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RPS Enterprise Fund
Creating 'Technically Together'
I have long had a passion to explore more unusual and unknown works for the bassoon, especially those that challenge perceptions that people have of it as an instrument and that highlight it's capabilities as a virtuosic instrument. Beside this and as a result of the lockdownat the time I was also desperate to find ways collaborate with other musicians and I am extremely grateful to the RPS society and Harriet's trust, as it let me build a project to envision this.
The idea of collaboration born in a time of isolation
The events of 2020 drastically changed the way in which we created and presented music. This change and how musicians adapted altered my outlook particularly in regards to collaboration, and the importance of creating innovative ways to share music. The isolation that the pandemic brought confirmed for me how invaluable creative collaboration with other musicians is. It is in working, talking and listening to other musicians that we improve ourselves. I believe it is now more important than ever to actively seek, adapt and create our own opportunities to collaborate.
The role technology had in this time really interested me, as we had to largely transfer the creation and performance of music online. Though this was originally daunting, I came to find excitement in the opportunity for freedom and finding new ways of creating and presenting music to take into the future. I found myself being more critical of my performance when recorded and I want to build and develop my online presence and profile to support, grow and influence all aspects of my future work. Although 2020 created many challenges I believe it has also created new opportunity innovation, self-development and collaboration.
Not what you expect from a bassoon
“Technically Together” is a series of filmed collaborations presenting lesser known, exciting bassoon music and unusual instrumental pairings. These videos are both aimed at creating connections with other musicians, providing new and exciting performances and engaging a wide audience, who may not usually listen to "classical music” and challenging perceptions of the bassoon.
The videos explore unusual bassoon repertoire which are not often played in concert halls with the goal to change perceptions of the bassoon and its capabilities. It was extremely important to me for this project to be collaborative and present unusual instrumental pairings.
Beatboxing bassoon and bass clarinet
While I was studying at the Royal Northern College of Music for my Masters and AdvPGDip, I was already passionate about finding unusual, rarely played and challenging bassoon repertoire, and finding pieces that didn't only pair with piano for my recitals. I was once told by a bassoon teacher of a piece "I heard it, thought it was brilliant and absolutely mad, so I thought of you." This quote was about Trainsport by Theodor Burkali- a piece for bassoon and percussion which I then in fact go on to perform in my final recital. I also performed Mizar A and B by Johannes Berauer and Phil Sageder- a piece for bassoon, bass clarinet and electronics which was actually the first piece that then came to my mind when first planning this project. It appeals to me so much because of its challenging nature, wonderful rhythms and fun electronic beatboxing, but probably most of all because of it's use of two bass instruments- often perceived to be simply accompaniment or bass line playing, in such an imaginative, virtuosic and unusual way. So this is one of the pieces you will soon be seeing in this series, filmed with the incredible Jess Tomlinson, a great friend who I studied and since work with frequently and run a chamber group with.
Lights, camera, action
Due to the project being a recorded series, a large part of it's creation and execution relies on technology- audio, film recording and editing. This is something that was suddenly needed to create and share practically any music during lockdown. During this time, I had a sharp learning curve, especially in film editing and a return to the audio editing I had studied at school and university. It's something I have come to love and greatly develop since and through this project as I continue to appreciate technology's ability to help creation and sharing music, to connect with both collaborators and audiences. I am so grateful that the RPS funding has meant I was able to invest in a camera, mics and film editing software in order to best showcase and create this project, and build a portfolio of high quality recorded performances to help grow my online presence, reach a wider audience and build valuable connections.
Watch this space
Coming soon...
Come back soon for the announcement of pieces and premiere of videos for Technically Together.