Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Brooke and Don Kay  

August in Tasmania is often a quiet month, but for six emerging Australian composers it is likely to be busy and energising. The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra is holding its annual Australian Composers’ School in Hobart from 23-28 August. The School aims to seek out and develop talented composers at two stages of their development: ‘Training’ composers in the early stages of their career, and ‘Emerging’ composers who are seeking to develop their skills in writing for orchestra.

Composers applying in the ‘Training’ category were selected based on their best piece for five or more players, while ‘Emerging’ composers submitted an orchestral piece of 5-7 minutes. The six composers, three in each category, will travel to Hobart and spend a week in rehearsal with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, working with Australian Music Program Director Richard Mills, conductor/composer Kenneth Young, and guest tutors Gerard Brophy, Andrew Schultz, Paul Stanhope, and myself. Travel and accommodation costs will be met by the program, which is part of the Commonwealth Bank TSO Elite Artists Training program and also sponsored by Hydro Tasmania.

In its second year of operation, the School attracted 45 applicants of an extremely high quality. The selected composers for 2007 reflect a wide range of experience. Two of the ‘Training’ composers from 2006, Kevin March from Melbourne and Joseph Twist from Brisbane, were delighted to accept places in this year’s ‘Emerging’ program, along with Daniel Masmanian from Perth.

This year’s ‘Training’ composers are Paul-Antoni Bonetti from Brisbane, Julian Langdon from Melbourne and Carl Panvino from Sydney. They will each complete a substantial orchestration project in advance of the School, unlike last year where the ‘Training’ composers worked on a shorter project during their week in Hobart. The composers will orchestrate sections of Lutoslawski’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini for Two Pianos, reflecting the ‘theme and variations’ aspect of the TSO’s Prelude 3 concert conducted by Kenneth Young, which the composers will attend on their first day at the School.

As well as reading and rehearsal sessions with the TSO, the Australian Composers’ School 2007 includes individual lessons, two orchestration lectures directed by Richard Mills, lectures by Gerard Brophy and Andrew Schultz, and a Meet-the-Composer Forum for participants and invited guests to meet and talk with established composers.

While only six composers have been selected for the Australian Composers’ School, the TSO is offering other applicants the opportunity to attend as observers at their own expense. ‘It’s a really good way to get as many composers involved as possible’, says Simon Rogers, the TSO’s Manager of Artistic Planning. Several observers have already booked their trips to Hobart! Please contact Dr Maria Grenfell at acs@tso.com.au for further information.

Further Links

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (www.tso.com.au)