Georgia Tech Chamber Strings, conducted by Chaowen Ting, will give the US premiere of FiddleSticks! on the 29th of February at the Ferst Centre, Atlanta, Georgia. The program is sponsored by Women's Philharmonic Advocacy. More information about the night is available here. Other programmed works include Ney Rosauro's Marimba Concerto and Stravinsky's Ragtime for 11 Instruments.
I'm excited to be off to the Netherlands next week for the premiere of my new work, And Whether Pigs Have Wings, for soprano and chamber orchestra. The piece is written for soprano Caroline Cartens and the Orchestra of the 21st Century (RKST21), a joint collaboration between Orkest de Ereprijs and Het Gelders Orkest.
Cartens and RKST21 will perform And Whether Pigs Have Wings on two programmes, conducted by Arjan Tien. The first at Brand New Day (February 13, Musis Sacrum, Arnhem), alongside Three Reflections of Previous Thoughts and HOP by Martijn Padding, and Funk My Life, a new work by Mátyás Wettl. And the second at the opening concert of the 22nd Young Composers Meeting (February 14, Town Hall, Apeldoorn), also alongside works by Padding and Wettl.
Presented by Stockland, a short documentary about FiddleSticks! and the premiere performance is now available to watch!
FiddleSticks! is an exciting partnership between Stockland, Sydney Youth Orchestras and Prairiewood High School. Contemporary Australian composer Holly Harrison worked closely with elective music students from years 8-11 in an intensive workshop program throughout Term 3. Using junk percussion, found objects and improvisation excercises, Holly sculpted a piece based on the rhythmic and melodic ideas of students. Everyday items are repurposed into musical instruments: buckets, sandpaper blocks, sports whistles, squeaky-toys, homemade rice shakers and a megaphone. Holly aimed to write a piece which would reflect the fun, outgoing and eclectic personalities of the students she had worked with at PHS.
The percussion was paired with SYO's Sinfonietta under the guidance of conductor Heloise Meisel. In a series of rehearsals and with a team of supportive staff, including SYO percussionist and concerto Competition winner Stuart Rynn, students combined to present FiddleSticks!
SYO's Sinfonietta and and Prairiewood High School percussionists will perform FiddleSticks! at the Sydney Youth Orchestras' end of year Family Concert at Verbrugghen Hall, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 3:30pm, December 5.
For tickets and more information, see here.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows will perform Jabberwock at their end of year concert at Verbrugghen Hall, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music. It's set to be a super fun programme with Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks, Adès' Living Toys, and HK Gruber's Frankentstein!!
More information about the event is available here.
The premiere of FiddleSticks! (November 22nd) is fast approaching. The piece is inspired by, and written in part with, students from Prairiewood High School throughout my time as composer in residence at PHS. Written for strings, percussion, and MC/rapper, FiddleSticks! will be performed by Sydney Youth Orchestras Sinfonietta ensemble and Prairiewood High School percussionists.
A feature of the work is the found objects and 'junk' percussion. Everyday items are re-purposed into musical instruments: buckets, sandpaper blocks, sports whistles, squeaky-toys, homemade rice-shakers, and a megaphone!
Details of the performance can be found here.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows will give the world premiere of my latest piece Jabberwock at the Sorcerers and Wizards family concert at Riverside Theatres, Parramatta, October 4. The program features Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice (arr. Farrington) and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Yu). Forming part of the Spot On Children's Festival, guests are encouraged to dress as a wizard or your favourite magical character!
You can purchase tickets and find out more about the event here.
A little more about Jabberwock:
Much of my work has been inspired by the literature of Lewis Carroll (I just adore the wit, language and characters!), and so when I was approached to write a piece for the Fellows for a family concert, the Jabberwock immediately sprang to mind. Jabberwock takes inspiration from Carroll’s nonsense poem ‘Jabberwocky’ from the second Alice novel Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871). A fictitious, fearsome creature, the Jabberwock is equal parts scary and silly, dramatic and whimsical.
Knowing that the piece would appear alongside the Sorcerer’s Apprentice influenced some of the creative decisions I made, particularly the inclusion of chanting and spoken word, which I intended to be spell-like, or perhaps even cast by the apprentice himself. I had a lot of fun experimenting with Carroll’s text; I cut up, rearranged and added to the original text to create a type of mosaic effect, finding new rhymes and rhythms. The double bass plays the role of a narrator throughout, and the string section try out their rapping chops! The lowest instrument of each family, contrabassoon, trombone, and double bass, are prominent in the piece, and they could be seen as the collective ‘voice’ of the Jabberwock.
The piece begins with the shriek of bowed cymbal (which recurs at various stages throughout), followed by a spell-like chant to conjure up the Jabberwock and call him forth from his natural habitat, the ‘tulgey wood’. After this introduction, I see the piece as being split into three main sections. The first features the Jabberwock in mischief-mode, as he runs rampant, frightening other fantastical creatures, including ‘raths’ – green pigs (as Humpty Dumpty kindly tells Alice), ‘borogroves’ – shabby-looking birds with a mop-like appearance, and ‘toves’- a cross between a badger, a lizard and a corkscrew. The second section (you can listen out for the dramatic tempo change) sees the hunting and capture of the Jabberwock. The wind and brass shout out in fury, and the strings stomp their feet, before unravelling into several celebratory passages, including a hymn-like brass soli, and triumphant horn and violin solos, all rejoicing in the slaying of the Jabberwock.
The final section begins with another chant, recalling the beginning, yet wonders whether the Jabberwock was that monstrous after all – were his ‘claws that catch’ and ‘jaws that bite’ only a myth? Was the Jabberwock all bark and no…bite? Was there another more fearsome predator – the frumious Bandersnatch? Here I take some liberties with the original poem’s story, and the following bars see the Jabberwock have the last laugh and his final hurrah in a joyous (perhaps even ‘frabjous’) extended outro. In this way, the structure of Jabberwock is somewhat ‘choose your own adventure’, and this is reflected in the style of the piece, which celebrates stylistic juxtapositions and is my own amalgam of jazz, rock, metal, pop, and classical influences.
The Sound Collectors (Louise Devenish and Leah Scholes) will give the Australian premiere of my percussion duo Tweedledrum on July 17 in Perth, alongside works by De Mey, Davidson, Applebaum, Hope, and Vickery. More information about the the concert can be found here.
If you're interested in hearing and supporting early-career Australian composers, be sure to check out Making Waves, a new initiative curated by composers Lisa Cheney and Peggy Polias. An hour long playlist is released each month based on a theme. My Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax is featured on the latest playlist, 'Boundary-crossing Waves', alongside works by Jessica Wells, Amber Hansen, Alice Humphries, Andrew Batt-Rawden, Erik Griswold, Michael A. Bakrnčev, Antonia Zappia, and Catherine Likhuta.
I'm excited to be a resident composer at the Australian Composition Seminar in July 2015, hosted by Santa Sabina. Organised by Richard Gill, Karen Carey, and Andrew Batt-Rawden, the event includes four world premieres by composers Alex Pozniak, Nicholas Vines, Anastasia Pahos, and myself, performed by Ensemble Offspring, Acacia Quartet, and Sally Whitwell. The four new works will have resource kits and CDs made available as examples of Australian Music within the last 25 years. The day also includes a workshop component, where student works (years 9-11) will be workshopped by the performers and composers.
More information can be found on Limelight's website here.
My return to Apeldoorn was every bit as exciting as 2014, though I was considerably more relaxed this time around. There were no missed or delayed connections, no being trapped in Dubai for twenty-four hours, (or being trapped in a toilet cubicle in Apeldoorn…), and no impending deadline of my thesis weighing on my mind. The generosity of Wim Boerman and Orkest de Ereprijs is second to none; a very hearty thank you to the musicians for performing my new piece ‘Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax’ throughout the week and to Clark Rundell and Wim for conducting!
This year I managed to fit in some sight-seeing (Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Escher, anyone?), reconnect with friends from last year, make some super lovely new ones, sit in on lectures by senior composers Louis Andriessen, Richard Ayres, Martijn Padding, Errollyn Wallen and Cathy van Eck, see sixteen world premieres, including Padding’s ‘Slow Landscape (with Thunder) with Marije van den Berg on bass flute, and attend three concerts featuring my commissioned piece. The third concert I didn’t even know about until my arrival, but was lucky enough to catch as my flight was not until 10pm on my final day! And, of course, no YCM is complete without a visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum. I cannot recommend the Young Composers Meeting enough to young composers; apply for 2016! The food in itself is enough of a reason to apply.
Sculpture Garden at Kröller-Müller Museum: L-R, Molly Joyce, Rob Jones, Finola Merivale, Natalie Dietterich, Jonathan Brigg, Soul Zisso, Me, Errollyn Wallen, and Martijn Padding in the front.
The third and final (and surprise!) concert.
I greatly enjoyed attending the workshops of the sixteen young composers; all of the pieces were of high quality, though I did have my favourites! This year’s participants were: Finola Merivale, Rob Jones, Molly Joyce, Natalie Dietterich, Jonathan Brigg, Nolan Krell, Liisa Kirsch, Jon Myers, Ivan Vukosavljevic, Yfat Soul Zisso, Septian Dwi Cahyo, Sebastian Dumitrescu, Matyas Wettl, Haukur Þór Harðarson, Jacek Sotomski, and Rachel Devorah Trapp. Congratulations to the prize winners Matyas Wettl, Jonathan Brigg, and Liisa Hirsch.
Orkest de Ereprijs; blurred, but ready to rock!
I’m also thrilled (and surprised) to say that I’ll be returning to The Netherlands again next year! I’ve been commissioned by Het Gelders Orkest to write a new piece for the Orchestra of the 21st Century (RKST21), which is a combined ensemble of HGO and Orkest de Ereprijs. I can’t wait!
Just before RKST21 take to the stage.
I'm very excited to return to The Netherlands next week for the 21st Young Composers Meeting and world premiere of my new piece Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax by Orkest de Ereprijs. The new piece was commissioned by the ensemble as the prize for receiving first place in the 20th Young Composers Meeting. The work will be performed at the opening concert, alongside pieces by Martijn Padding, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Daugherty, and at the closing concert, with the current year's participants. I'm looking forward to meeting this year's young composers and squeezing in a spot of sight-seeing!
I'm thrilled to announce that I am working with Sydney Youth Orchestras on a new collaborative work, FiddleSticks!, for string and percussion ensemble to be premiered in November 2015. FiddleSticks! is a schools' composition project which will allow young people to be involved in the creative process and performance of the work. More details to follow soon!
The video of my percussion duo Tweedledrum is now available. You can watch it here, performed by The Riot Ensemble (UK) percussionists Sarah Mason and James Leveridge.
ABC Radio National's Into The Music program airs the documentary 'Holding the Tune' on Saturday 25 October at 4:05pm. The documentary features interviews with five contemporary Australian women composers: Elena Kats-Chernin, Cat Hope, Kate Neal, Jenna Cave, and myself. Along with audio snippets from each composer, the program also features a sneak peek of a track with my experimental rock duo 'Tabua Harrison' with guitarist Joseph Tabua from our upcoming release.
I'm delighted to be part of this upcoming concert featuring percussionists from The Riot Ensemble and Juice Vocal Ensemble. My new percussion piece Tweedledrum will be performed alongside new works by Amy Beth Kirsten and Ben Oliver. It's also my first trip to London!
Cabbages and Kings will be performed by orkest de ereprijs at the Gaudeamus Muziekweek in September in Utrecht. The concert features works from 2014 YCM composers, Sonja Mutic, Frederic Le Bel, Luke Lewis, and Emily Koh.
I’m jetlagged, excited, and dehydrated. After considerable delays flying in to Amsterdam, including two landings in Dubai (a 55 hour trip in total!), my trip back was (thankfully) uneventful, and I have now returned safely home to Sydney in a record 22 hours. Virtually time travel by comparison!
My week at the 20th Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn was rapturously awesome. Orkest de ereprijs and mezzo soprano, Enikő Gősi, are a mind-blowingly accomplished and enthusiastic group of musicians, and conductor Rob Vermulen is one of the hardest working, and most thoughtful conductors I’ve worked with. It was a real pleasure to have ‘Cabbages and Kings’ rehearsed and performed by the ensemble and Enikő during the week, feel their groove and energy, and to have lessons with senior composers Martijn Padding, Richard Ayres, Ed Bennet and Anna Meredith. As noted by young composer, Darragh Kearns-Hayes, during the event, orkest de ereprijs are entirely self-sufficient in production; with flutist, Marije van den Berg, doubling as photographer; horn player, Jeroen van Dijk, as sound technican; and trumpeter, Sjoerd Pauw, as Twitter guru. Impressive!
Throughout the week, I heard fifteen diverse pieces from fifteen lovely people from all around the globe. The participants, and my new friends, were: Alexander Leon (Ecuador), Anna Murray (Ireland), Luke Lewis (Wales), Andrew Crossley (Mexico), Andrew Batt-Rawden (Australia), Shuying Li (China/USA), Georgi Sztojanov (Hungary), Aftab Darvishi (Iran), Darragh Kearns-Hayes (Ireland), Krists Auznieks (Latvia), Ethan Braun (USA), Emily Koh (Singapore/USA), and Sebastian Androne (Romania).
9 of us, during our day off in Utrecht!
I’m delighted to announce that I was awarded first place and commissioned to write a new work for orkest de ereprijs for their next concert season. Sonja Mutic (Serbia) was awarded second place, a commission for the Dutch National Youth Orchestra, and the third prize was awarded to Frédéric Le Bel (Canada), a commission for chambermusic masterclass, Apeldoorn.
Stand by for audio/video postings of the piece!
In November 2013, my Red Queen, White Queen, Alice and All was awarded first place in the inaugural Pyeongchon Art Hall International Chamber Music Composition Competition, held in South Korea. Hosted by the Anyang Foundation for Culture and Arts, the six finalists' compositions were performed by the Hwaum Chamber Orchestra on the 2nd of November at the Pyeongchon Art Hall.
