Compositional Collaboration between the OSM and the Schulich School of Music.
When Schulich School of Music composition students write pieces for orchestra it may be that they dream of their works someday being performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montr茅al, with all the finesse and polish that a world-class orchestra brings to contemporary music.聽 聽For three students, Doyoon Kim, Francisco Ferro and Xue Han, this was exactly what happened, when on November 10th, the OSM, conducted by Maestro Adam Johnson, premiered their works in Pollack Hall.聽 As part of this unusual event, the composers were also able to discuss their works and specific composition techniques with conductor Adam Johnson and Jean Lesage, Schulich Composition Area Chair.
South Korean Doctoral student Doyoon Kim is a student of Philippe Leroux here at Schulich.聽 His work Vintage Machines聽is scored for large orchestra, and as such, the chances of him ever hearing it performed live were quite slim. Through working with the OSM, Kim discovered many elements that he had not considered previously, such as how best to produce parts the musicians could play from, instrument positioning on stage, and rehearsal time management strategies for complex works.聽 鈥淣ot only composition-related factors, but also the most practical things were brought to my attention.聽 As a composition area student, I dare say there is nothing better than this experience as an opportunity,鈥� said Kim.聽 Kim鈥檚 previous works have been perfomed by the Korena Chamber Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and he holds composition degrees from Seoul National University and Indiana University鈥檚 Jacob鈥檚 School of Music.
Francsico Ferro is a compostion student of Schulich鈥檚 Chris Paul Harman.聽 聽Although from a Brazilian family, he spent his early years in southern France and studied jazz before devoting himself entirely to composition. He attended both Berklee College of Music and Tufts University before coming to pursue his Doctorate at Schulich. In addition to his studies here, he currently teaches harmony, counterpoint and orchestration techniques at the Privas Conservatory in France. 聽His work Espaces 茅ph茅m猫res was rehearsed and performed by the OSM during the event. The piece contains complex and precise dynamic and rhythmic layers and truly required the musical expertise of a professional orchestra in order to create a vivid performance complete with the necessary refined sonorities and technical precision.聽Ferro was impressed by how quickly conductor Adam Johnson and the OSM could assimilate his artistic intentions, and later commented聽鈥�It was an absolute honor and pleasure to interact with conductor Adam Johnson and the Montr茅al Symphony Orchestra. Their musicianship, integrity, commitment and dedication were truly outstanding and their human qualities made the process of future collaborative efforts all the more inspiring,鈥� he said. His future projects include the creation of Espace Acoustique, a non-profit organization devoted to popularizing new music in France, and launching an itinerant festival of new music in 2018 in the southern France city of Valr茅as.
Chinese student Xue Han began her Doctoral composition studies with Philippe Leroux this fall.聽 Her previous training includes an undergraduate degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and further studies at the Longy School of Music of Bard College (Boston). Han鈥檚 piece Portrait of the Ink, which was composed while still a student in China, was rehearsed and performed by the OSM.聽 She found conductor Adam Johnson to be exceptionally generous with his practical advice and comments about her work.聽 It is one thing to study composition in the abstract and theoretically, but 鈥�listening my own music interpreted by great performers. Mr. Johnson and MSO鈥檚 masterly interpretation of was absolutely a fabulous experience and gave me a new perspective to appreciate and scrutinize the piece as a listener,鈥� she remarked.
Thanks in part to the substantial funding by Hydro Quebec, the event was free to the public and the evening鈥檚 performance also included Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 Candide Overture and the Berceuse et Finale of Igor Stravinsky鈥檚 Firebird Suite. This event strengthened the connection between the two institutions, in which many of our students can count their teachers as musicians who were on stage as part of the OSM, and many more聽of our Schulich alumni have gone on to performing careers as members of the OSM. 聽The pedagogical value of the experience was invaluable to the students who undoubtably learnt through listening to the live performance of their works, but who will also be able to study the recording that was made of their works later on with their mentors, developing a better understanding of the intersection between theoretical ideas of composition and orchestration and the acoustic reality unique to an orchestra.聽
