ELIZABETH SELLARS violin
WILMA SMITH violin
HELEN IRELAND viola
ZOE KNIGHTON cello
2020 COMPOSER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CONCERT
6.00pm (AEDT), 14 November 2020 ~ live streamed
Daniel Riley, 2020 Composer Development Program participant
DANIEL RILEY 1992-
Bagatelle for string quartet (composed 2020)
“As a result of the current pandemic, two trends have re-emerged as part of my compositional fabric. The first is a focus on classicism and 'pure' music, driven by internal logic. The second is an urge to write fast-paced music, a sort of anathema to life in lock-down. In one sense this isn't surprising given the neo-classical reaction to World War I and Spanish Flu pandemic a century ago. On the other hand, these twin creative urges are a paradox, juxtaposing internal and external musical stimuli. These competing strands form the crux of Bagatelle, each vying for musical supremacy.”
Daniel Riley is a Melbourne-based musician, and recently completed a Master of Music (Composition) at the University of Melbourne under the supervision of Stuart Greenbaum and Elliott Gyger. Prior, he completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Past teachers have included Paul Stanhope, Carl Vine, and Ross Edwards.
He has previously participated in the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp, the inaugural Flinders Quartet Composer Workshop, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Cybec 21st Century Composers’ Program. In 2019, he was commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne as part of the 5x5x5: Inside Out project, and his trumpet concerto Nearer, My God, To Thee was awarded the APRA Encouragement Award. His choral music is featured on the Acis label (Beneath the Incense Tree, Land of Dreams). In addition to his work as a composer, Daniel maintains an active schedule as a freelance singer and choral conductor.
SCOTT COPEMAN 1977-
The Tree Project (composed 2020)
“The piece is a reflection of time in isolation, and the title refers to a project my daughter came up with - to take daily photographs of the changing colours of a tree in our garden as Autumn embraced it.”
Scott is renewing his compositional vows after nearly two decades dedicated to the musical education of young musicians in Sydney, Melbourne and Edinburgh, Scotland. He is chuffed that, at his age, he is still considered an ‘emerging’ composer...
Scott’s music attempts to explore the extraordinary that lies within the ordinary, the complexity of being simple and the wonder of everyday mundanity. He has a crack with a range of instrumental and vocal palettes, including ‘Breathless’ for flute and trumpet and ‘Puck’s Psychotic Pskirmish’ for solo piano.
His most recent works include ‘India’s Dragons’, a song cycle for two–part (SA) children’s choir, and ‘Red Gum’, a song cycle commissioned by The Australian Children’s Choir for three-part (SSA) children’s choir. Earlier this year he composed ‘Eclipse’ for Wind Symphony and ‘My Daughter, the Voyager’ for flute and piano. Scott also has an indecent obsession with listening to, and composing, music for film.
Scott teaches music at East Doncaster Secondary College, but his most treasured role is as father to his two magical and mighty children, India and Sasha.
Scott Copeman, 2020 Composer Development Program participant
Thomas Misson, 2020 Composer Development Program participant
THOMAS MISSON 1992-
Hijack (composed 2020)
“Hijack is a piece fuelled by angst about the “hijacking“ of language and ideas to create divided and unempathetic communities susceptible to manipulation, to score cheap amoral political points, and to mystify people into a weary state.
After the opening of vulnerable, imperfect, but kindhearted cello melody, the inoffensive Canon in D begins only to have its message warped into a sickly and aggressive form. The viola then tries to regain normalcy while withstanding assaults from the other instruments. Eventually, seeing the viola tired, weary, and vulnerable, the opportunistic remainder of the ensemble radicalises it into a kind of musical groupthink.”
Thomas Misson is a Melbourne-based musician from Hobart. Misson graduated with a Bmus in Music Composition with Honours from UTAS in 2016 under Dr Maria Grenfell, Russell Gilmour, and Scott Mcintyre. Since then his mentors have included Melody Eotvos, Ken Thomson, Yannis Kyriakides, Kate Neal, and his current MMus supervisors Elliott Gyger and Katy Abbott.
Misson’s compositions are inspired by psychology, the complexity of nature, politics, the extremes of the human condition and the ever-present imperfection central to it. His music often expresses a desire to reimagine familiar musical tropes in absurd, surreal, uncanny and blackly humorous ways.
Misson has a passion for expanding, enriching and recontextualising people’s relationship with music, sound, and creativity through the disciplines of teaching and music journalism. Additionally, he is an experienced pianist who has performed in many contexts, genres and capacities such as concerto soloist, jazz pianist, and accompanist/repetiteur.
HELEN WANDERS 1960-
The Hedberg – a string quartet in three movements (composed 2020)
“I began composing this work starting with the second movement as part of a combined 12-movement cycle for string quartet, named The Hedberg Cycle, with fellow composition students for assessment in semester two of 2019. ‘The Hedberg’ is the name given to the newly constructed Conservatorium of Music in Hobart. The scale we were to base each movement on is derived from the letters of this name. Enjoying the process, I decided to compose two more movements to complete a three-movement string quartet. The first movement began early in the year while fully expecting to spend the rest of the year studying at the Hedberg. The semester had barely begun when suddenly COVID-19 lockdowns closed its doors. The third movement was completed during the early stages of the lockdown and reflects some of the frustration, tension and anxiety experienced during this time. I felt this movement needed a strong opening and therefore chose a chorale-like section that is more resolute when it reappears at the work’s end. This movement feels quite personal to me and is my favourite of the three.”
Helen Wanders was born in Hobart, Tasmania. She studied piano at the Conservatorium of Music in Hobart completing a Diploma in Performance in 1982. After a period of private teaching and raising a family, Helen enrolled in a Bachelor degree in Composition in 2017 and has recently completed her Honours year. Her teachers and mentors have been Maria Grenfell, Russell Gilmour and Scott McIntyre. In 2018 Helen spent a semester studying composition at Stephen F. Austin University, Texas, USA. Helen’s inspiration for composing comes from the Tasmanian landscape, film and TV soundtracks, popular genres of the 1960s and 70s and contemporary electronic music. She also enjoys the music of Peter Sculthorpe, Aaron Copland and Toru Takemitsu.
Helen Wanders, 2020 Composer Development Program participant
Lee Bradshaw, 2020 Composer Development Program participant
LEE BRADSHAW 1977-
'Images' for String Quartet (composed 2019)
“‘Images’ for String Quartet is a work which finally came together in 2019.
Each movement is based on three distinct ideas composed at various times over the course of 25 years - beginning with the first in 1995.
Despite several attempts to strong-arm these seemingly disparate entities into something more cohesive, the quartet was nearly discarded - until the idea occurred of having all three ideas coexist in a kind of musical photo album - each like an ‘image’ drawn from a different era of my life.
No longer was it necessary to create crosstalk between them - nor to discard them.
Each movement is a finite snapshot - a moment in time - and like a photograph, each is unchangeable. Including them all in one collection allows them their unique characters, and honours the notion that all of these small utterances are mine.
It allows me to trace a path of my own evolving voice over the course of all those years.
As someone who rarely gives titles - here it seemed appropriate to offer a name.
‘Images’.”
Lee Bradshaw is an Australian composer, based in Melbourne. He has studied composition with Larry Sitsky (1998, Australian National Academy), Roger Smalley (1997, UWA), Nigel Butterly and Anthony Payne (1996, UWA). During High School he studied viola with Lawrence Jacks from 1991-1997, beginning with a scholarship at Perth Modern School.
His first instrumental music teacher Geoff Conrau likely had the most positive and lasting impact on him, by encouraging an exploration of composition.
As a student, Lee was commissioned to write three scores for dance theatre ensemble Physical Architecture is Dancing’s productions; “Alice” (Artrage, 1995), and “4 Walls” (PICA, 1996). The resultant works; “4 Walls” string quartet and the “Fission” string quartet - were both premiered featuring ex-Head of Strings (UWA) Paul Wright on violin.
Notable commissions and performances include:
“Opera” for piano - performed at the Octagon Theatre by Michael Kieren Harvey (1997). Commissioned to compose Trio for Flute, Viola and Contrabasso by the Montenegrin Music Centre (2009); the work was subsequently recorded by Zoran Markovic and Ivan Vukcevic for National Archives of Montenegro. Commissioned to compose “Pluto” for the Western Australian Youth Orchestra (2012), and subsequently travelled to WA to conduct and record the orchestra for their major sponsor Woodside. Commissioned to compose Sonata for Piano for Anna Sleptsova; head of keyboard studies at Edith Cowan University (2017), premiered in 2018 at the Singaporean International Piano Competition by Anna Sleptsova (visiting guest judge).
Lee’s Sonata for Violin and Piano was the first Australian composition to be recorded on the Stuart & Sons Pianos at Newcastle University featuring violinist Sophie Rowell (Concertmaster, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) and Alexy Koltakov (piano). “Via Crucis” for solo violin performed by Baiba Skride during the 360 Concert Series in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (2020).
Lee’s compositions have been performed by Artists such as: Baiba Skride, Ivan Vukčević, Anna Sleptsova, Sophie Rowell, Alex Koltakov, Michael Kieran Harvey, Iain Grandage, Erica Kennedy and Paul Wright.
Current projects include a Violin Concerto, Electric Guitar Concerto and an Industrial Fusion Opera “Tales from the Abattoir”.
Flinders Quartet profoundly values the support of all its sponsors, patrons and advisors; a full list of which is available here.
Sincere thanks to the sponsors, partners and patrons of this year’s Composer Development Program:
Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne, Australia Council, Creative Partnerships Australia, Besen Family Foundation, All That We Are, 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne
The 2020 Composer Development Program is presented in association with Team of Pianists and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria)