BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Composition is often described as a solitary activity. And although it’s a process that can indeed be undertaken in isolation, things get a little different when that isolation is enforced by the government at the height of a global pandemic.
In this interview series, we partner up with Australian composers — emerging and established — who are continuing to write music from their home studios while in lockdown.
Rather than taking for granted the independent nature of composition, we’d like to celebrate composers’ abilities to keep creating when they are working in an industry that is facing collapse in this unfamiliar and high-stress environment.
Here, we chat with composer Audrey Ormella. Audrey, like many of the other composers you’ll meet in this series, is working on a new piece of music for The Australian Voices. The group, led by Gordon Hamilton, has commissioned an impressive 22 composers to make music during this challenging time.
At 17 years old, Audrey is powering through her early career, having been named finalist in the 2019 Artology Fanfare Competition with her piece recorded by the Australian Youth Orchestra. She also composed as part of the 2018-19 SALT initiative, and has worked with industry experts in the 2020 Gondwana Festival of Summer Voices.
Hi Audrey, thank you so much for taking part in our interview series. First up, talk us through your workstation at the moment. What’s your home studio or set-up look like at the moment, and how are you navigating your work life around the physical COVID-19 restrictions?
Thanks for having me! I’m currently a year 12 student, and although COVID-19 has significantly altered the work and set-up of my school life, my compositional set-up has remained consistent. I work at the piano in my bedroom, and COVID-19 has forced me to spend more time in this musical space, which definitely isn’t a bad thing!
There has been a lot of pressure in our community to do things while in lockdown — to take this opportunity to spend more time on creative projects. How do you feel about this? And do you feel there is a bigger expectation placed on composers to create, when considering the way people look at your profession as a solitary and highly expressive activity to begin with?
I think the forced home time has put more pressure on creatives to start new projects in lockdown. There seems to be a mass compulsion to do something with all this ‘free time’.
I’ve been able to spend more time on my projects as a result of self-isolation. And, having lost the worries I had previously of ‘I should be doing my school work’ or ‘I wonder what my friends are doing’, I have been able to do more.
That being said, I think we should also view part of lockdown as a time to relax and not have to work at all, as finding space for ‘me-time’ is closely connected with productivity and the creative process.
Tell us a little about your workflow, and how it’s changed.
I’ve been playing piano for nearly 10 years, so it’s where I most comfortably express and find myself. I often sit at my piano and relay through my fingers the music or thoughts that are going through my mind. Sometimes this leads to a really great idea, sometimes it doesn’t, but I find this is the best way to transfer my thoughts into music.
COVID-19 has allowed me to do this with less stress than usual; I have more time to be still and play, instead of worrying about school projects. And I’ve found that I’m beginning to explore musical ideas outside of my comfortzone.
On a compositional level, how would you say your music has been influenced by the external world — specifically by COVID-19, whether implicitly through personal expression, or explicitly through a particular message?
I am a very visual person, coming from a family of visual artists. So generally, my music is heavily conceptual and filled with strong images of what I’m trying to express. The isolation of COVID-19 has made me think about music in a more introspective way, and my composition is less about complexity, more about finding stillness and calm.
One of the projects you’re undertaking during this lockdown period is Far and Near. How did you get involved in this project?
In January this year, I was one of six composers participating in Gondwana Choir’s Festival of Summer Voices and was lucky enough to compose under Paul Stanhope and Gordon Hamilton. With Gordon, we explored compositional ideas through electronics — I learnt a huge amount from him! — and with his support, I composed an experimental electronic composition that was unlike anything I’ve created before.
Gordon contacted me last month and explained the concept for Far and Near, asking me to write a piece for electronics and choir. This pushed me outside of my comfortzone, but I’m incredibly grateful to be involved in such an exciting project and for the opportunity to be heard amongst other, more experienced voices.
What does it mean to you to still be able to work during COVID-19?
As I said before, I am in year 12, so my experience is different from most composers. I do still have several other school projects and exams for my HSC to work towards. However, COVID-19 did result in the cancellation of many weekly musical ensembles and activities, which were really important times in my week for my mental health. This project has allowed me to enter that mental/musical space that so many people have lost in this time, so for that, I am immensely grateful.
The project’s artistic director Gordon Hamilton has said in a release that the theme of this project “speaks to the current trauma enveloping the world”. What’s your composition about, and how does it respond to this theme?
My composition Deep Breath focuses on the anxiety of the current situation. You can very obviously see the effect of the ‘current trauma’ on the collective mental health: people are panicking, doing things outside of their ordinary behaviour, and I think lots of us are falling into uncomfortable and insecure mental spaces.
My piece is a representation of a panic attack; of the seemingly unstoppable and ever-present inner thoughts of anxiety. But most importantly, it is a reminder to stay calm and breathe deeply.
I’ve used the recurring motif of breath and breathing in my piece to remind people that although the world is in a new and frightening place at the moment, the most important thing to do is to stay calm and look to the consistent, positive things in our lives.
It must be a unique situation: you’re composing a work that will one day be performed — but who knows when? So, how do you keep the drive and motivation to keep working on live music, even though it may be quite some time before that live music can be played?
I’m still discovering my musical voice, and that discovery comes from experimentation, exploration and, of course, composition. Even if the music I am writing is not getting played now, I find the whole process in a way to be a journey of self-discovery, so I continue to compose.
I think this is a great time for all sorts of creatives — not just musicians! — to explore new ideas outside of their regular thinking; to create for the pleasure of creating.
What else are you up to at the moment?
My family has a beautiful piano accordion that has been in the attic for many years, and self-isolation has given me the time and opportunity to begin learning to play! Rather than focusing on the negatives of COVID-19, I think it’s important for people to pick up a new hobby, whether that be learning a new instrument, practising an artform, cooking, reading, or writing.
As my mentor [composer-pianist] Sally Whitwell said to me: ‘The experience of being an absolute beginner at something keeps you humble. Laughing at oneself is surprisingly therapeutic!’
At the end of the day, how do you predict the pandemic will impact the Australian music industry — and what are your hopes for its future?
As I said before, I’m only in year 12, so I don’t have a large experience of the Australian music industry yet. Of course, it’s plain to see that the pandemic has already negatively affected the industry through cancelled concerts and rehearsals, and it will inevitably continue to do so. However, I believe that as a result of everyone being stuck at home, there will be a rise of support and appreciation for the creative industries. At home, people listen to music, read books, watch movies and TV, and often pick up artistic hobbies. My hope is that the pandemic will make the world realise the importance of the creative industries, and there will be a surge in the support of what we do.
Find out more about The Australian Voices’ 22-composer initiative Far and Near on the website.
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