This course on 1.-6.7.2025 at the Time of Music Festival invites emerging pianists, instrumental duos and composers (born after 1.7 1991) to come together to create new works and talk about music together. Performers should either be solo pianists or an established duo of any instrumental combination. The course will be led in English by Mark Knoop (piano) and Matthew Shlomowitz (composer).
Through the conventional process of composers writing for performers, the course will examine the relationship between composer and interpreter, discussing the limits of these terms and the agency of each participant.
All tastes and persuasions are welcomed, from high-modern to hyper-pop, refined to trashy, and the focus will be on the signifying or sounding shape. Performative and theatrical aspects, use of electronics, and collaborative approaches are welcome.
The course will also include group sessions to discuss all aspects of contemporary musical life, including aesthetic and cultural issues and career trajectory.
Composers will:
- Write a new 6-8 minute work for piano or duo. In advance of the festival, Matthew Shlomowitz will work with the composers on their pieces by video call.
- Participate in composition seminars led by Shlomowitz, focused on looking at previous or in-progress pieces.
Pianists and duos will:
- Rehearse and perform a new 6-8 minute work by a composer from the group, with coaching from Mark Knoop.
- Participate in performance workshops led by Knoop where they will play a piece of post-1945 repertoire.
The course will culminate in a public concert of the new works.
Tutors
Mark Knoop
Mark Knoop is a musician living in London. Primarily a pianist and conductor, he also works with electronic instruments, multimedia, and movement. He has commissioned and premièred countless new works by composers including Joanna Bailie, Øyvind Torvund, and Bryn Harrison. He particularly enjoys collaborative work with composers and performers. He is a co-director of Plus Minus Ensemble, and of the record label all that dust, and teaches at London’s Guildhall School of Music.
Matthew Shlomowitz
Matthew Shlomowitz is a London based composer. His Letter Piece series are open score works that combine physical action and sounds. In his Popular Contexts series he combines recognisable recordings with instrumental music. And he has made several performance-lecture works addressing aesthetic issues, such as Lecture About Bad Music. More recently he has been exploring neoclassical techniques and forms and creating co-authored works, such as Minor Characters with Jennifer Walshe and Ensemble Nikel, and 6 Scenes for Turntables and Orchestra with Mariam Rezaei. Matthew periodically writes articles, co-directs the new music group Plus Minus, and runs a podcast called Soundmaking with Håkon Stene. He teaches at University of Southampton, and has additionally taught on courses such as Impuls and Darmstadt Summer Courses.
Timeline
- Application deadline: March 9th, 2025, midnight EET.
- Late March: accepted participants notified
- April-May: collaborating teams decided, composers write their new piece, working with Matthew Shlomowitz online
- Early June: new pieces will be sent to performers to prepare
Course Fee: 360 €, includes entrance to concerts at the festival
Accomodation: 320 € for accommodation in Viitasaari 30.6.–7.7. (double rooms, shared kitchen)
How to Apply
Submit the registration form latest by March 9th, 2025, midnight EET.
Pianists and Duos submit the following attachments to the registration form:
● Audio or video of two performances up to 10 minutes (extracts are fine)
● One page CV or biography
● One paragraph about your musical interests as a performer
● List which post-1945 repertoire piece you will bring to work on
Composers submit the following attachments to the registration form:
● Scores and ideally recordings of two compositions (electronic realizations are fine)
● One page CV or biography
● One paragraph about your musical interests as a composer
Attachments can be submitted in a pdf-format or as links.
After applications are received, composers and performers will be paired together by the course leaders.
Questions and Requests for More Information:
Artistic Director Johan Tallgren, johan.tallgren@musiikinaika.org, +358 40 742 6345