BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Q: What do you call a bunch of lawyers with an incredible talent for blowing their own trumpets?
A: The brass section of the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra, of course.
Smashing all the stereotypes we think we know about the legal profession, the MLO is a group of lawyer/musicians about to showcase works by two young Australian composers in support of social justice and mental health.
Pretty impressive, don’t you think?
The MLO will present The Brittle Dark on October 22, premiering new music by Hugh Crosthwaite (a lawyer/musician responsible for the title work); and Robert Dora (a conductor who reflects on the legal profession in his Lex Overture). Throw in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, and you’re all set for an exciting concert experience at Xavier College in Kew.
The group is a permanent project of BottledSnail Productions, a not-for-profit creative production company run by lawyers with a mission to increase awareness surrounding mental health issues and push for policy change in our community. The company has raised more than $40K for various charities since 2013.
In light of the MLO’s performance, we chat with the composers about their works. Hugh‘s impressive musical background has seen him score music for films premiered in festivals such as MIFF, Busan, and Tropfest. He’s been commissioned by Syzygy, Plexus Collective, Melbourne Youth Orchestra and more. His interest in social justice manifested itself in the creation of The Key of Sea, a CD featuring refugee musicians and Australian artists to raise money for human rights organisations. His work The Brittle Dark was originally composed for the Curro Quartet and expanded into its symphonic form for the MLO.
Robert is the co-founder of Melbourne’s Monash Medical Orchestra, Australian & Asian Orchestra, and Hopkins Sinfonia. He’s conducted performances across the world with acclaimed musicians and is a composer specialising in orchestral works. His academic achievements include a Master of Music from the University of Melbourne; Bachelor of Performing Arts and Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) from Monash University; and reception of awards including the University of Melbourne Commonwealth Post Graduate Award, Monash University Jubilee Honours Scholarship, and four Monash University Dean’s Awards for Excellence. He’s tutored and created university conducting courses and has himself been guest conductor for Citi Opera, Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Recorder Orchestra, and more.
Hugh Crosthwaite
I always enjoy composing. Orchestral composing is my absolute favourite of the art music genres. The available palette is so broad and the challenges present themselves in so many ways.
The Brittle Dark is a symphonic work inspired by the Victorian alps at night time. There is a special fragility to the night time air high up in the mountains. The coldness, the dark and the quiet come together to create a simultaneously static and vibrant environment. Against this backdrop, the theatre of the mountains is played out, from the nocturnal animals that emerge to the fierce storms that can erupt without a moment’s warning. The music is programmatic and tells the story of one night in the mountains.
This piece was particularly challenging because it is a little more abstract than my other recent works. The harmony is a little harder and the vibe of the piece required careful application of orchestration techniques. I really enjoyed putting it together and am eternally grateful to the MLO for giving me the opportunity to have it performed.
Robert Dora
Having composed various works (of varying lengths) for symphony orchestra, choir, piano and for solo instrument with orchestra, I love composing music for a specific musical need or purpose or for a specific ensemble (for example, I’ve previously composed commemorative ‘war’ symphony – an appropriately intense, emotional work – and a short fantastical caprice for violin and orchestra).
Lex Overture (lex being Latin for ‘law’) is a light-hearted musical tribute to the legal profession of which the lawyer and legal student players of the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra are a part. Its grand, frenetic and intense elements are musically depicted in specific sections of the work. It is stylistically reminiscent of compositions by 19th Century composers such as Austria’s Emil von Reznicek as well as ‘The Five’ Russian composers.
For Lex Overture, the parameters I set for myself were to compose a fun and fast moving work for the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra, which payed tribute to the grand legal profession while also being tailored to the musical tastes and capacities of the current members of this orchestra.
Being a composing conductor, it has been my great pleasure to conduct the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra since its inception in 2013 and it has been my desire for a long time to compose a work specifically for them. As such, I’m delighted that we will finally perform this work together considering that it was largely composed over a week in July of last year.
See Robert conduct the Melbourne Lawyers’ Orchestra in its performance The Brittle Dark at the Memorial Chapel of Xavier College, Kew. Starts at 3pm, October 22, tickets online.
Images supplied. Robert: credit Shaan Reza Ali.
