Last time I went down, I interviewed Production student Peter May about composing music for film and the moving image before his performance at the Showcase. Check out the video I made with him at the bottom of the post.
Oxford Street is definitely down in the books as one of the busier streets in the country. As tourists, shoppers, businessmen and the rest of the London contingent flock down it day in day out, the last year has seen a quarterly funnel escape the bustle into the pocketed side street that hosts Steinway Hall.
As the academic year comes to a close and the jazz, classical and popular students have held their lights on the stage at Steinway Hall, BA Music Production (2013) student Peter May observes the mass of pianos in concertina across the Steinway showroom floor. “
It’s quite inspiring really, isn’t it?” he remarks in awe, shifting in his seat as his fellow performers sound check. Not that he should be intimidated. Winner of the Olivier Whittaker Prize for Interdisciplinary Collaboration, trombonist of the Leeds College of Music Symphonic Wind Orchestra and, tonight, showing two pieces he’s been working on over the last year.
“There’s always been a lot going on while I’ve been here, but 2013 has definitely been a great one for collaboration. One memory that really stands out is recording my own music with some fantastic musicians. It's a very special moment to hear your ideas really come to life. Truly privileged.”
It’s also only been in the past 12 months that May has really focused on his piano playing, with the facilities in the conservatoire aiding him. “Becoming an All-Steinway School has definitely made a difference. What I do is pretty varied across the board – so the fact that I can work on my piano skills, be in an orchestra, and have access to excellent production facilities really helps deliver the whole package.”
And if there is ever an evening to watch May showcase the breadth of his approach, this is it. He’s showing two pieces from his final project, for which he’s created a conceptual album.
“With the album, I wanted to maintain a similar creative purpose to that of music's role in film and television,” he explains, “so – music written to comment on a scene and manipulate us on an emotional level, drawing out the underlying moods, like feelings of unease or tension that connect us with our favourite TV protagonists, or burdening us with vivid feelings of anxiety and danger that set our hearts racing through a cinematic chase.
“The first piece is the opening track, Curiosity – from this feeling I had to capture all the different emotional elements that make us feel curious; balancing the unresolving moments of anxiety and hesitancy that oppose the playful instability that collectively confounds our expectations of where the track is going to go."
Slightly less playful is the second piece May is showing tonight – a re-score of a particularly harrowing scene from HBO’s Band of Brothers’ episode Why We Fight, which shows an American army squad, Easy Company, discovering a Nazi concentration camp.
“I really wanted to have a go at writing music for an emotionally difficult and complex scene, hence my decision to re-score this. After brushing up on some German and re-dubbing all the voices with my flatmate, the challenge lay with creating a minimalistic composition that could still point suggestion towards the stark disbelief of Easy Company and the pain present at their discovery of a Nazi concentration camp. It was really interesting to compose music for the first experience of Easy Company, while trying to block out my present day knowledge and imagine being in their boots.
“I'm fascinated by how music and the power of association can change how we feel, even sending shivers up our spines. Music for film and TV is something I'd love to build a career in.”
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