After a very busy end to last year working on a large-scale commission, I’ve now found time to reflect on my experiences working with the Flinders Quartet.

My first string quartet, “Transient Rush”, was selected by the Flinders Quartet for their 2018 Composer Development Program. The piece explores the feeling of excitement and adrenaline we often associate with big life changes or a significant rite of passage and, full of the same excitement and adrenaline, I travelled to Melbourne in August 2018 along with the five other composers selected for the program.

Over five days, we workshopped our pieces with the quartet, were mentored by composer Stuart Greenbaum, and recorded our works at 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne’s studio. It was a pleasure to meet and work with the Flinders Quartet and Stuart, as well as the other emerging composers Claire Higgins, Philip Eames, Derek Brookes, and Jet Kye Chong.

The program ended with a public and live streamed performance of our pieces by the Flinders Quartet at the Library at the Docks, which was a fantastic way to celebrate a week of learning and collaboration.

I can’t recommend this project enough to emerging composers and really encourage you to submit your quartets for the next Composer Development Program! My experiences working with the Flinders Quartet, being mentored by Stuart, meeting the other composers, preparing for the concert, and recording my piece in 3MBS’s studio have been invaluable and inspiring.