BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE/MAKING WAVES
Today marks the release of the second Making Conversation podcast, this week featuring two Australian composers: Leah Blankendaal as interviewer, and Michael Sollis as interviewee. The episode is part of the Making Waves series, which showcases composers through new audio features about the inner-workings of their careers, music, and lives.
In Behind the Conversation, CutCommon ventures into the process of the music journalists who have crafted these podcasts. Our first interview is with Leah Blankendaal, who has a solid background in the creation and discussion of Australian music.
Leah Blankendaal‘s compositions come from a love of light and space. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Hons) from the University of Western Australia, during which time she was awarded the Dorothea Agnus Memorial Scholarship, and in 2014 she completed a Masters of Communication Studies (Sound Design). Leah has worked with leading ensembles including Tura New Music, Australian Art Orchestra, Melbourne Metropolitan Sinfonietta, Halfsound Saxophone Duo and Creative Original Music Adelaide. In 2016, she was a finalist in the Soundstream Emerging Composers’ Forum, where she won one of three major commissions for her work Overlap.
Leah also presents on local community radio and her work with 3MBS saw her named as a finalist in the CBAA National Features and Documentary Series – the first time anyone from the MBS Network had received such an accolade. This year, she will attend the Classical:NEXT conference as part of the inaugural Australian Music Centre and APRA AMCOS Fellows Program. She is the Barossa Arts and Cultural Facilitator with Country Arts SA and Regional Development Australia, and a series coordinator on CutCommon.
What is your musical background?
This is such a complex question, although it probably it shouldn’t be. Briefly, I guess, I studied a Bachelor of Music in flute performance. But I never really felt at home on the standard ‘orchestral pathway’ that many conservatoriums in Australia offer. I was largely out of place – I’d come from a background of composing, of listening to jazz and indie music, and the straight classical performance pathway wasn’t for me. I loved the minor units in theory and composition and I spent far more time engaged in those subjects.
Once I graduated I was still a little lost, so I did what many people do and enrolled in a Masters degree. Knowing that I really enjoyed writing and talking about music, I started that Masters in Communication Studies, and it wasn’t long before I found a really specific niche that really spoke to all of my interests – sound design.
Again, I got to the end of that Masters and, although I was less lost, I was still unsure of how to combine all of the pathways in which I was engaged. Feeling that I needed a scene change, I shifted to Melbourne, where I started composition lessons with Johanna Selleck. This was great for me on a number of different levels – it gave me more rigour to my writing, it opened up doors, and it gave me the confidence to back my own musical ideas.
When did you decide you wanted to become involved in music journalism?
I’ve been writing about music (and the arts more broadly) since my undergrad – I started writing at a street press level and I’ve since gone onto write for all sorts of places, including CutCommon. My shift into broadcasting came in 2015 when I started volunteering at 3MBS in Melbourne. This was really a game changer for me: not only did I learn a tonne about production, broadcasting, mixing and editing, but I gained a really wonderful network of like-minded classical music broadcasters! It also offered up a number of different opportunities, including my piece for the CBAA National Features and Documentary Series last year.
How and why did you get on board with Making Waves?
Again, this was through 3MBS. I was presenting and producing a late-night Australian music show called Australian Sounds – currently presented by another CutCommon writer, Zoe Barker. I got in touch with Lisa Cheney of Making Waves to discuss a kind of partnership between the two organisations, where we would feature and play some of their composers. It was a great way for them to gain more mainstream exposure. Similarly, for me, I gained access to a whole heap of interesting and diverse Australian content, much of which was new to the 3MBS audience.
Who were you responsible for interviewing, and what was the process of Making Conversation like for you?
I interviewed four composers – Julian Day, Cat Hope, Thea Zimpel and Michael Sollis. All of them were interesting and challenging for different reasons. For Julian and Cat, whose music I was already very familiar with, the challenge was to strip back my questioning and not jump ahead to a place for which the audience was not ready. For Thea and Michael, whose work I hadn’t had as much contact with, it was more about learning their practice and process so that the conversation was interesting and engaging.
What are some of the things you’ve learnt, and challenges you’ve overcome when taking part in this music journalism project?
I’ve invested in more portable recording gear! This has been life-changing for me. I really can’t overstate this, although I guess it shouldn’t be the biggest thing I’ve learnt. More seriously, one of the challenges you face in this kind of project is being answerable to everyone’s expectations. You’re balancing what the project hopes to achieve with what the audience needs, with what the subject wants. This can be difficult at times. For me, the answer is to go in prepared, but to really listen to what the subject is saying, then conduct the interview as a conversation. That way if something is mentioned that you think your audience might not understand, you can go back and unpack it. Or if your subject begins talking on a subject that’s interesting but has no bearing on the questions you’ve prepared, you can follow along and deviate with them.
And what have you learnt about new Australian music and composers?
I’m not sure I learnt any one overarching lesson about Australian music and composers. What I did get is a snapshot into the lives and practices of four very interesting composers in this country. These composers have very broad styles, very different approaches, and four unique perspectives as to what it means to be a composer in Australia. I’ve certainly come to apply their comments to my own practice on more than one occasion, which I think definitely speaks to the value of having these conversations.
What did you most enjoy about your music journalism involvement?
Really simply, I love talking and writing about music. I always have. But beyond this, I use my platform as a music journalist in Australia to give a voice to underrepresented composers and performers. This is important on a number of levels: for young people starting out in music it can be difficult to get that elusive press content that’s so useful in gaining a name, applying for opportunities, etc etc. For underrepresented demographics – women, gender diverse people, Indigenous artists and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities – the barrier to press coverage can be even more challenging. If I can offer those opportunities then this is how I can serve the community that has been very good to me.
What do you hope listeners can gain from your Making Conversation podcast?
I hope they’re interesting and that listeners can learn something new about Australian music from them. I also hope that they discover someone new – a composer that they haven’t heard of before, a performing ensemble whose work is featured as a part of the podcast, etc. This project really has been about giving voice to a community of diverse, interesting and engaging musicians whose work tirelessly for new music in Australia.
What was one of the special moments in your interviews with these composers that really stood out for you?
There are a few! It was a real pleasure to talk religion with Thea Zimpel. Personally, I’m an atheist, and her experiences with music and religion are definitely not mine. But she was so open about her faith, so warmly welcoming of my questions, and spoke with such eloquence and patience, that the conversation was very interesting.
Another moment that stood out for me actually came in the form of a criticism. I’d finished interviewing Cat Hope and had come to the final question I always ask: ‘Is there anything you think we haven’t covered that you’d like to talk about?’. Cat noted that she felt that we had spoken around a lot of subjects – her life, her politics, etc., but that we hadn’t done much in-depth analysis of her work. Knowing that our conversation was going to be broadcast to an audience with maybe only limited understanding of musical theory, I’d deliberately kept this element of the conversation light. Cat’s comments challenged me to start thinking about ways that I can unpack more complex theory for a broader audience. I love it when something like that happens in a pre-recorded interview.
Where to next for you?
All over the place! I’m off to Rotterdam next month with Lisa Cheney, to talk a little more about what we’ve done in all of our Making Waves/3MBS collaboration, at Classical:Next. From there I’ll be heading to London for some composition lessons. Once I’m back, I’ll be working on a commission for Soundstream Ensemble, which has come as a part of the Soundstream Emerging Composers’ Forum last year. I also balance this with one of the most amazing day jobs. I’m the Barossa Arts and Cultural Facilitator with Country Arts SA and Regional Development Australia, which I thank my lucky stars for everyday!
Listen to Leah Blankendaal’s Making Conversation podcast with Michael Sollis!
Music in this episode:
Letter to a Greek Nymph, by Michael Sollis
Performed by Meriel Owen: Celeste.
Recorded by the Griffyn Ensemble.
Two excerpts from Northern Lights, by Michael Sollis
Performed and recorded by the Griffyn Ensemble.
Excerpt from Hit Me!, by Michael Sollis
Performed and recorded by the Griffyn Ensemble.
The music you heard in the opening and closing credits is:
I/O (2014), by Eli Simic-Prosic
For diskclavier, recorded by the composer.
Used with permission.
Support Eli Simic-Prosic:
Making Conversation Production credits:
The Making Conversation: Australian Composers’ Podcast is brought to you by Making Waves.
This episode was recorded and produced by: Leah Blankendaal
Audio consultant: Daniel Thorpe
Mixing and Mastering: Thomas Green
Executive Producers: Lisa Cheney & Peggy Polias Making Waves
Images supplied. Featured image: Darren Smith; headshot Claire Blankendaal.
