Funded entirely through philanthropic support, a major commissioning project designed to support the future of Australian music has been announced by Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO).
50 Fanfares will see a range of works by 50 Australian composers – including 25 women, who have traditionally been under-represented in the orchestral sector – premiered over the next three years.
Read: Female composers forced to think small
The project has been designed to represent a broad range of Australian voices and music styles, from short fanfares and chamber works to longer compositions for full symphony orchestra.
Participating composers were chosen from a list of more than 230 composers nominated by a national panel of 100 musicians, artists, educators and culture industry leaders across Australia over the past year.
‘Each of the 50 composers – emerging, established and from across many musical styles and art forms – is proof of the exceptional talent that we have in this country. Collectively, these composers are important voices shaping our musical life, now and in the future,’ said SSO Chief Executive Officer Emma Dunch.
‘As a leadership organisation, an important part of the Sydney Symphony’s role is to open doors and create new opportunities in orchestral music. For that reason, we are particularly excited that many of those selected are young and emerging composers — this project will bring their talents to the attention of the global music community and boost their profile even as they continue to hone their craft.
‘And we have also deliberately structured our commissions so that many of the works will be suitable for performance by youth orchestras, community orchestras, school orchestras, brass bands and universities internationally. Our goal is to renew the contemporary Australian repertoire and make it available internationally, ensuring that the works we commission will receive many subsequent performances by other ensembles around the world, too, in the coming years,’ she said.
Celebrating australian voices
A new work by composer Christopher Sainsbury, a member of the Dharug nation (the First Peoples of Sydney) and a highly experienced music educator, will be the first 50 Fanfares commission to be performed, as part of the SSO’s A Global Ode to Joy project at the Sydney Town Hall in August this year.
Another composer commissioned through the initiative is Yorta Yorta woman, soprano and educator Deborah Cheetham AO, who told ArtsHub: ‘Although I live in Melbourne now and have the honour of being the 2020 Composer in Residence at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, I grew up in Sydney. It’s my hometown. As a high school student, I immersed myself in the world of orchestral music attending countless SSO performances in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House via education initiatives such as the Series 630 concerts. The 50 Fanfares Project will serve to amplify and celebrate the unique voices of 21st century Australian composers and I am honoured to be counted among the 50 Australian composers to be offered a commission.’
She went on to praise the SSO for their support of Australian composers, and for the initiative’s focus on gender parity.
‘This project has the potential to position the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a powerful champion of the musical legacy of our times,’ Cheetham said. ‘It is vital that our major performing arts organisations champion such initiatives, if they wish to remain relevant in the 21st century. It is my opinion MPA funding should depend upon a commitment to excellence in diversity.’
Composer, musician and teacher Louisa Trewartha, who has also been commissioned as part of 50 Fanfares, noted: ‘Commissioning women shouldn't be significant, but it still is. The team at SSO have carefully considered this list. Fingers crossed that 20 years from now people will look back at this project and not even notice that it was potentially a risky choice to have asked a young queer woman to be involved.’
‘Commissioning women shouldn't be significant, but it still is.’
Louisa Trewartha
Trewartha said she received a phone call advising her about the commission ‘completely out of the blue about a month back, and it's given me a lot of reassurance that my career efforts thus far have not gone unnoticed.
‘I'm chuffed to have been asked to partake, alongside incredible composers whose names you don't yet know, and some who are household names,’ she told ArtsHub, adding that her commission was for a brass fanfare. 'It will be a few minutes long, and scored for an orchestral brass section,' she said.
While it was too early for Cheetham to reveal what she was working on as part of the 50 Fanfares commission, she hinted: ‘I have been invited to compose an overture for large orchestra. It is early days for the development process but let’s just say there won’t be too many players left in the greenroom. Large orchestral forces, celebrating one of the great concert halls of the world. What more could you ask for?’
‘This project has the potential to position the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as a powerful champion of the musical legacy of our times.’
Deborah Cheetham AO
Sydney Symphony Director of Artistic Planning Raff Wilson said: ‘50 Fanfares is a major commissioning project that reaffirms the phenomenal talent that we have all across Australia. These composers are among those voices who will take Australian music and orchestral music forward over the coming years and we are proud to support them.
‘The commissioned composers are from across multiple generations. Many of them are in the early stages of their careers as artists, representing many different styles of music and approaches to live performances. For many, this will be their first commission from a symphony orchestra. This project will be a unique portrait of the state of our musical nation, and its future direction.’
Simone Young AM, who will assume the role of Chief Conductor in 2022 added: ‘This is an evolving, visionary project and many of the works will be performed in my first year as Chief Conductor in 2022. This will mark the start of a new dialogue between our composers and our Orchestra.’
50 Fanfares will be progressively performed over 2020, 2021, and 2022, and reach a broad audience by being included in mainstage concerts, regional tours, and in school education programs.
Premieres will culminate in 2022 when the Sydney Symphony returns to its home at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall is currently undergoing a two-year program of construction and acoustic renewal.
The Sydney Symphony plans to record and release all 50 commissions and partner with an international music publisher to publish the orchestral scores for international orchestra use.
The 50 composers to receive commissions are:
Katy Abbott, VIC
Andrew Aronowicz, VIC
Michael Bakrnčev, VIC
William Barton, QLD
Paul-Antoni Bonetti, SA
Lyle Chan, NSW
Alice Chance, NSW
Chloé Charody, NSW
Deborah Cheetham, VIC
Connor d’Netto, QLD
Melody Eötvös, VIC
Mary Finsterer, TAS
William Gardiner, SA
Brenda Gifford, NSW
Iain Grandage, WA
Maria Grenfell, TAS
Gordon Hamilton, NSW
Holly Harrison, NSW
James Henry, VIC
Matthew Hindson, NSW
Mark Holdsworth, WA
Andrew Howes, NSW
Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh, VIC
Elena Kats-Chernin, NSW
David John Lang, SA
Liza Lim, NSW
Ella Macens, NSW
Cathy Milliken, SA
Jordan Moore, WA
Kate Moore, ACT
Natalie Nicolas, NSW
Kate Neal, VIC
Peggy Polias, NSW
Christopher Sainsbury, NSW
Georgia Scott, NSW
Harry Sdraulig, NSW
Lachlan Skipworth, WA
Paul Stanhope, NSW
Luke Styles, NSW
Joseph Tawadros, NSW
Louisa Trewartha, VIC
Alex Turley, NSW
Joseph Twist, QLD
Bree van Reyk, NSW
Carl Vine, NSW
Jessica Wells, NSW
Natalie Williams, SA
Elizabeth Younan, NSW
Miriama Young, VIC
Julian Yu, VIC
Learn more about the 50 Fanfares project and the participating composers.