If they knew (2019)
for small orchestra // 11'
commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, made possible by the Cybec Foundation.
Performed and recorded live in January 2020, and made possible by the Cybec Foundation as supporters of the Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program.
For score and parts hire, email me
Performance history
January 25 2020
Iwaki Auditorium, Southbank, Melbourne
Cybec Young Composer Program Showcase
cond. Matthew Coorey
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Photo: Mark Laing 2020
About
If they knew is a piece in two parts about the nature of secrecy.
Part 1, if they knew, is based around the feeling of the preposition "if they knew..." as either a threat or a fear; the fear of holding a secret; the paranoia of a secret held against you. This movement begins in a secretive and panicked manner, and after a brief moment of repose consumes itself with its own momentum.
At the height of part one's collapse part two, a place to keep you, begins. This movement reflects a sense of love and sacrifice, using material from part one to create a safe haven to keep the secret that troubled part one.
My thanks to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Cybec Foundation for commissioning this work, to Johanna Selleck for her mentorship throughout this project, to my friends who reviewed the parts and to friends in Bermagui for the residency that saw the completion of this work.