This creative submission is formed of a portfolio of original compositions, a written commentary, analysis of selected pieces, and links to audio recordings of the works submitted. The portfolio consists of eleven works split between six chamber and five orchestral works, with the aim of exploring the aspects of my musical language that seek to promote expression as a means of creating engagement through the audibility of contemporary art music, and how
this enables the relationship between the composer and their audience.
Specifically, I have explored: the use of ‘musical building blocks’ as the central compositional foundation, particularly looking at the close relationship between melody and harmony in my works and how musical atmospheres are developed and informed by these features; the natural attraction of the ‘physical elements’ of music, namely rhythm, metre, instrumental colour, and the influence of postminimalism and progressive metal on my compositional technique; how a
mixture of newness, individuality and historical conventions can combine to provide an aesthetic of listenability and an approachable access point to contemporary art music.
My compositional approach is contextualised with references to influences from a variety of genres including: early-twentieth century composers, such as Gustav Holst, Gustav Mahler, Maurice Ravel, Bela Bartok and Igor Stravinsky; late-twentieth century composers, such as William Mathias, Einojuhani Rautavaara and Takashi Yoshimatsu; post-minimalists, such as Steve Reich, John Adams, and Graham Fitkin; and contemporary progressive metal bands, such as Dream Theater, Leprous, Periphery, and TesseracT.
I have also explored the impact of cross-genre, non-musical and programmatic stimuli and how they can inform the language and audibility of a piece to provide an alternative route to engagement with an audience