Guest post by June Armstrong
My ‘meet the composer’ project – June Armstrong’s Play for the Composer! – is now entering its fourth year. Originally created in 2021 to provide a much-needed performance opportunity for young pianists during lockdown, it has now become a platform for expression, not only of the music itself, but also the meaning behind the music, taking it to a higher level through visual representation, poetry and prose. Each performer makes a video of themselves performing their chosen piece. In return, they receive a certificate with feedback from myself and are included in a Celebration Video. They may opt to accompany the video with an artwork, a poem or prose piece representing the music they have chosen.
When a young person engages in this option, I feel that it enhances the performance, and when I receive an entry with artwork or prose, I always love to look at that first, before listening to the performance of the music. There is something so magical about the connection of the music to its visual representation or expression through words.
Firstly, of course, the music needs to be ‘learnt’. Secondly the music needs to be shaped and polished for performance. And then, the third dimension – taking the time to think about what the music is really saying, or expressing – adds to the understanding and to the performance itself. Knowing that the young performer has really thought about what the music is trying to express is just wonderful.
The concept of the melding of music and visual art and literature together is of course not new. “Music is no more the art of combining sounds to please the ear than painting is the art of combining colours to please the eye.” wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Essay. “More and more parallels between music and graphic art force themselves upon my consciousness” wrote Paul Klee in 1905, years after abandoning a promising musical career and dedicating himself to painting. The impressionist theories of Degas and Manet on the representation of light, found expression in music by Fauré, Debussy and Ravel, art and music forging an even stronger bond.
To find out more about June Armstrong’s Play for the Composer project and hear performances of her music, please visit https://playforthecomposer.jimdofree.com/previous-events/
June Armstrong’s Play for the Composer! 2024 is now open for entries up until 27 January 2024. Full details at https://playforthecomposer.jimdofree.com/.
June Armstrong is a composer and piano teacher living in Belfast. She studied music at Queen’s University Belfast, graduating with a BMus and an MA.
June has had compositions included in all the major examination board syllabi and has received commissions from ABRSM, Red Leaf Pianoworks in Canada, Edition Musica Ferum, EVC Publishing and Hal Leonard in the USA. She specialises in composing music focusing on atmospheric playing, using colour, shape, and impressionistic sounds rather than traditional harmony.
She especially enjoys playing Bach, playing the violin, jazz, walking . . . and watching the sea.
The Cross-Eyed Pianist 