BY ANGUS DAVISON, TASMANIAN COMPOSER
Deep within the labyrinth of the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, something’s stirring. Whispers hang tense in the air. Hunched, harried figures scuttle the corridors clutching bundles of manuscript. Yes, the composition department is on the move, gearing up for the premiere of new student pieces at the semester one Composers’ Showcase.
In the lead up to the concert on 1 May, four composers reveal their love of music, personal voice, and take on the role of new music today.
Prepare to be inspired.
JOEL ROBERTS
“Being a composer can seem to be a very impractical skill to offer to the world. However, I’ve realised that it’s actually healthy to pursue creativity for its own sake.
“I agonised over studying composition for 10 years and, eventually, I was at the right place in my life to pursue it. I moved to Hobart from Victoria to study, and the day that I arrived, I knew I was in the right place. Composing is both the most rewarding and most frustrating thing I know.
“I hope my music sits between being appealing, yet challenging for the listener. My piece for the upcoming Composers’ Showcase, ‘Under the Seven Pointed Star’, is based on the early life of Alec Campbell, a Tasmanian who served at Gallipoli. It was commissioned by seven-piece ensemble Note-Aurius.
“After graduating, I want to continue learning and explore as many outlets for composing and having my works performed as I can. This includes climbing the steps of academia. I hope to use music to draw attention to things that matter. For example, I have begun a set of pieces that are inspired by Tasmania’s endangered species in the hope of raising awareness.”
CLARENCE ZHANG
“I started to learn music very late. I tried to study all kinds of art, but finally I found composition to be the most rewarding. Composition requires high levels of both perceptual thinking and rational thought. You formulate all the rules in your world, and feel like a god creating a universe.
“Most of my works are dark and twisted, even in some very happy pieces. I believe tragedy is the best art. Most of my works are atonal and have some minimalist features.
“In the Showcase, I am having performed ‘Sorrow’ from my five movement string quartet ‘Emotions’. It is a very slow and atonal movement. I composed it when I was missing my girlfriend who was in China.
“I believe art can be classified as ‘higher’ or ‘lower’. And contemporary serious music is the top of the music pyramid today. It is the most meaningful, logical, profound and creative music we can hear today. Just like science, most people won’t understand it and will never use it in their life. However, human beings have to research it whatever the cost.
“After finishing Masters this year, I hope to complete a PhD. It is very hard making a living off only composing, so I am planning to find a teaching job in an university.”
ELEANOR MEREDITH
“Music has pretty much always been my path. My dream is to be a film scorer and orchestral conductor, and I’m am also a contemporary singer and pianist. I want to have a career in music, and be able to support myself doing what I love.
“More than anything, I undertook my degree to learn. At this early stage my music is very melodic. But I’m hardly started really, and I have a lot to learn. One thing I would say about my music is that I want to move people. If I can achieve that, then I’ve achieved my goals. My piece for the Showcase is for three saxophones. It’s quite melodic, and reminds me of one of those European dances that just wants to go faster and faster!
“I think music describes the time in which it was written. If you listen to music through the ages, it’s like you get a snapshot of society and how people felt and thought. And that’s why new music is important now; not just classical music. All music paints its little bit of the picture.”
FRANK SARTAIN
“I chose to pursue composition because I have always had a strong passion for music. My style is epic and cinematic, similar to what you would hear during a movie, and a lot of my work tends to be tonal and fast-paced, with a groove you can nod your head to. Specific features of my work include lyrical melodies and suspenseful harmonies. My piece for the Showcase was inspired by the ticking sound of a clock and is written for piano four hands and drum kit.
“I hope that a degree in composition will allow me to compose more sophisticated music and enable me to establish connections with other musicians in the future. After graduating, I plan to apply to a Masters Program in either Composition, Music Education, or Music Therapy.
“I believe New Classical music plays quite a role in the world today. It helps keep classical music alive. Bringing in contemporary music with influences from today’s generation and styles of music enables younger people to relate to classical music.”
The Composers’ Showcase concert will be held on 1 May at the UTAS Conservatorium of Music from 1pm.
Images supplied.
