BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Jesse Flowers is the newest young musician to be showcased by the Melbourne Guitar Foundation.
Having graduated in 2014 from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Music, the classical guitarist has gone on to achieve prestigious international prizes including first place in the Prinzessin Margaret von Hessen Wettbewerb and Nürtingen International Guitar Competition, and third in the Salzburg International Guitar Competition and Koblenz International Guitar Competition.
Jesse was also given a place in the Bundesauswahl Konzerte für Jünger Künstler’s 2017/18 concert season. The Sydney-born muso will soon perform in more than 20 German cities – but before he does, you’ll be able to catch him in North Melbourne on July 22.
So without further ado – let’s meet him.
Jesse, tell us how you first got into guitar. In an endearing video, your mother reveals you were more interested in cricket while you were growing up! When did you find your musical passion?
Yes, when I was in primary school, sport – in particular, cricket and football – was very important to me. From about the ages of eight to 10, I wanted to be like my hero Oliver Kahn and become the goalkeeper for the German national team!
My older sister played the violin and was accepted into Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. It is a selective public high school with a strong emphasis on the arts, and since my sister was having a great time there, my parents decided to make me audition as well.
I remember playing a simple arrangement of Yesterday by the Beatles at the audition, and somehow, after being on the waiting list for a month or so, I was offered a place at the school. Once I was there, all my new friends were already committed and advanced musicians – so being good at music suddenly became ‘cool’! I then started practising like crazy to catch up to my friends, and I haven’t really looked back since then.
As a child, what encouraged you to pursue the direction of classical music with guitar, as opposed to contemporary or other styles commonly performed with the instrument?
My first memories of the guitar are from when I was about four or five. A family friend would regularly come over for dinner at our place and strum his steel guitar, playing mainly Beatles’ and other pop songs. This obviously really impressed me, because when I was eight and my mum really wanted me to learn cello, I was very stubborn and insisted that I learn guitar. My mum agreed, but made me get classical guitar lessons at first.
Once I got into Newtown High School, though, I got my first electric guitar, and although I kept getting classical lessons, the electric guitar was my real passion. I would play along with Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, B.B. King, et cetera, trying to learn the guitar solos! It wasn’t until I was about 15 that I decided to really focus on the classical guitar. I think this is because I found it very technically challenging, which was, I admit, a big part of my obsession with guitar at that time: figuring out how to play difficult things loud and fast! But I was also really, really fascinated and drawn in by the music I was playing in my classical guitar lessons.
I remember in particular the preludes for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos and some movements from J.S. Bach’s lute suites really capturing my attention in a way that not much else had. I then just kept on discovering piece after piece of classical guitar repertoire on YouTube, and was hooked.
Who was your role model while you were learning? What was the most valuable lesson they taught you?
I’m definitely still learning and at an early stage in my development! It’s impossible to pinpoint one role model, I have had so many. Obviously I had my guitar heroes Julian Bream and John Williams when I was a teenager, and since then many, many other guitarists and professional musicians.
However, I was very often inspired most by friends or slightly older musicians who were clearly further down the path than I was. Hanging out and talking about music with them was and still is always very important to me. I think that when you see the working process of people who you really look up to and assume are just more naturally gifted, only to discover that they also have their personal struggles and difficulties, it reaffirms that it’s normal – and that it doesn’t really come easy to anyone. This, to me, is important to remember. It keeps me going especially when I am feeling very down about my playing. Something else all my role models have in common is a commitment to making music that will move people, not to play it safe and prioritise technical perfection.
When did you realise that you were going to go all-in and make this your life?
I never sat down and really thought through the decision to make music my career. Since I was 11 and became really obsessed with playing the guitar, I sort of just assumed I would make it my life. I also never seriously considered anything else, so it didn’t seem like I ever had to choose between music and another career path.
Of course, all the little triumphs and successes encourage and motivate you to keep on going, so I’m very lucky that I grew up in an environment that offered lots of performance opportunities and support for my music.
What moves you the most about pursuing a career in classical guitar?
To me, the main thing is performing music that moves people, and I see myself as a classical guitarist more through chance and circumstance, rather than a deliberate decision to make the classical guitar the medium in which I do that.
Having said that, I am very glad that I am a classical guitarist. Not only is it, in my opinion, an incredibly beautiful and intimate instrument; it is one that many people do not yet fully appreciate, even within the ‘classical music world’ and the ‘guitar world’. Often, people have never heard a classical guitar recital before, and so being able to present something that is to the majority of audiences unique is a very satisfying feeling.
How have you prepared for the MGF performance?
Leading up to a concert, I try to just live normally – not to over-practice and let my mind wander into useless daydreams and/or nightmares about how it will go! Of course, practising – both physical and mental – is super important, but good sleep is actually what I prioritise most! If I have slept well, then everything is automatically better and I feel confident that I will at least give myself the best chance of performing well.
In the hours leading up to the concert, I try to let go of all the self-doubt and anxiety that inevitably comes up, and just trust in all the preparation I have done.
What are your big plans for the future?
I have an exciting time coming up once I arrive back in Germany, with 24 concerts across the country! Through the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German National Music Competition), I was selected to take part in the Bundesauswahl Konzerte für Jünger Künstler 2017/18 concert season (a nationwide concert series for young musicians in Germany), and will be performing with mezzo soprano Julia Spies, and also with Ildiko Szabo cellist.
I will be presenting two programs with Julia and one with Ildiko, with music by John Dowland, Luigi Boccherini, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Franz Schubert, Astor Piazzolla and Manuel de Falla.
I’m really looking forward to playing high quality music, and the opportunity to play chamber music with such talented musicians will be invaluable.
The Melbourne Guitar Foundation will present Jesse Flowers at St Mary’s Church in North Melbourne on July 22. Tickets online, discounts for CutCommon subscribers.
Images supplied.
