BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
The Dots+Loops fellowship is here. And emerging string players from across Australia have joined this Brisbane initiative — spearheaded by founder Kieran Welch — to learn how to make new music the way new music should be made.
We’re talking about classical training being nurtured, but boundaries being pushed; live performances that connect with the audience as much as the players; and professional talent helping young artists boost their skills.
We hear from three Dots+Loops fellows, who are receiving this mentorship as they prepare their parts and rehearse together ahead of the culminating affair — the Dots+Loops Nonstop Festival on December 7 at Newstead Brewing Co. Milton.
So, fellows…why did you apply, and why is it a cool thing to do, anyway?
Julia Hill
Apart from desperately looking for a performance opportunity over the holidays [laughs], I really wanted to explore an avenue of music that could be considered ‘unorthodox’ compared to standard classical music. Unorthodox, in this sense, doesn’t just refer to the music itself – it refers the presentation of the performance, venue, potentially the rehearsal process, and everything else!
I feel that in tertiary music training, it can be easy to get sucked into the mindset of playing purely Classical music only, which is fine if that’s what you want to specialise in. But for me personally, I want to be ready for all musical genres that may present themselves during my career.
I was drawn to Dots+Loops because it is something different and I love different. It challenges traditional conventions, and has arguably changed the image of the Brisbane music scene in the past few years. The way Dots+Loops presents its concerts has evidently not just created audience enjoyment, but also has connected audiences with the performers.
This attitude to presenting concerts benefits both performers and audiences – audiences become immersed in the music and performers can involve the whole room with their music.
Why I mention this is because classical musicians often tend to focus on perfectionism rather than connectedness in performance, which ultimately takes the emotion and beauty out of the music. As a student half-way through my Bachelor of Music, I am very excited to perform in a space where both performers and audience are a part of the music. This is something I want to adapt for all of my performances, no matter the genre.
I’m very eager to learn from open-minded established professionals. There is a wealth of knowledge between all the mentors, and it’ll be great to learn their ‘top tips and tricks’ as musicians as well as learn of the journey they took to get to where they are now. I was particularly happy to find out I’m working with Jonny Ng in his section for Vivaldi Recomposed – he tutored my second violin section in Queensland Youth Symphony this year, and I honestly never have enjoyed tutorials so much before [laughs]! So it’ll be great to work with him again.
Jacqueline Webber
A number of reasons led me to apply for the Dots+Loops Fellowship. The two most prominent would be my desire to be able to learn more about playing new/contemporary music; and my passion for small-setting and chamber music, and how it bridges the gap between audience and performer.
I’m a big believer in music as a shared experience, not just between performers — which, mind you, is absolutely necessary in putting together such intricate works! – but also the experience of the audience.
The culture around Dots+Loops and its artists is, to me, completely unique in the Brisbane art music scene. The artists are incredible musicians themselves, incredibly versatile, as well as being lovely people through-and-through.
The openness in Dots+Loops between the players is also admirable. The involvement of ‘younger generation’ musicians was also very appealing, and their drive to champion new works and encourage people to ask ‘what if?’ was also a factor, too.
This particular fellowship appealed to me through the repertoire (Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed) after a performance of the original Four Seasons on Baroque violin earlier this year. Richter’s re-imagination of this set of pieces is nothing short of incredible.
I’m really excited to work with an incredible team of people in this program, some of whom I have admired as musicians for a long, long time. I’m hoping to learn more about new music, how to better rehearse this type of genre — it’s really hard a lot of the time! — and push my own musical abilities past what has been needed of me in the past.
Francesca Masel
I applied for the fellowship because I remember, back in 2016, being absolutely captivated by a Dots+Loops performance of Max Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed and wanting to be a part of something so unique and contemporary.
I love how open-minded and innovative the culture is, and I think it is awesome that it is run by young people. It resonates with me because I have a particular passion for chamber music and working collaboratively. I really wanted to explore music outside of my classical training in a professional dynamic environment like Dots+Loops.
The biggest thing I hope to take away from this fellowship is experience working and performing with such distinguished artists, and a greater appreciation and interest for pushing the boundaries of traditional music.
You can check out the full list of Dots+Loops fellows on the website. They’re learning with Kyla Matsuura-Miller (violin), Jonny Ng (violin), Henry Justo (viola), Louise King (cello), and Dots+Loops’ Kieran Welch and Flora Wong.
Congratulations, players!
CutCommon is the official Dots+Loops Nonstop Festival media partner.
Images supplied.
