BY MARK BOSCH, LEAD CRITIC
Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy offers invaluable mentorship and performance opportunities to composers and performers every year.
This year’s Hatched Academy Associate Artist is violist Henry Justo, who already has some stellar credits to his name, including having travelled to Austria on a Henderson Travellers Scholarship, having worked with the ACO as 2018 Emerging Artist and casual musician, and with the Australian Youth Orchestra as associate principle viola.
Ahead of the annual family-friendly fiesta that is Ensemble Offspring’s Sizzle, held this 28 April at Sydney’s Petersham Bowlo — and featuring not just Henry, but the whole gang and a band of high school students — we chat to Henry about his experiences and outlook as an emerging musician.
Hi Henry! First of all, congratulations on being named Hatched Academy Associate Artist for 2019. I have to say, belying the imagery of a hatchling, you already have some considerable experience under your belt. What fresh new skills are you hoping to get out of your relationship with Ensemble Offspring?
Any time you are given the opportunity to present you and your music to the world, it really forces you to explore the sort of artist you want to become. I’m put in a position where I get to be involved with the creative process, am pushed musically, and have a stack of opportunities, all of which is pushing me in the right direction.
I am lucky to have had some great performing experiences already but am still developing, and it’s quite a privilege to play with such a powerhouse ensemble who are so innovative in their work. I am being mentored by an array of musicians, performing solo sets, and challenging ensemble repertoire over the year; the sort of invaluable experience you can only get by doing.
Hatched Academy is also about giving you opportunities as a working contemporary musician in the industry. I have already met with great people across the industry, am working with several young Australian composers on premiering new works, and am setting myself into the new music scene. Building these relationships and being involved creatively is really thrilling — it gets me excited for what I want to do in the future.
Describe your turn to contemporary chamber and solo performance. Have you always enjoyed these repertoires?
Honestly no, I didn’t always think new music is where I would want to put my energy, but that’s only because I was barely exposed to it. Throughout my youth orchestra programs and conservatorium studies, I found myself playing more contemporary repertoire, little by little, and loving how creative it is. Now, I am immersing myself in this world and understand just how important it is for musicians to do this work.
The process of working with composers is incredibly energising, and offers something pure to the stage — it forces you to think creatively and bring an audience along with you for the ride. Part of this as well is the open-minded attitude of the new music community — people are so committed to authentic art-making and engaging performance experiences for audiences. Such honesty and purpose makes experiences rich, and seeing how many young musicians around me feel the same way bodes well for pushing contemporary music further into the foreground across the Australian arts scene.
Turning back the clock, tell us a bit about your time in the orchestra that grew you up, the AYO. How have you seen yourself grow since your first program with them, and what have been some standout experiences?
My first AYO experience was as a 15-year-old at National Music Camp; the opening rehearsal being James Macmillan’s The Confession of Isobel Gowdie — quite a shock to the system. I don’t think I could read treble clef properly, let alone complex rhythms. I had also never played remotely contemporary music before, yet by the end of those two weeks I was so completely in love with music-making — it was really the start of me treating viola as a serious endeavour.
I didn’t grow up always thinking I could be a musician, but largely because of AYO, music kept taking over my life. The people you meet and the unity of what you’re doing together feels pretty special, as if the whole world opens up. With AYO, I toured the world, was tutored by and played under world-renowned musicians, did some emotional concerts, and made a family of peers and Aussie musicians. But my six music camps are really the highlight. I genuinely did grow up through them, and one of my great hopes is to tutor at NMC one day.
You’ve worked with plenty of world-class musicians, including Veronika Hagen, Pekka Kuusisto, the Australian String Quartet, the Borodin String Quartet… Tell us, what was the most valuable lesson or masterclass you ever had?
Something that I have learnt from so many inspiring people is that when playing music, you must give everything. A recent experience was in Finland last year with my quartet, having lessons with the Quatuor Danel who took a liking to us and stretched what we thought possible. The evening following our festival concert, Mark Danel asked us to play for him at 9pm. This turned into an intense session until midnight, where we worked on our entire program, with him demanding every detail, every possibility of expression and emotion be communicated. We were hanging on his every word, and our first violinist even had a migraine by the end.
I think it’s incredibly important for young musicians to be exposed to the highest potential of music-making, and all my favourite musicians perform with their hearts. Here, being alongside such great musicians is where I learn the most; being shown where the possibilities of the art can take you — quartet with Pekka [Kuusisto], working with Ensemble Offspring, page-turning Messiaen for Stephen Emmerson — experiences like this can really shape you.
Apart from the viola, what are your passions and interests?
I’ve always been obsessed with tennis, and in primary school I would spend many afternoons playing alone against a wall until dark, and I still love it as much now. Sadly, I don’t play so much anymore, but can be found in January glued to the TV, watching [the Australian Open].
I also bake regularly (hot cross buns were the latest endeavour), and am certainly partial to going out for a dance. A great community of friends too keeps me going. Balance is always good!
See Henry perform with Ensemble Offspring for the 2019 Sizzle this 3pm April 28 at the Petersham Bowling Club.
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