BY EMMA SULLIVAN
Dr Aristea Mellos understands, more than most, the power of a good education.
The young Australian composer, whose music is regularly broadcast and performed across the globe, credits her formative years on scholarship at SCEGGS Darlinghurst as imperative in developing the skills and self-belief to pursue a career in the arts. And now she wants to pay it forward, presenting a portrait recital of her art song to raise funds for her alma mater’s music scholarship program.
Songs for a Day will feature soprano Helen Zhibing Huang (Deutsche Oper Berlin) and pianist Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery (New York), two musicians who have inspired and shaped the way Aristea composes.
We had a chat with Aristea in the lead-up to the performance to hear about her life-changing experience at the Eastman School of Music, finding her true compositional voice, and the vital role that education plays in empowering women.
Your upcoming concert is being held in the Great Hall at your old school, SCEGGS Darlinghurst, in support of its music scholarship fund. How did your experience at SCEGGS shape your career in music, and why is this scholarship program important for you?
I was fortunate to be awarded a music scholarship at SCEGGS Darlinghurst for years 11 and 12. Quite simply, the scholarship made my attendance at the school possible, and it exposed me to an educational environment grounded in feminist principles.
At that stage of my life, I was already very interested in composition, and in pursuing a career as a composer. My time at SCEGGS taught me not to fear risk taking; to be persistent, and to believe that women could and should make valuable contributions to society in all fields. I think that I carried these values with me as I commenced my studies and musical career.
Whilst all of this seems like common sense, unbelievably, somehow in 2019 as women, we’re still fighting to be seen and heard in professional environments. For this reason, it’s important to me that more young women can access a serious education that empowers them.
In an age where education — whether it be private schooling or university HECS debt — is costly, it’s important that scholarship programs survive.
I imagine that returning to your old school must engender some reflection on your study and work over the past decade. Is there anything about the music industry you would like to go back and tell your 18-year-old self, knowing what you know now?
I would tell myself that being a musician requires you to have a long-term mindset. It’s more of a marathon than it is a sprint. It can take years, even decades to find and understand your compositional voice.
I would let myself know that I should expect to write lots of terrible works before writing anything of real substance, and that this is all part of the process.
I would also tell myself that it’s okay to write music that other people don’t like or value. So much of our training as musicians is all about meeting the approval of others — teachers, examiners, an audience. Deep down, none of that matters. At the end of the day, the art just has to be true to you, and if it is, it will find its own home.
This recital, Songs for a Day, showcases and celebrates art song. What draws you to this genre and what can audiences expect from the music?
I’m drawn to the intimacy and to the poetic nature of the genre. One of the wonderful things about art song is that it is portable and cost effective – all you need is a piano and a voice. A well-crafted art song can pack the same emotional punch as an aria, without the financial burden.
During my tertiary studies, I began to work closely with my colleagues in the opera and piano accompaniment programs. By the time I had finished my doctorate, I had written around 30 songs. Songs for a Day takes its title from a cycle I wrote during my studies in the United States that sets three poems by the Greek poet Yiannis Ritsos.
Audiences attending the concert can expect to hear a diverse range of international poetry spanning the 19th-21st centuries. The settings are lyrical and moody. The piano acts like a magical machine from a Miyazaki animation that constantly shifts gears to facilitate the vocal lines that sail above.
Two American musicians will be featured in this concert – soprano Helen Zhibing Huang and pianist Ada Arumeh Kim Lowery. How did you all meet and establish this collaboration and what do you think they bring to your music?
I met Ada 10 years ago at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine. It was at the festival that I was encouraged to apply for graduate study in the US. And, when I arrived at the Eastman School of Music to commence my Master’s degree on a hot August day in 2010, serendipitously, Ada was manning the front desk.
Ada took me under her wing in those first few months as I adjusted to life as an international student. We eventually became neighbours and good friends. Over the years, we’ve collaborated on several performance projects in New York, where she lives.
I met Helen through Ada. In 2013, I was attending the Vancouver Song Institute which had a great art song program. Ada sent me a message to let me know that her friend Helen was also at the festival. I was trying to renew my US visa at the time, and I ended up stuck in Canada for an extra week.
Whilst I was waiting for my visa to clear, Helen invited me to sit in on her masterclasses and lessons. As a result, I was able to catch some fantastic sessions led by experts in lieder and piano accompaniment, such as incomparable Graham Johnson.
I also got to know Helen and her sublime instrument – a light, clear soprano that’s equally at home singing Handel as it is contemporary opera.
I think that knowing your performers well, and cultivating lasting relationships with them, brings a special understanding and depth to the collaboration. Helen and Ada have both watched me grow as a composer, and likewise, I’ve drawn inspiration from watching their own careers and musical talent develop. When I was composing my new song cycle, which we’ll be recording and premiering in October, I wasn’t writing for just any soprano and pianist, but rather, for Ada and Helen specifically. The songs are tailored to their strengths as performers.
You recently completed Masters and Doctoral degrees at the Eastman School of Music in America. What did you gain from this experience, and what advice would you give to young Australian musicians interested in studying overseas?
The experience was life-changing. Aside from the rigour of my tertiary studies, it was a privilege to be a student alongside such a talented cohort. My colleagues were so exceptional that each day they inspired me to aim higher and to work harder.
The doctoral degree in particular was an intense experience, but it taught me that music isn’t a career that you can just dabble in. It’s a full-time commitment to live and survive as a musician, and our training should prepare us for the rigours of this life.
I would advise young Australian musicians to do their research and to find the institution and faculty that will best support them during this crucial period of study. For me, Eastman was the perfect fit because it required me to minor in an instrument alongside composition. Since graduating, my skills as a pianist have been essential in enabling me to find work as a freelancer.
I would also tell young Australians not to be afraid of negotiating the largest scholarship you can wrangle out of an institution. When I first arrived at Eastman, I had no idea that I could present my other graduate study offers to the school to increase my scholarship and stipend. I didn’t understand that this haggling was part of the acceptance process – so don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself!
What other upcoming projects are you excited about?
A have a few projects later this year that I’m looking forward to. I’ve just finished writing a small work for the Song Company, which will be toured nationally in late October/November.
On October 20, I’m premiering a new work for classical guitar and string quartet with a wonderful group of performers including my husband, the guitarist Josinaldo Costa.
I have a new work to finish for the Judgement of Paris Recorder Quartet by November, and an orchestral work to revise and ship out to the US before Christmas.
Songs for a Day: SCEGGS Darlinghurst OGU Scholarship Concert takes place on 13 October.
CutCommon’s Emma Sullivan is a freelance double bass performer, educator, and writer of all things classical music.
Images supplied.
