Today marks the start of a new initiative: an interview series focusing on contemporary composers. I’ve been keen to undertake this project for a while, particularly as my own interest in composition has gradually developed over the past few years.
In this series, I interview a whole host of composers, hoping to glean some inside information about their education, inspiration, and productivity: in short, what drives them to create music. It’s also a nod to my love of coffee….! So, join me for coffee every month here on the blog to discover more about what it is to write music in the twenty-first century.
British composer Jeffery Wilson is my first guest. Jeffery is an examiner and adjudicator, and was Professor of Composition at Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama for 32 years. He is currently Creative Director of the national composition competition ‘Release’, workshop leader for Guildhall Young Artists Online, and a composition consultant to the GYA family.
- Let’s start by talking a little about your musical education. What inspired you to become a musician, and, specifically, a composer?
I was at Junior School when I started to write down music without much theoretical knowledge or understanding. I think the act of putting pen to paper and making something may have had more to do with art than sound but clarinet lessons at school and later private piano lessons improved my literacy to the extent that I started to write for friends who played various instruments. I remember writing out parts without a score (since I had never heard of such a thing). I simply do not remember how successful this was but I still have a sketch of a theme which is not too bad.
- You studied in Paris with Olivier Messiaen. How did he influence your work and what was he like as a teacher and mentor?
I am often asked about Messiaen and have, in the past, been rather economic in my responses. As I increase in years, I am more comfortable with the reality that he was of great importance to me; I am Catholic and our shared faith has informed my life. His scriptural knowledge and conviction were without parallel in my experience and there was no separation between art and faith. There were moments of pure musical revelation of course; like the time we analysed sections of ‘Pan’ by Albert Roussel and he commented on the colours employed by the composer and the “change of hue” when a harmonic sound world was repeated in transposition. In short, I treasure our time.
- Other important teachers include Herbert Howells, John Lambert and Gordon Jacob, can you elaborate on their differing teaching styles. What lasting memories do they hold for you?
John Lambert was a fine teacher and great friend who opened my ears to a great deal of music and sanctioned and endorsed experiment and fun. The improvisation class with chums like Barrington Pheloung and Mark Anthony Turnage were a revelation.
As a teenager my friend Peter told me that Gordon Jabob lived in Saffron Walden and being an Essex boy, I felt able to take a few buses and knock on his door to ask for lessons. The blunt refusal did not deter me and I tell all of my students that I said, “Oh never mind I know the bus route now, I will be back next week”. Dr Jacob did agree to teach me eventually and we embarked on some orchestration exercises and a little counterpoint. Thea King visited once to play through a Clarinet and Piano piece which I too had a go at. Such fun.
When John Lambert was on a short sabbatical I was told to meet Dr Howells in the Vaughan Williams room at the RCM since he would be my teacher for a while. I remember reading a biography (maybe a BBC Music Guide?) which did not seem to describe him but the Paul Spicer biography is a must read for all fans of this fine composer. His understanding of the canon of twentieth century music was amazing and he communicated musical ideas at the keyboard with a clarity that I now realise has informed my own teaching.
I should add that after the RCM, private lessons with Aladar Majorossy in his flat in Ealing were a revelation. This Hungarian composer/conductor had so much to say about the role of the artist in the Opera House and concert stage.
In short then, I value these fine teachers for their individual natures and unique artistic paths. Perhaps the greatest lesson then is after all to be yourself.
- How has your performing career as a saxophonist influenced your composing?
Without doubt the music profession is a demanding life choice and so that well used expression, a portfolio career, is in fact a necessity rather than a luxury. The Saxophone has attended me for orchestral outings, quartet recitals, jazz performances, new music premieres, soul band gigs and back-ground music events. Working with a myriad of other musicians informs the composer as much as the player and the two are indivisible.
- How do you balance your love of writing jazz with a more traditional, classical style?
I suppose rather like Duke Ellington who said “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.” I move towards responding to the people I write for really and that dictates the style and content.
Recently I set some George Herbert for Lilly Vadaneaux and the Breugel Consort. This early music vocal group inhabit the sound-world of the Renaissance and so my music offers a respectful nod to that whilst taking harmonic departures that, I trust, will delight the ear.
- You have composed over 300 compositions. How has your style changed over the years?
Early on in my working life I was allowed to experiment which is a blessing and so I suppose one could say that development has been organic. There is one constant though that pervades many composers work including my own. ‘Response to need’ is and should be the aesthetic for creatives I feel. In this way one develops a language that can work in educational music settings, when writing for a soloist, for the media, for a defined ensemble or for a new community work. Adaptability and flexibility are positives that one hopes become more refined as the years go by.
- You’ve written many scores for dance companies as well as for the stage: how do you approach writing these large-scale works?
Collaboration is the watchword here. Developing relationships with choreographers, directors, wordsmiths and theatres is how new work is realised. For me the bonus is that you learn along the way since other professionals bring such a lot to the party!
- As a teacher, how do you engage younger students so that composing becomes a fascinating endeavour for them?
This question touches upon the twin vocations of teaching and creating. I suppose the focus of my efforts with aspirant composers is to enable them to express themselves and find a voice, to resource them and bring new listening and understanding, to share my own journey alongside their own and to be forever curious to know more. My students will confirm that when I do not know something I am mad keen to find out!
- Tell us about your work as an adjudicator, examiner and music exam board syllabus designer.
Examining has been a learning curve over the years as has adjudication. Finding words to describe the musical experience, being aware of and sensitive to understandable nerves, communicating a sense of calm and offering a supportive environment; I would commend all educators to sit on this side of the fence for part of their career, it really is humbling. I am grateful to Guildhall Exams, Trinity College London and the various exam bodies who have commissioned syllabus content and design from me since this has formed a significant part of my working life and impacts my current role as academic lead for ‘The Learning Machine’. At TLM we lead innovation at the intersection of music, technology, and AI to expand global educational outreach.
- What would a ‘dream’ commission look like for you?
I have written just one Opera ‘The Way to Glory’, another would be the perfect commission. The subject? ‘Pandora’ has always interested me…
- Can you give us a peek into your future plans and projects?
I have written a Piano Concerto for Christopher Weston and the Docklands Sinfonia called ‘Liberate anima’ and am reviewing the orchestration at the moment, we are looking at a premiere later in the year. I am hopeful that a new choral work will be commissioned by a consortium of choirs in the East of England (just waiting on that). Long overdue is the completion of a book with the working title ‘Composer in the Community’, it really has taken many years of thinking and scribbling but is now coming together. I discuss the way a creative artist seeks to engage with their community, how a composer writes to need and with a personal voice, how performing can embrace space and time, how teaching is learning, asking questions about the role of the artist in society and offering a personal narrative on the journey so far.
Perhaps I shall finish before the year is out…… we shall see.
Enjoy Jeffery’s work by clicking on the links below:
