The idea for this project arose from my visit in 2022 to the Museum of Humanity in Zaandam in The Netherlands https://www.museumofhumanity.nl/en/ons. Looking around at hundreds of human faces of various ethnic backgrounds, cultural heritage, and life stories I thought that it would be fascinating to do the same through music - to discover how music creation reflects human condition in our modern world. Does music represent unity or diversity? Can a music composer speak directly to a listener of who they are through 1 minute of music?
50 composers from around the world (both professional and amateur) were invited to write a self-portrait of 1 minute in duration, scored for trio of clarinet, viola, and piano. The represented countries are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, and Venezuela. The diversity of styles ranges from traditional/contemporary Classical and Film music to innovative jazz, fusions, and experimental music.
All 50 self-portraits will be presented as one continuous collage in live performances by trios in Australia, The Netherlands and the USA. During the performance, each self-portrait will be accompanied by a projected image (visual self-portrait) provided by the composer. The concerts will be recorded for online access.
Other aims of this unprecedented and truly international project are to:
- galvanize, invigorate, and share compositional practices in the international community
- showcase cultural and artistic diversity
- foster international collaborations between contemporary composers and performers
- provide an opportunity for emerging and less-known composers/performers to be heard
- establish an ongoing platform for the global community of composers and performers
- create work for local and international music creatives
- contribute by 50 new works to the repertoire for viola, clarinet, and piano
The trios presenting this project in live and recorded performances are:
Ensemble Flex (Australia): Dr Rianne Wilschut clarinet (https://youtu.be/TdXVhPZQl_w), Nicholas Tomkin viola (https://youtu.be/UzvhqXc_gHc), Alex Raineri piano (https://alexraineri.com/)
Pelgrim Trio (The Netherlands): Karin Dolman viola, Thea Rosmulder clarinet, Caecilia Boschman piano (http://pelgrimtrio.nl/luister/)
Lamont Trio (USA): Ash Mach viola (https://www.ashmach.com), John Griffin clarinet (Johngclarinetstudio.com), Christopher Thompson piano
Performance dates:
Ensemble Flex (Australia) - November 19, 2023 in the 4MBS Performance Studio in Coorparoo, Brisbane (Queensland), Australia
Pelgrim Trio (The Netherlands) - early December 2023 (tbc)
Lamont Trio (USA) - December 8, 2023 in Hamilton Recital Hall at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver (Colorado), USA