Who or what are the most significant influences on your musical life and career as a composer?
I’ve had no training in composing, but I have spent most of my life working as a cellist and was lucky enough to be influenced by two wonderful teachers; the cellist Christopher Bunting, and the violinist Emmanuel Hurwitz. Both have been musical role models for me.
Then in my teens I read a book called ‘Systems and Methods of Creative Acting’ by the great Russian actor Stanislavsky. Stanislavsky’s commitment to art, and the importance he placed on art needing to have something truthful to say that connects with people’s feelings, has always stayed with me.
I also love Benjamin Britten’s string orchestral music and his opera ‘Peter Grimes’ – which is wonderfully exciting and emotional. And shortly after I started composing I wrote to Paul Carr – whose string orchestral music I very much admire – and he was very positive and gave me some excellent advice.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
I have always struggled with confidence as a cellist, so giving a solo Wigmore Hall recital in 1982 was a challenge. In 1984 I formed a professional string orchestra – Peterborough String Orchestra – and that took two years of work to set up with many ups and downs, which was another challenge. And I think that having the the confidence to send music to publishers and believing I could compose in my sixties, was another challenge.
It’s easy to feel lost in the music world. It would be wonderful if there were more mentors. That probably applies to life generally as well!
What are the special challenges/pleasures of working on a commissioned piece?
I’m fairly new to composing so I haven’t yet been commissioned to write a piece, but it’s an opportunity I would very much like to have.
What are the special challenges/pleasures of working with particular musicians, singers, ensembles or orchestras?
I loved working with Her Ensemble, who recorded my first string orchestra piece, Clan, and are giving the first performance in Birmingham in February and then playing it on their Northern tour.
I was incredibly nervous about attending their rehearsals and meeting them, but they are a wonderful group to work with and took ownership of the music in such a committed way that I dedicated Clan to them. They also came up with some interpretative ideas which I hadn’t thought of and which I loved, and the double bassist made a few suggestions about the double bass writing which were very helpful. To be able to work regularly with a string orchestra is a dream of mine and I feel hugely privileged when anyone plays my music.
Of which works are you most proud?
I think I am most proud of Clan so far, but I have written some other string orchestra pieces and a cello sonata since then, none of which I have sent to publishers yet. One of these works – Five Lost Highland Tales – is a prequel to Clan.
I was also very proud that two of my cello duets have been chosen to be included in the 2024 ABRSM cello string syllabus.
How would you characterise your compositional language?
It’s strongly influenced by folk music and it’s melodic and tonal. For me music needs a narrative, even if it’s a narrative that you can’t put into words, and I love melody. When I started composing I just wanted to write good tunes that people would enjoy playing, and I feel the same way now.
How do you work?
I prefer to work first thing in the morning and I find it very relaxing to have dedicated space to create my own world. I start by thinking : “What do I really want to say” and I imagine an idea for the overall work…how many movements, and what form to use. Then I often start by trying ideas on the piano.
When things are going well the music seems to take off with a life of its own and it sometimes becomes entirely different from what you planned…which is one of the exciting sides of composing. But of course there are also times when nothing seems to work, or you think it’s going well and then decide to delete it all the next day.
For me endings are very important…I feel they almost summarise what the piece is about…so it sometimes takes me a lot of time to decide on that.
As a musician, what is your definition of success?
To compose a piece of music that will last, that affects people’s feelings, and that has something true to say.
What advice would you give to young/aspiring composers?
Forget about what is fashionable: write the music that is in your heart.
What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?
I think the formality of classical music concerts can be intimidating, and that’s a pity. I’ve often felt this myself, even though I am a classical musician. And it doesn’t help that classical music is so often associated with being ‘upmarket’ or ‘posh’ . The black clothes, the seating in rows, the sense that you need to be very knowledgable to enjoy this, and the academic programme notes don’t always encourage the feeling of pleasure. However I don’t think dumbing art down or diluting it helps…it just turns it into something else.
Her Ensemble, and I am sure others, are doing a lot to change the way classical music is perceived
What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about but you think we should be?
Forget trying to do something new: there is nothing new in the world of art. But we all have an individual voice, and that can be much more exciting.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being with people I love.
Joanna Borrett’s Clan receives its world premiere on 24th February at the Elgar Concert Hall in Birmingham, performed by Her Ensemble. Further information
Facebook – where Joanna offers free video lessons in improvising: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082675994427
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