In 2017 I entered the East Anglian Young Composer of the Year competition.  This involved me composing a piece for a piano trio with the theme/title of truth.  The instrumentation did not have to be the full piano trio so I decided to just compose for violin and cello.

My inspiration for this piece was based on a conversation.  I wanted the performers to interact with each other.  I related this piece to the relationship that I have with my Mum.  My Mum and I are very close and very truthful with each other therefore I wanted the piece to represent that.  I did this by using balanced phrases and creating a piece that was similar to a conversation. I worked using one main motif and then slowly developing it to create a new idea and then reverting back to the original idea.

Once the piece I had composed was entered into the competition I was then invited to watch my piece be performed by the Phaedra Ensemble. This was an amazing opportunity as it was a very rare occasion for me to hear my own music being performed. After the performance, the musicians and judge, Ewan Campbell, commented on the piece and asked me some questions about my process and concepts behind the music. I found this very helpful as I was able to discuss the different elements of the piece including how the performers felt when playing the piece.

There were many different styles of music entered into the competition and some that were drastically different to my own. It was interesting to see all the different styles of the entrants and find out about the different concepts and inspiration from each of the composers. I think that this has helped me to become aware of the different approaches to composing and therefore broadening my own methods.

Unfortunately, I did not get through this round of the competition and did not get to the finals. However, I enjoyed taking part and found it very useful as a way of widening my musical ideas.