Who or what are the most significant influences on your musical life and career as a composer?
Artistically: the experience of being alive. The experience of making improvised music with other musicians. The experience of creating music with children.
Inspiring figures for the career-side of things: Every composer who has talked about their day job.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
Artistically: Organising everything else so I can Compose music and practicing the trombone for significant amounts of time every day.
Carreer: Getting people to take my music seriously
What are the special challenges/pleasures of working on a commissioned piece?
Challenges: Understanding a specific group of human musicians (who the piece is commissioned for) and digesting how their craft artistry relates to my own.
Pleasures: Ideally when a piece can facilitate every individual human musician feeling the piece resonates with their own sense of craft and artistry.
What are the special challenges/pleasures of working with particular musicians, singers, ensembles or orchestras?
I love especially working with a group of musicians that like “having a good old play”. I feel Ensemble Modern are a good example of this. Other examples exist too.
Of which works are you most proud?
Eh….i dunno how much i think about “pride” actually, seems a bit odd when you think about the word itself….i get stuck on it because a really just make the music for its own sake rather than writing pieces as cub-scout badges. But i do know what you mean and what this question means….haha…..so….I still don’t really know. The stuff that i find most intriguing/sensual/pleasurable is the most recent stuff i am writing like Blue Chew Cheerio Earpiece for Riot Ensemble and MearzMusik and/or Spit Crystal Yeast Rack for Explore ensemble. I’ve just written a piece for me and Jennifer Walsh and the WDR Symphony orchestra but i don’t know what that feels like to listen to yet….or maybe Car-Pig.
How would you characterise your compositional language?
Busy. Probably. For sure. I think that’s fair to say.
I try to work in a musical language that is as sensual/sonically stimulating as possible in every moment of a piece. I try to make as “magic sound stuff” as I can.
How do you work?
I work by really wanting to spend a lot of time working. That is my main motivation. I really love writing/creating music. That is what drives everything else. I try to work everyday for as many hours as I can. Because that is what I like doing best. I’ve tried a few other activities. But this is what i want to spend my life doing.
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
Maybe success, it’s just the ability to make at least one moment of sonic beautifulness or truth…preferably more than one. But sometimes life makes it hard to do that and one will have to do for now. Maybe another one later. Fingers crossed.
What advice would you give to young/aspiring composers?
Mmm…well from the ones i have met, young/aspiring composers are often looking for different things/nutrients. I think listening to a lot of music is pretty wholesome thing to do but it’s not for everyone. Maybe I would advise making your own definition of what being a composer/artist/whatever means – and preferably make one that doesn’t really on any institutions to bless what you do. Bless yourself. Or get a friend to do it for you.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?
Play and engage profoundly more newly-created music.
Tell us more about the work which has been nominated for an Ivors Classical Award this year?
ilolli-pop is a piece for 18 players, electronics and improviser soloist (this could be a jazz musician or another kind of improvising soloist). It was commissioned for Ensemble Modern who premiered it on the 1st March 2020 with myself playing the improvising soloist part and Enno Poppe conducting. It has also been programmed again by Ensemble Modern, Akso-Schoenberg Ensemble, Re-mix Ensemble, ECLAT Festival and Guadeamus Festival. The Piece was recorded by Dreammusics ensemble and released on non-classical label in 2022.
What next – where would you like to be in 10 years?
In my room writing music
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
In my room writing music
What is your most treasured possession?
The hard drives with my next few albums on them. My lovely Rath Trombone.
What do you enjoy doing most?
Creating music.
Alex Paxton is nominated for an Ivors Classical Award in the Best Large Ensemble Composition category for ‘ilolli-pop’. The Awards ceremony takes place on 14th November at BFI Southbank.
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