BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
The Monash Chamber Music Festival is about learning. It’s about opening your ears to the presentation of this intimate artform. It’s about listening to music from experts, and listening to experts tell you how they make their music.
Roman Ponomariov is one of the youngest artists to feature in the Monash Chamber Music Festival. He also shares his wisdom with other young musicians through a leading role at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music. This month, he will host masterclasses and performances and, whether you’re enrolled in Monash or not, you’re invited to head along.
We wanted to find out a bit more about what will take place in this festival, and why this expert in French horn believes that chamber music is at the core of what an artist is training for.
Hi Roman, lovely to chat with you. I’m interested to learn about your career so far – you’re one of the youngest artists at the festival and you are the Head of Brass at Monash?! What’s going on?!
Hi Stephanie, thanks for having me. I’m relatively new in my current role as Head of Brass at Monash. I love music and I love teaching, so when this position came up, I just had to go for it!
I’ve been teaching the French Horn ever since I was an undergraduate student myself, and have been involved in a tertiary sector as a lecturer from my mid-20s.
I was fortunate to have worked with all major orchestras in Australia and have collaborated with some remarkable musicians in various chamber settings. I’d have to say that my passion for teaching has evolved through my love of music, and now it’s grown into something bigger than I could’ve imagined.
When did you first move into the role of Head of Brass, and what have you been learning while you’re there?
I started in my current position as Head of Brass at the beginning of this year, and will be stepping up to the role of acting Head of Classical department in the second semester. The university jobs nowadays come with a substantial amount of administrative work, which can be both exciting and exhausting. If not managed carefully, this can very quickly eat into the time you get to spend with your instrument.
I also have a beautiful two-year-old son, so time management is crucial here!
By being practical in its nature, our music course is quite different from any other arts degree that’s offered at Monash. Universities are complex ecosystems, and facilitating positive change takes a considerable amount of time and effort. Oftentimes, one needs to come up with rather creative solutions by staying true to the best practice in music education as well as fitting into the broader university curriculum.
The Monash Chamber Music Festival takes place in the wake of a number of chamber music celebrations across Australia (from the competitive Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, right through to Townsville’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music!). Is chamber music having a resurgence in Australia? Why do we love chamber music so much?
The Monash Chamber Music Festival is an opportunity for our incredible classical staff to collaborate on stage and share their music and expertise with the audience. We strongly encourage all high school students who are considering a career in music to come along! It will be a great day of music-making!
I believe that chamber music is at the core of everything we do as musicians. If you watch some of the world’s best orchestras perform, they operate as one giant chamber music group. A great soloist would interact with an orchestra similarly to the way a chamber musician would. It’s all chamber music!
Monash has a relatively small classical department and we take pride in our collaborative and inclusive nature, making sure each student gets an equally well-rounded music education.
One of the things that makes the Monash festival so special is the inclusion of masterclasses with fine musicians (you included!). What are you looking forward to sharing with emerging musicians that will introduce new areas of chamber music?
My aim is to encourage more brass players to explore chamber music and go beyond the traditional ensemble formations, such as a brass quintet. I consider myself lucky playing the horn. We have a tremendous wealth of repertoire written for the instrument. This gave me the opportunity to work closely with singers, pianists, string players, wind players and even percussionists!
When it comes to chamber music, I would love to see brass players extend themselves by going beyond the traditional objectives of ensemble playing. Needless to say that good rhythm, intonation, and sound quality are fundamental to what we do.
However, through my experience of working with various singers and instrumentalists, who came from a more established chamber music tradition, I have learnt the importance of having a clear musical intent. Our musical ideas, coupled with convincing delivery, are things that make a performance truly special.
Tell us a little about your group the Melbourne Brass Trio, which will also be performing at this event in addition to your hosted masterclasses.
The Melbourne Brass Trio was formed with a long-term view of providing the brass department at Monash University with a professional ensemble-in-residence. It also creates an opportunity for our staff to collaborate more closely.
The instrumentation of the ensemble is somewhat unusual; horn, trumpet, and bass trombone. The other players in the group are Mike Zsabo, principal bass trombone of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Rosie Turner, second trumpet of the MSO. I have known Mike and Rosie for a number of years, and have had the chance to collaborate with them on several projects. The idea of starting a chamber group came about somewhat organically, and we are looking forward to future projects and commissions.
Why should musicians come to the Monash Chamber Music Festival?
First and foremost, I think people should come to Monash on 29 July to simply enjoy some great music! It’s also a chance to broaden one’s perception of what’s possible in the world of chamber music and explore the various collaborations that could be fostered.
My personal hope is that by attending an event like this, a number of high school and university students will get inspired to form their own chamber music groups. I find the process of collaborating with like-minded people to be deeply satisfying and feel compelled to encourage more people to experience it for themselves!
And before we let you go…what’s your favourite ever piece of chamber music?
This is a very difficult question to answer. There’s just so much good music out there! The works that come to mind are Canzoni by Giovanni Gabrielli, Mozart and Beethoven’s quintets for piano and winds; however, being a horn player, it’s hard not to love the Brahms’ Horn Trio!
On 29 July, my chamber group will be performing a trio by a New York composer Daniel Schnyder. It’s somewhat post-modern in nature, and quite technically demanding on the performers. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to it!
See workshops and masterclasses at the Monash Chamber Music Festival from 1-9pm this 29 July.
Some featured performances include the Sutherland Trio, Fidelio Quartet, Songmakers Australia, and Duo Chamber Melange. Masterclass hosts include Roman Ponomariov, Lisa Grosman (viola), Elizabeth Sellars (violin), and more. Check out the full program and book your space now on the Monash website.
Images supplied.
