of madrigals. It is beautiful, occasionally alien, and incredibly interesting writing. He delves right into atonality in such a vocal way, it’s always a tad shocking to remember it was written in the 17th Century.
See Cameron Lam’s ‘Fragments of Solitude’, a song cycle for voice and piano based on Spanish poem ‘The Solitudes’ by Baroque poet Luis de Gongora, and translated by Edith Grossman. Performed by soprano Amelia Golding and pianist Alison Cameron on December 14. Learn more about Cameron at www.cameronlam.com.
Kammerklang: ALPHA (album). Featuring 13 tracks written for Kammerklang in 2009 and 2010, ALPHA features soloists Claire Edwardes (Ensemble Offspring), Jenny Duck-Chong (Halcyon), Alison Morgan (Halcyon), Emma Moore, Morgan Pearse and the Kammerklang Chamber Orchestra. This album spans the full gamut of Kammerklang works, from intimate solo and chamber music to bold and inventive works for voices and full chamber orchestra, all written by emerging Australian composers. Kammerklang is Sounds Made Real.[purchase_link id=”2870″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]
Kammerklang: BETA (album). BETA draws together many chamber works from 2010-2014 written especially for Kammerklang by emerging Australian composers. This album features the Kammerklang Chamber Orchestra alongside guest artists Nexas Saxophone Quartet with solos by Jane Bishop (flute), Peter Smith (EWI), Kaylie Dunstan (percussion), and Rory Brown (bass). Kammerklang: BETA blends the analogue with the digital for an intricate and beautiful album of live instruments and electronics.[purchase_link id=”2868″ style=”button” color=”red” text=”Add to Cart”]
Image supplied. Credit: Hayden Shepherd.
