OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Andrew Baldwin

(c) John Dutch

Full Name: Andrew Baldwin
Age: 29


Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?
I was born and educated in Dunedin, New Zealand, and have been living in London for the most part of four years (having studied here for two years). Whether or not where I’m from has a bearing on my music – I’m not sure! Possibly. I have certainly in some recent works been using cultural references to home but it varies from piece to piece.


How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

My aim for OPUS2016 is to make the most of the opportunity to work with professional musicians and revisit what I have learnt about instrumental techniques in the past, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to write for piano trio as I had planned in the future to write one!

The initial approach to my piece will include a lot of planning as I would quite like it to be a substantial work and know in which direction the piece is heading. Certainly this is important when for the January workshop we present the beginnings of the work as this will help in knowing the trajectory in which it is likely to take when I finish developing the work in the future.


Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I have had pieces workshopped and recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances by the Auckland Philharmonia and Southern Sinfonia. During my studies at the Royal College of Music I composed music for a new collaborative project with English National Ballet. Recently I was commissioned by the London Mozart Players and the Choir of Portsmouth Grammar School and the resulting work was performed at a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. I write for choirs regularly also and this has been a big focus over the last few years, though I am now looking more towards a balance of choral and instrumental/orchestral.


When did you first start to write music?

My first compositions came about through piano lessons at age 10. My piano teacher suggested I write a short piano piece for a local composition competition and the resulting piece was awarded a prize. I was so delighted that I started writing for fun and it very rapidly became a huge passion of mine. I would come home after school and spend hours working on new pieces, often until the wee small hours – and being very tired for school the next day!

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I started seriously focusing on composition at secondary school mentored by my Head of Music, an amazing teacher who had been at the school for thirty years and was a towering figure within the music scene in my city. He encouraged me to listen, helped me with techniques and put me off to a good start. The next major step was beginning my undergraduate degree at the New Zealand School of Music as it was my first formal training in composition. I loved all the classes that went with it as it was my first introduction to harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration.

My compositional style has taken a while to focus, and though it is still not entirely focused yet I have much to thank my teachers at the RCM for – it was during my Masters years (2011-13) that things began to slot into place for me as a composer. Looking at that time and remembering what I learnt there retrospectively has really helped me to move forward as a composer.


How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method?

When I began composing I almost entirely composed on the computer. This is because I was bought Sibelius for my birthday when I started school and it seemed so natural to use it. As my ideas became more complex and I started to plan and structure my compositions more, I found the need to adapt this method to include a mix of different methods. Currently, I do a lot of planning and writing on manuscript paper and much less on computer than I used to as I find it gives me more freedom. 

The last concert you saw?

The last performance I saw (that counts, doesn’t it?!) was the production of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at the Royal Opera House. I thought it was one of the best things I’ve seen at the ROH and I think it’s a very clever opera, particularly the first act which is a whirlwind of music and ideas.


What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

In typical composer fashion I like really geeky things like harmony and counterpoint exercises. A recent project which was a lot of fun was transcribing a mid 20th century choral work of which the score was lost. I was armed with the original LP recording and the first page of the choral score, and writing out the whole work. It has made me realise I’m a bit strange as this undertaking sounds like most musicians’ worst nightmares but to me was a great and enjoyable challenge!


How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

I have been very fortunate to do my undergraduate degree in New Zealand where there are endless opportunities for workshops and recording sessions – it is wonderful as it allows young composers to really make a head start and build up a portfolio of music which they can then use to apply for courses, commissions and funding. I do not have as much experience of composer opportunities in the UK but what I do understand is that there are some fantastic schemes here for composers but with so many applying it makes the chances of being successful rather slim – hence I am delighted that I was chosen along with my fellow composer colleagues!


What would be your advice to other young composers today?

Write without restriction, listen to feedback but don’t let what you do be ruled by it.


What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I would like to do some further study and base myself in Europe for a while. Eventually I see myself working as a composer in New Zealand but before I do that I would like to spend a good amount of time soaking up the vast opportunities in this part of the world.

You can join Andrew and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - James Hoyle

(c) John Hoyle

Full Name: James Albany Hoyle

Age: 22


Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I’m originally from Leicestershire, but for the past few years have lived in London. I go to a lot of new music concerts in London but equally I always make a conscious effort to listen outside of what is immediately popular here and now. I’m sure my surroundings do play a role in my music but it’s one aspect of many.


How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

I’ve started by composing a number of fragments of material which each treat the ensemble in a slightly unusual way. Later I’ll assemble these together like a jigsaw puzzle to make the piece.


Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I’ve been lucky to work with some great new music ensembles recently, including EXAUDI and the Plus-Minus Ensemble.


What’s your earliest musical memory?

When I was a small child my mother tried to teach me to play the recorder. I didn’t get it and gave up.


When did you first start to write music?

I started taking an interest in music when I was 11 and started learning the violin. At this point I began writing music almost instantly.


Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I started composition lessons age 14 at the Royal Academy of Music, Junior Department. I had actually auditioned as a violinist but taken some compositions along to the audition. Apparently my violin playing wasn’t quite up to scratch so I was offered to study as a composer instead - prior to this point I had no idea that composition was a discipline one could study formally. Since then I have been in permanent full-time education, studying with many different teachers at a number of institutions: the Purcell School of Music, King’s College London, and presently the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

How do you start a new work/what is your composing method?

I usually compose with pencil and paper, with a piano nearby. Notes are not always the first thing to appear however, I often start by writing words, or drawing pictures or diagrams.


What living person do you most admire, and why?

I don’t think I’d single out any particular person, but all the people I admire most simply follow their own convictions, albeit never blindly.


The last concert you saw?

Georg Friedrich Haas’ new opera, ‘Morgen und Abend’.


What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Puccini operas. 

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

There are many wonderful opportunities available for composers embarking on a professional career. When I was growing up in Leicestershire, however, opportunities were few and far between. I think schools and regional arts organisations could do far more to encourage creative work of all kinds as an integral part of education.


What would be your advice to other young composers today?

Keep your ears open: listen to a lot of music (not just contemporary music but all types of music), and go to as many concerts featuring new music as possible.


What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I’m hoping to do a PhD at some point, and at present I am setting up a new contemporary music ensemble. In the meantime, I’ll continue to write lots of music!

You can join James and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Gonçalo Gato

Full Name: Gonçalo Alves Gato Lopes (artistic name: Gonçalo Gato)
Age: 36


Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I’m from Lisbon, Portugal, but I currently live in London. Moving to London had a great impact on my personal and artistic life, which is in some way codified by my music. So, although I can’t quite define how it affected the compositions, I’m sure the influences are there. London has allowed me to benefit from a great variety of events related to the arts in general. Particularly important was the attendance of concerts by great orchestras such as the LSO, the BBC Symphony or the LPO.


How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

First of all I’d like to say that it is a great honour to be able to work with Britten Sinfonia. I will approach the writing with both audacity and a sense of discovery. Although I’ve relied on very intense planning in the past — whereby I would pre-define the materials, lengths, formal sections, etc., that would feature in a given piece — now it seems to make more sense to actually go through a discovery phase: I assume I do not really know everything about how the piece will end up before I begin writing it. This way I can take care of the actual building process, assessing at every moment the materials and compositional steps and avoiding the effect of what one could call artificial initial assumptions. Of course there is always some degree of planning and strategy devising, but all is rendered flexible after I begin composing. Philosophically, it is a matter of allowing the process of knowing to take place: although one has to rely on previous experience and acquired technique, a space should be left for new things to happen so that one can become aware of their impact, study and integrate them.


Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

As a composer I’ve worked with many different groups of instrumentalists. Particularly important was an ensemble (NOL) I founded back in Portugal when I was completing my composition honours degree. Knowing first hand how musicians and maestros work, what they need, and how to make concerts happen — from producing to stage preparation — had a huge impact. Working with professional groups — such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chroma ensemble or the Ligeti quartet — on the other hand, had a different impact: it enabled me to take bolder steps but also to refine my writing. Working with experienced, gifted musicians, but who are also open to experimentation, is really something I look forward to in the future.


Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I guess the first pivotal point occurred when I started learning harmony and counterpoint with a composer called Eurico Carrapatoso, my first master. His classes were very enjoyable but also very, very clearly articulated. Every subject was presented as clearly as possible and as pedagogically as possible, always with a sense of intellectual honesty and elevation. At the time I was finishing my Chemistry degree, which I completed and which gave me a sense of rationality but also of how knowledge is always evolving through research. And if artistic knowledge is quite different from scientific knowledge, it also progresses through research.

The second pivotal point occurred when, after having pursued higher formal training, I saw my music being appreciated and valued as I got selected to some competitions, some of which I won. This made me realize that my life could be devoted to making music. So I kept going until I progressed to the third pivotal point: starting doctoral studies in London, a vibrant musical city. I was ready to take an important step towards refining my craft and I couldn’t ask for a better supervisor than Prof. Julian Anderson.


How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method? 

To start a new work I usually spend some time just thinking. I ask: what aspects of music are most fascinating for me at this time? I take text notes and let imagination come up with possibilities and strategies. At the same time, I usually listen to other composers’ works written for the same instrumentation. I have the conviction that music is always a bit about acknowledging other composers’ work and progress. This contextualizes things but also raises concerns that point me to creative research and originality. Therefore, I start experimenting with material I’m curious or passionate about, usually at the computer using compositional algorithms (mostly through OpenMusic software). They work as a kind of musical laboratory, exceeding by far the piano’s limited playback capabilities (quarter-tones or polyphony, for instance) and allow me to devise new sonorities and techniques. Nevertheless, sometimes I use the piano because it provides me with an organic, living sound and poses constraints that can render my music more simple and effective. I then progress to musical sketching, usually directly on notation software. I tend to save different initial ideas, along with various versions of work-in-progress scores. Then I develop the ones I like the most and start taking more and more definite decisions regarding form and consistency. So, form usually comes late in the process after I have the materials I want and have sketched some of their developments and transformations. So, as I said before, I try to avoid taking too many initial assumptions, which can later prove artificial. I try to let the materials develop and show me the way.

This is how I usually work nowadays, which does not mean I’ll keep this process in the future. There are various methods — some of them I’ve tried before — and all of them surely have advantages as well as disadvantages.


The last concert you saw?

Actually it was an opera: ‘Morgen und Abend’ by Georg Friedrich Haas at the Royal Opera House.


What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Just recently I was having fun with friends asking this question, which I’ll try and take as lightly as possible. If there is guilt, it means I feel guilty because in someway I like it. In that sense, I’m afraid I have no musical guilty pleasure. On the other hand, there is music that is in some way pleasurable to listen to, even though I do not hold it in high regard. Mostly it boils down to pop music I heard on TV/radio during my childhood or adolescence — or to which I danced to in discos in happy moments — but that I do not consider artistically profound. It’s mostly entertaining. There are many examples, one of which is the song ‘Material Girl’ by Madonna (I hope I’m not being unfair). I still find this song quite fun… in a funny way! And it brings to mind the format of the so-called ‘pop hit’, together with its social impact. Furthermore, it can be considered an icon of mass-consumption culture of the 80s in the form of easy‑listening music, which raises other questions…


What instrument do you play?

Guitar. I can play both classical and electric guitar. Right now I’m playing more the electric as I love jazz improvisation: both challenging and very rewarding. And I love to improvise with other musicians. I have an ongoing obsession with electric guitars, their timbre and playability.


How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

The ‘contemporary classical’ music world is very peculiar and demanding. Although, no doubt, it is the area I naturally gravitate to and aesthetically feel most comfortable in, its not without its challenges and problems. Composers still face several difficulties in trying to get their works performed and trying to build a career. There is so much one has to prove and so many connections one has to make… Everything that can be made to provide composers with more opportunities is welcome, of course, although the situation now is better compared to decades ago. Some teachers I had told me that one could easily go through a whole 3-year degree without a single performance opportunity!

In terms of professional performances, there is the issue of aesthetics, which still means that some currents/tendencies are favoured in some locations and by some commissioning institutions/individuals. This does not always correspond to artistic quality, I’m afraid. Add to this the very nature of being an ‘emerging’ composer (if you’re lucky to be considered as such), not fully knowing how the medium works (agents, publishers, venues, etc), and things can get really complicated. But I think even some renowned composers have a hard time making a living out of just composition. The situation is strikingly different for a number of other professions, as we know. And composition is usually as hard a task as, say, computer engineering. I wish this situation could be changed and that composers would be called more often to contribute to cultural supply — whether through pure music or through combinations such as opera, dance, musical theatre, installation, etc. — and that the arts would gain prominence in a society that is too much centred on just getting work and getting paid. I firmly believe that one of the promising areas of economy in the future lies in the cultural sector. Culture too can generate profit, and together with education is indispensable to create developed and balanced societies based on tolerance, interchange, reflection and creativity.


What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

Well, I have to say that the future holds a continued development of my compositional technique in general, and my orchestral writing skills in particular. I want to be able to take more and more challenging projects and hope to work with great musicians, ensembles, orchestras and maestros. Right now I’m trying to find an opportunity to get an orchestral piece premiered and will soon start to collaborate with Ensemble Recherche (Germany) towards developing a piece for flute. I have some other parallel projects, which, unfortunately, I can’t yet disclose.

You can join Gonçalo and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 Instrument Focus Session

On Friday 4 December, OPUS2016 shortlisted composers met with musicians from Britten Sinfonia and composer Julian Phillips to discuss their first drafts and sketches and to explore the idiomatic techniques of each instrument in the piano trio they have been writing for. James Hoyle and Emma Wilde share their experience…

Last Friday was the first workshop for Britten Sinfonia’s OPUS2016 scheme, and was the first opportunity to meet Britten Sinfonia musicians, mentors, and of course my fellow composers. Although each composer approached the workshop in their own way, my own plan was to compose a number of short fragments of contrasting materials from which the final piece will be assembled. It was an extremely useful (if luxurious!) experience to be able to hear my materials in the flesh so early on in the composition process, as it not only allows me to fix problems and elaborate on successes, but being confronted with sound allows me to step away from the notes on the page, and to treat the materials with greater freedom.

I was fortunate to work with three musicians (Marcus Barcham-Stevens, violin; Ben Chappell, cello; Huw Watkins, piano) who approached everyone’s work with considerable understanding and virtuosity, and they were readily able to offer useful suggestions as to how I might be able to better realise my ideas on their respective instruments. As a composer it was such a pleasure to work with musicians who are so able and supportive, and I feel this has given me greater confidence to take risks with my materials, whilst also writing idiomatically for the instruments. When writing with specific players in mind, I often find that the unique playing styles of those musicians deeply informs the music I compose, even acting as a form of muse. For me, among the most important aspects of the day was being able to familiarise myself with them, and being able to do so with my own music was particularly informative.

James Hoyle, OPUS2016 shortlisted composer

I really enjoyed the initial workshop day with Britten Sinfonia musicians and Julian Philips. Often as composers we don't get the opportunity to test out ideas with musicians at the start of the composition process and now I have heard how my initial ideas sound I have a better understanding of how I can develop these ideas into a full 5 minute piece for the January workshop. The musicians were very helpful and were willing to respond to any questions we had. I realised that some ideas were working really well, for example using the piano's resonance to complement the sustained sound of the strings and this is something I can now take advantage of and develop further. On the other hand, I realised that sometimes I had misjudged the use of the piano's pedal and can now change this for the final draft.

Another aspect of the day that was particularly interesting was getting the chance to hear the other shortlisted composers' music and have a group discussion session with Julian Philips where we presented our ideas and offered each other thoughts and advice. It was interesting to see that we had all had issues concerning how to approach composing for piano trio due to the 'historical baggage' associated with this ensemble (due to the amount of great works written for this combination) and the problematic issues of composing for piano. However, I think that after this session we all went away with more ideas for how to compose effectively for this ensemble and for how to turn our initial fragments into full pieces.

Emma Wilde, OPUS2016 shortlisted composer



OPUS2016 shortlisted composers will be presenting their works in January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

Getting a handle on Handel...

On Sunday 6 December at 3pm, the young musicians of Britten Sinfonia Academy will be sharing the culmination of recent weekends' exploration of the music of Handel in collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Through this course, Academy members have been joined by Handel and Early Music specialist Dr Christopher Suckling to explore the museum's unique collection of autographed scores by Handel. With a focus on composition and the realisation of a composer's wishes in performance, they have also been working with composer Kenneth Hesketh to develop their own miniatures from a series of unpublished fragments in the collection. Britten Sinfonia Academy clarinetist, Morgan Overton, shares his experience of their recent work...

On Sunday 29th November - amid hectic rehearsals and not-so-hectic sandwiches - we members of Britten Sinfonia Academy went for a little look inside the Fitzwilliam Museum's Founders' Library. This intriguing library, hidden behind high wooden double doors, is home to well over 10,000 volumes reflecting the varied interests of the Viscount FitzWilliam (whose will allowed the formation of the museum in the first place). Items of note include the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (a compilation of Elizabethan and Jacobean keyboard music rare in scope and comprehensiveness but greatly important in the history of chamber music), as well as medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts and tomes on history, natural sciences, philosophy and religion, travel and (naturally) music. However, what we were here to see was some Handel.

Morgan exploring the manuscripts at the Fitzwilliam Museum

Being our principal focus as an orchestra over these weeks, it was natural to want to see the Fitzwilliam's Handel selection. What we were not prepared for was how widely varied it all was. FitzWilliam was a close associate of Handel, and partook in many performances of his work, whether he was an instrumentalist or an organiser. Therefore, he managed to collect throughout his life several Handelian manuscripts, many of which are unique. These include entire collections of 'scrap paper' where Handel collected notes and melodic ideas, as well as 'words-only' manuscripts waiting for the music to be set to the words, as well as more conventional scores and reductions.

(c) Fitzwilliam Museum

However, what was remarkable to see, even on the performance parts, was how there was no extra marking, except those Handel or his copyists had put on the page that were originally on the score. In other words, the musicians performing knew every piece of articulation, every phrase length and every bit of dynamic shaping without any marking it on the scores. However, beside the more musicological aspect of viewing the manuscripts, it was just extraordinary to be so close to such rare old documents - it was overwhelming, and the excitement doubled when we also were able to view handwritten manuscripts of Bach. It was truly an extraordinary experience, and one none of us in the orchestra will forget for a very long time.

Morgan Overton (Clarinet, Britten Sinfonia Academy 2015-16)

You can join Britten Sinfonia Academy for their performance on Sunday 6 December 2015 at 3pm in Gallery Three of the Fitzwilliam Museum. The Academy members will perform extracts from Handel's Messiah and Acis and Galatea with introductions from Dr Suckling and Kenneth Hesketh. Manuscripts from the collection will also be on display for members of the audience to view.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Emma Wilde

Full Name: Emma Wilde

(c) Mario Duarte

Age: 24


Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I’m from Manchester and I still live there now. I suppose this is relevant to my music as growing up in Manchester, a city which has such a rich legacy of both classical and popular music, has led to me experiencing many different musical events which have no doubt influenced my music somewhat.


How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

As I would approach any other musical composition. At the moment I am particularly interested in creating musical structures that are inspired by Greek Tragedy. The concepts of drama and characterisation are particularly important to me. Sometimes I like to think of the individual instruments as though they are musical ‘characters’ and think about how these characters would interact together.


Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I have worked with professional ensembles such as Psappha, the Hebrides Ensemble and Quotour Danel. One of my most interesting experiences was working with the accordionist Maciej Frackiewicz in Poland as it was an instrument I had not thought to work with before. I also have worked with an excellent organisation in Manchester called Classical Evolution whose aim is to take chamber music into more unusual venues, they have played my pieces in bars and even in forests!


When did you first start to write music?

I think I have always made up tunes in my head from a young age but I started to properly notate music when I was studying GCSE music.


Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

When I first started a music degree composition wasn’t my main focus but at the end of the final year I wrote a song cycle which I really enjoyed and felt I found my own compositional voice, that encouraged me to carry on and I applied to do a masters in composition very last minute. Also I have found the composition courses I have been on in the last couple of years (St Manus Composers’ Course in Orkney and Synthetis in Poland), have helped with my growth as a composer a lot as working and meeting with a variety of different composers gives me a lot of new ideas, inspiration and encouragement to keep following in this path.


How do you start a new work/what is your composing method?

Mostly I do start working at the piano with a manuscript and pencil. Other times I will get fully formed musical materials in my head, I often sing them aloud to myself until I get chance to write them down. Sometimes I get ideas whilst listening to other music, I got the idea for my latest piece whilst sitting in a concert of electroacoustic music, there was a piece that had a particularly interesting structure and texture and I started thinking about how I could do the same kind of thing with an instrumental ensemble.


The last concert you saw?

I went to see the British band Editors at Manchester Academy, I like this band because they are always trying new things and aren’t afraid to get out of their comfort zone, which is an important thing for any composer to do to make sure they evolve and write interesting music.


How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

I feel that although there are some opportunities available to composers it is very hard to get out there and get your music played. Particularly in the current economic and political climate where music and the arts are seen as a commodity.


What would be your advice to other young composers today?

To not worry about what anyone else thinks about your music and don’t worry about the need to follow any stylistic trends. If you write the music that you truly want to hear it will have more power and conviction


What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I would like to try writing music with electronics. I would also like to do collaborative work with choreographers, theatre directors etc, I am really interested with the connection between music and other art forms and would like opportunities to explore this further.


You can join Emma and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.