Australian Composers Orchestral Forum provides emerging composers the opportunity to work with a professional symphony orchestra
Composers_Connecting_Community
Update No. 143, 2006
Bev McAlister, the Dandenong Ranges Music Council’s community music coordinator, discusses DRMC’s involvement with the Composers_Connecting_Community project, which is an initiative of the Music Board of the Australia Council. The Dandenong Ranges Music Council is a community music organisation in the Shire of Yarra Ranges, Victoria and is supported by the Music Board of the Australia Council and the Shire of Yarra Ranges for their work in community music development. The C_C_C project is funding DRMC, along with Orchestras Australia and Youth Orchestras Australia, to host a composer residency or commission new works for youth and community-based music organisations.
To be invited to be involved in the Composers_Connecting_Community project is a wonderful recognition of DRMC’s commitment over many years to the creation of new Australian music which is accessible, relevant and challenging for school and community musicians and their audiences.
We chose Dr Calvin Bowman as our composer. Bowman has proved to be an excellent choice for many reasons. His musical ability goes without saying, but along with this goes his remarkable capacity to engage with children, parents, teachers, community composers, music directors and the wider community. Conversations with school choirs, Upwey High School Concert Band, Ranges Young Strings, and an adult a cappella group have been lively and varied.
The first work completed is a suite of seven songs based on the poems of C.J. Dennis who lived in the Dandenong Ranges and wrote the Sentimental Bloke in Kallista, not far from where our composer lives in Olinda.
These songs will be illustrated by renowned artist Allan Stomann and published as a music/ poetry kit for schools and children’s choirs. A massed choir of 300 children from 13 schools will premiere this work on July 24th 2006.
Bowman is also currently completing works for the above-mentioned ensembles.
Bowman says: “I’ve been privileged to have been granted some wonderful musical opportunities over the years, but working with the DRMC is proving to be one of the highlights. The dedicated people at the DRMC know the importance of community-based music making.
The learning process continues to go both ways – I’ve been positively impressed by the number of enthusiastic people who have come out of the woodwork for this project because they love music so much. On the other end of the scale, I’ve been horrified at the lack of basic musical resources at many of the schools I’ve visited in a consultative capacity. Therefore, I hope that not only will the ensembles involved have enjoyable pieces to play and sing, but that the dialogues created through the project may have practical benefits beyond my own community.”
