BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Chamber music mentoring. Public performances. Community engagement. Business development.
These are the opportunities presented to the Arcadia Quintet, an emerging woodwind ensemble and the first group to be selected for the new FutureMakers fellowship.
The Melbourne quintet (featuring Kiran Phatak, David Reichelt, Lloyd Van’t Hoff, Rachel Shaw and Matthew Kneale) was founded in 2013 at the Australian National Academy of Music. The musos have just kicked off their two-year fellowship as part of the new Musica Viva program.
Matthew, who plays bassoon for Arcadia, tells us what it was like to achieve the opportunity and gives some handy tips on auditioning for a major arts organisation.
Congratulations on being selected for this fellowship! How does it feel to have achieved this in such a competitive industry?
It’s an amazing feeling to see the hard work that each of us has put in come to fruition. This is a great opportunity for us to grow as a quintet, and also as five individual musicians. We have already begun workshops with Musica Viva and these are producing some very exciting projects, tours and concepts, which will be revealed over the 2016-2017 period.
What are some of the expectations on the group for the next couple of years?
The expectation on the group, I believe, is for us to develop our musical creativity and expand the Arcadia brand. We would also like to continue to grow in the areas of music education and practice, both individually and as a quintet. We look forward to opportunities where we can work with amazing music educators such as Richard Gill, which will enable us to achieve this aim. We hope the program also includes some overseas travel and performances, which would connect us with musicians and opportunities that could help sustain us in the future.
As a group of emerging musicians, how do you feel the length of this program will affect your career path? If each member of Arcadia needs to be stable for two years in this fellowship, does this impact the direction of your long term goals?
A two year fellowship helps young musicians like ourselves immensely. It firstly gives some financial stability, but, most importantly, will give us a professional identity. We are in such an amazing position to be diverse, flexible and creative individuals over the next two years while we perform and educate people about music. What a fantastic chance to rejuvenate and freshen up the classical music scene in this country. We also hope to be able to create musical trends for years to come.
Musica Viva CEO Mary Jo Capps said you impressed with your audition. How did you prepare to audition for this opportunity?
I believe there are many factors to a good audition. But one point really stands out for me: you need to be yourself. Playing at a high standard is so important but you need to be yourself and play things the way you like, musically. I think the Arcadia Quintet plays with this conviction and determination, which helped us in the audition process. We have a unique style of performing and keep things original, and we were able to show this in our performance.
In preparing for the auditions, for us, it was always about getting the basics and fundamentals rock solid, which helped keep the ensemble playing tight. This then allowed much more flexibility in creativity and gave the audition some x-factor.
What is some advice you’d give to other young musicians preparing for similar opportunities
Remember to be yourself when you audition. Be very sure when you audition that you do tick the boxes but also add some x-factor to try and stand out from the crowd. It’s very important to remember you are making music and that professional musicians are listening to what you are playing.
Any other words of advice for us?
Carpe Diem – seize the day and opportunity. This is what we are doing with FutureMakers.
Visit futuremakers.net.au to stay up-to-date with latest developments.
Image supplied. Credit: Keith Saunders.
