| In
her report on the recent workshop at University of Philippines
young Malaysian composer Chong Huey Ching gives a candid account
of her experiences, pitfalls and lessons learnt
by Chong Huey Ching
 The
College of Music, University of the Philippines held its inaugural
Manila Composers Lab from 4 to 11 June 2009, organised by the
Department of Composition and Theory. This experimental workshop
provided young composers with a chance to work directly with
musicians and experiment with the practicality of woodwind instruments.
According to the organiser the objectives of this workshop are:
- Initiate epistemological dialogues with composers from various
cultures and backgrounds that will hopefully continue beyond
the duration of the event.
- Facilitate an exchange of paradigms and compositional technique
between the participants as mediated by the various elements
of the workshop.
- Foster an intensive laboratory environment that would encourage
extra-conventional thinking that is inclusive of aesthetic
differences.
The workshop invited participants from around Asia, and these
were:
(i) Gatot Danar Sulistiyanto (Indonesia)
(ii) Motohide Taguchi (Japan)
(iii) Chong Huey Ching (Malaysia)
(iv) Joyce Tan Cheng Ai (Malaysia)
(v) Teo Sin Yee (Malaysia)
(vi) Jonathan Crehan (New Zealand)
(vii) William Harsono (New Zealand)
(viii) Jahanna Aurea van Gestel (Philippines)
In this article I wish to share the wonderful and educational
experiences that I gained as a participant in the workshop.
My involvement with the workshop began in October 2008 when
I took part in my first composition master class with renowned
Philippines composer Dr Jonas Baes that was organised by the
Cultural Centre of University of Malaya. After the master class,
I was honoured to receive Dr Baes's invitation to take part
in the Manila Composers Lab organised by him and his students.
For the beginning stage, I was asked to send in a sketch composed
for any combinations of woodwind instruments from the standard
woodwind quintet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Horn in F, and
Bassoon). In other words, I could send in a sketch for solo,
duo, trio, quartet or quintet.
 When
I received this information from Dominic Quejada aka Nick (one
of the master-minds behind this workshop), I was so excited
about getting started with the concept that I had in mind, and
thinking that I should compose something impressive, that I
had totally neglected the term "sketch"! Lacking in
experience as a composer, I did not realise the difference between
"sketch" and "completed work", thinking
in my mind I that if I were to present a piece of work it should
always be complete.
Therefore, I initially spent around four months to conceptualize
and put all my ideas into a five-movement piece for woodwind
quartet called "The Journey of Stars". This piece
is approximately nine minutes long, completed under the guidance
of my kind and patient teacher, Yii Kah Hoe.
I was so proud of myself because this was my first large-scale
work and with much excitement and anticipation I sent in the
score thinking that all I had to do now was wait for June when
I would be able to hear my music being performed live! All that
hard works and lack of sleep will finally be paid off!
But - just like in the novels there is always a "but"
- I received an e-mail from Nick few days later politely stating
that my submitted score was too "complete" and that
there was no room for further development and experiment. The
idea, he said, was to develop and experiment the work further
during the workshop.
He left me with two choices - work on a new piece and submit
it as soon as possible or write a new piece on spot when I arrived
at Manila in June. I was devastated after receiving the e-mail,
because I would not be able to hear "The Journey of Stars"
after all the excitement and anticipation. Regardless, as a
passionate and egoistic Leo, I decided to work on a new piece
for woodwind quintet within three days. Yes, I was greedy at
the time, hoping to write for all instruments so that I could
get the chance to work with all musicians and learn about all
the instruments during the eight-day workshop. I was not aware
about the fact that sometimes, less is more.
> Part 2
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27 Sep 09 |
