The London Philharmonic Orchestra has released a video series on social media as part of The Studio, its online resource space for teenage composers. The first four episodes of the series focus on writing for film and dance, featuring prominent composers Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), David Arnold (Casino Royal, Independence Day), Cheryl Frances–Hoad (Rambert, Scottish Ballet) and incoming LPO Composer in Residence Brett Dean [pictured] giving an insight into their composing process. Each video is paired with material on The Studio, allowing young composers to try out the composition tips with specific creative exercises.
The series culminates in a brand-new creative composition brief featuring a new piece of choreography called ‘Fall to Rise’ devised and performed by Monique Jonas, a dancer from Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and Artistic Director of Jona Dance. Teenage musicians are invited to submit audio of their own compositions to fit with the dance and if they compose for violin, viola and cello their compositions may be selected to be played by members of the LPO. Selected submissions will be synced to the choreography and shared with LPO audiences. Award-winning composer Gavin Higgins has composed a new piece in response to the choreography, and The Studio will include Gavin’s tips for composing for strings.
LPO Soundworks and The Studio are supported by The John Thaw Foundation, The Lucille Graham Trust and The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust.
Episodes so far:
- Cheryl Frances-Hoad – How do you generate musical ideas? Paired with Dance creative brief 2: Stronghold (created by Brighton-based dance group Visual Poets)
- David Arnold – How do you start music for a film scene? Paired with Film creative brief 5: Where Loyalty Lies (created by young filmmakers from BFI Future Film Academy)
- Howard Shore – How do you create music for a new film based on a novel? Paired with The Stage creative brief 1: King Lear
- Brett Dean – How do you start writing a new piece? Paired with ‘composition starting points’ written activities
- Fall to Rise – Compose for choreography by Monique Jonas. Paired with ‘Composing for strings’ video.
Coming soon:
- Gavin Higgins’ composition and tips for young composers approaching the brief