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From left, Veronica Kao on flute, Katinka Kleijn on cello and Nuiko Wadden on harp perform 12 year-old Dash Gallagher’s composition “Ode to Piano.” -
Composer Isaac Diakoff, center, answers questions about his work, flanked by Yotam Haber, left and Walden faculty member Theo Trevisan in Dublin last week. -
Isabel Lepanto Gleicher on flute and Nuiko Wadden on harp at a Young Composers Forum at The Walden School.
For all the people who enjoy music, very few actually compose it, and of those who do, even fewer are children. At The Walden School in Dublin this summer, young people are crafting compositions which can be heard on a regular basis there, and may find their way to more ears in the future.
The Walden School is devoted to musical composition.
“The focus here is on creativity,” said Seth Brenzel, executive director and director of the Young Musicians Program, which takes up residence on the Dublin School campus every summer. The 55 students, ages 9 to 18, hail from all over the world, and endeavor to create a galaxy of music to be heard on campus that did not exist before this summer. Grammy Award-winning composer Joan Tower has called Walden “one of America’s greatest hidden treasures.”
As has likely been asked of everyone from Mozart to Mick Jagger, one wonders where songs and symphonies come from. An hour before a composers’ forum on a recent evening, a number of students at the school offered their answers as to how something goes from inside them to the ears of others.
“I play the cello, guitar and the bass, but I want to create rather than be pigeonholed into one instrument,” said Oscar Bohnenkamp. The 18 year-old from Boston is headed to Oberlin College in the fall, and while he admits that in addition to his artistic prowess, he comes from a musical family, he is planning to major in psychology with a minor in music. As to the composition process, “I ask myself what kind of feelings I’m having and I put them into notes,” he said.
Nora Giuffrida from Washington, D.C., is 16 and comes from a musical family.
“It seems natural to make your own music if you can play it. I think of certain concepts, and then something pops into my head, and I wonder how I can say it in music and with lyrics,” Nora said. “I think there’s some intuition involved. You may arrive here with a background in classical music, but you’re exposed to so much else.”
Sixteen-year-old Jahvin Williams from Baltimore has previously been involved in group compositions at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins.
“This is my second summer here, and at first I was overwhelmed, but now it’s fun,” he said, noting that he plays the violin but recently composed a piece for flute and piano.
There are applications that can help with composing, but students at Walden have their own skills for the process. Amelie Wright from Oregon is 17 and after starting piano at age 3, decided to “mess with composing a bit.”
Students take classes in composition, musicianship — which includes musical theory — and an element based on a teacher’s specific interest. Work outside of lessons might involve composing a certain number of measures for the next day, but this is framed in a particular way.
“It’s not called homework,” explained Brenzel, “but rather ‘after-class fun.’” For performances, those who will have a composition performed get their works to musicians by 1:30 p.m., and a mere six hours later, everyone gathers to hear the fruits of all this effort.
On a recent Thursday after dinner, students, faculty and guests migrated over to the Louise Shonk Kelly Recital Hall for the evening’s program. The first offering was called “Ode to Piano,” a composition by 12-year-old Dash Gallagher. Three other students playing flute, cello and harp shared his work, which was followed by the composer taking the “hot seat” — a chair on the floor to which questions from the audience were directed his way. Asked about the title, Gallagher explained that “It was originally for piano, but then I thought how harp and cello could sound instead, and it seemed well balanced.”
The next piece for cello and piano by Isaac Diakoff was titled “5 Hours,” and consisted of five movements that were all contemplative, with pensive-sounding patches played as if the musicians were holding their breath before continuing at various points. Close to 20 other pieces were shared over the course of a few hours. When someone in the “hot seat” said that this was her or his first composition, the audience chanted “Opus 1! Opus 1!”
All students will emerge from the program with at least two compositions — a forum and a festival piece, the latter being three days of performances beginning Monday, July 28, which are also livestreamed.
Prior to the Young Musicians Program, Walden hosts adults from around the world with its Creative Musicians Retreat, which also involves composition as well as electronic and choral musicians.
Amelie discussed the benefits of a summer at Walden.
“This doesn’t just help us musically,” she said. “It teaches us to unlock our creativity, and to communicate effectively with the people playing our work.”
Jahvin spoke of coping with last-minute changes in instruments, and Oscar said that working with deadlines, collaborating and dealing with sudden curve balls are great skills acquired at Walden even if one doesn’t pursue a musical career.
“These are skills you have to have in any job,” he said.