Mark Simpson Concert - COVID-19

Originally, I was slated to have a piece performed by the Royal Northern College of Music New Ensemble in a concert during a festival for Mark Simpson on June 10, 2020. A pandemic caused by Coronavirus made such an event impossible. I had originally planned to write a highly energetic and rhythmic piece and after receiving note that I wouldn’t be required to prepare the music at the original set date, I set out to finish the piece by that deadline regardless.

Isolation, however, has different affects on different people. I thought I would be able to get so much done during this lockdown, but I found myself less and less motivated to write. I ceased writing for the Mark Simpson concert after a couple of weeks into the lockdown. There was almost a point in which I stopped writing altogether. There was also a point in which I thought this lockdown would miraculously end several months pre-maturely despite all signs suggesting otherwise. None of those things happened. I was commissioned to write a piano piece for 2nd-year undergrad piano students with a lot of free reign (save for a 5-minute cap). This was the birth of No Agenda. Writing that piece was a joy and it sparked some new ideas in my head.

After finishing No Agenda, I immediately began thinking about what I will write next. I looked at the pdf of the score I sent to the school, and next to it was a draft of the Mark Simpson piece. Now there’s no talk of another concert being scheduled yet (it may be a while after the lockdown starts easing up before any live performances happen), but it doesn’t mean that the piece can’t still be written. I’ve begun resuming writing for the piece, but I decided to take an overhaul of the piece. Why be rhythmic and energetic when it can be lyrical and seemingly arhythmic? Writing the piano piece has made me reflect on the music I’ve written so far, and I think this new piece will be sure to shake things up a bit.

Stay tuned!