Dear Reader,
Its been an exceedingly long time since I made any news updates on this website, and this is not for a lack of activity. I’d like to reinvigorate this blog stream as a way of keeping in touch with you and your ears about the new sounds I’m currently dreaming up, and the ones that have gone out into the world in the last while.
Something Recent
My biggest recent news is that I now answer to Dr. Polias. After four long years of full-time study alongside working freelance, and through the chaos of a pandemic, I graduated in December 2022 from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition. This was awarded for a portfolio of composition as a thesis title “What Does a Secret Sound Like? Exploring Communicative Agency as a Composer.” I hope to share more with you about this exciting topic as I write and publish more here.
Humblest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Liza Lim, for guidance and support throughout this journey. I was fortunate to be one of four participants in the Composing Women program of 2018-2019 and my heartfelt thanks also extend to fellow participants Josephine Macken, Georgia Scott and Bree van Reyk. This program at the Conservatorium allowed us to composer for workshops and performances:
- by flutist Claire Chase (NY, USA) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ftfYE5rk8
- by Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Fellows, and
- for the Breaking Glass quad-bill production released online by Sydney Chamber Opera https://vimeo.com/410045131
I have shared links here to recordings of these works available online.
Something Upcoming
I’m very excited that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will be premiering a new ten-minute composition of mine in August: Arachne (2023). Arachne is a 50 Fanfares commission by the SSO. It is a meditation on textiles and weaving inspired by an ancient Roman myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. I’m delighted to be sharing the program with the mighty and inimitable Ross Edwards, who is celebrating a very special birthday this year. The concert will take place on 11 and 12 August in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, and tickets are available for purchase online. Let me know if you might be attending; I will be there at both performances.
Someone Musical
It’s not always possible to reply but I love it when email updates pop into my Inbox from other composers and musicians, and I’d like to shot out to a fellow artist every time I write here.
Hello there Anne Cawrse!
It’s so great to hear that you are going from strength to strength as a composer and doing a lot of fascinating work! If you’d like to keep up with the latest news, join Anne’s email list.
And dear Reader, do you have an email list? Let me know so that I can join your subscriber list also. I am always excited to hear what amazing things other musicians and creative freelancers are doing.
Some Admin
After neglecting – or rather settings aside while I’m at capacity with various other workloads – my website, social media, admin and other important aspects of working as a freelancer, I’m focused at the moment on getting back to all of the above, and I’d like to share my regular focus here to manufacture a degree of accountability and also invite other freelancers who might be in a similar boat as a result of the pandemic or just life in general. Today’s theme is:
Re-invigorating the Blog and Website
Do you have a blog or a news section of your website that you’d like to resume posting on? Here’s your gentle nudge to do so. Let me know so that I can read it, follow, and keep up with your various activities or projects.
Something Audible
I recently carved out the 45 minutes required to listen to Alvin Lucier’s I Am Sitting In a Room (1981). This was actually my first time listening in full; when I refer students to this striking work I tend to play the beginning then skip through to a later section to quickly demonstrate how far the resonance evolves. I highly recommend taking the time to experience the slow growing ambience of Lucier’s voice in a particular space and time (the link preview looks a little odd but seems to play fine as embedded here):
Do you like what you read? You can pop back to the website intermittently to check on latest news, or even better, subscribe to receive updates via email here:
Yours,
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