Who I am and what are my values
Since the start of my artistic journey I’ve been wondering what creative purpose I have and how I can contribute with my ideas and skills. There’ve always been a question of how to get from an “A” to a “B” in terms of ideas and the final result. And often it’s the other way around: I’m seeking a path already knowing what I want to achieve and what effect I’m aiming for. Be that in the concert hall or in the everyday life.
I am deeply passionate about music, that’s for sure, but there’re also many other things that I sincerely care about. The things such as our planet, flora and fauna of it in addition to general compassion and love towards other living beings. So I can confidently say that at this time (and surely lot later on) of my career and artistic development I am seeking a way to contribute to the improvement of some of these important matters.
Who I am supporting and why
In this light, I’m sure you’re aware of many challenges humanity is facing nowadays, including pollution, climate change, corruption in addition to more “personal” issues such as mental health, equality and violence.
So when my friend Phoebe Bognar asked me to write a piece for solo flute and speech (tape), I already knew what the fundamental idea of it will be, since we both are so passionate about the issue of climate change.
Surely, I have a lot to say, but maybe speech is not my strongest medium. However, the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is a strong and convincing public speaker, considering that she comes towards the microphone with a very relevant worldwide issue to address.
What’s with the climate change?
I’ve heard a lot of people trying to “brush it of the shoulder” saying that climate change is not real (e.g. Trump) and continuing the lifestyle and political movements purely harmful for the environment. There is a lot of ignorance around everywhere. But I’m not here to judge, and I’m here to fight for our future! I’m here to inform and help the right information reach the people’s ears. I’m a messenger, just like Greta herself, restating what’s already confirmed scientifically. The answers are already there. And the truth is that if we don’t act immediately to change our lifestyle and reduce the amount of CO2 release to the atmosphere, we are to suffer some serious irreversible consequences that will affect our planet negatively. Don’t underestimate the importance of this issue, as it will not only affect the diversity of the flora and fauna worldwide, but us, humans, directly. We can’t ignore that and we can’t give up fighting for our future!
What can we do?
The solutions are simple, as science suggests: plant the tree, reduce the animal product consumption such as meat and dairy and reconsider your transportation (less flying, more public transport commuting). But is it enough when the fundamental business movements based around fossil fuel usage and other political construction are continuing to ignore the issue? What can I do to help? What’s my moral duty as an artist in this situation?
Other than going and protesting along with millions of other people I can write music about it, of course!
I can spread the word of our generation, with a direct reference to sciencific research and raise more awareness around the topic – seem like a lot more constructive thing to do than turning everything into a personal accuse as some people do. We can make it impossible to ignore. We can make it uncomfortable, because it very much is so. No looking away now! To some extent you can’t really “brush it off your shoulder” when we’re talking about the only home we have. Nor can you do so when you sit in a concert hall and listen to what I have to say as a composer.
There are no other ways than the persistent ones when it comes to such an important matter. Unfortunately, people tend to turn a blind eye to many other very important matters too, or choose to ignore the facts because they’re too “depressing” or it’s too “negative”. But I challenge you to look at the topic under a different angle because I do strongly believe we can make a difference together. Even if I’m “just a composer”, and you might just be a “music teacher” or a member of the administration panel somewhere with no direct attachment to oil industry or politics. It’s the choices that we make every day – that is what matters.
The writing process and challenges
Anyhow, while I was facing a challenge of writing a piece with such a powerful narrative, I also had to meet a certain deadlines. The world premiere was set to be on the 31st of July 2019 and that meant I had around 10 days to complete an almost 10 minute composition, produce a tape recording and the score for Phoebe to learn in reasonable time. It was not easy, but I took the challenge because there’s no backing off from that. Since the original recording of Greta’s voice from Davos had a lot of background noises and did not qualify for my ideas around her speech, I’ve decided to record it myself, including singing and adding extra effects to emphasise the meaning. I also used repetitions for some spoken phrases to highlight them (e.g. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gasses).
By no means am I a professional singer. In fact, I have never received a proper training in the subject but it doesn’t even matter. Art always speaks when it’s comes from the heart, and I hope I succeeded there. The other challenge was the score itself. I do feel at times that the complexity of my ideas does not quite stand on the same level with my current writing skill – something I actively work on improving. Luckily, the current program I’m taking at the Norwegian Academy of Music targets these hurdles.
Phoebe did an incredible job interpreting the score. Because of the restricted time, I had to present her with a very drafty version of the score, where some parts have not been properly written out. In the nearest future I plan to fix these inaccuracies.
I want you to panic and the outcome of the project
As I mentioned, the piece have been first premiered at one of the lunchtime concerts on the 31st of July hosted by Bang on the Can music festival in Massachusetts, the US. The reception was amazing and I’ve heard people mentioned how my work got them thinking hours and days after the initial performance of it. The other premiere took place in my hometown Oslo on the 7th of September at Cafe de Concert. Yet another great reception of the work, including some of the audience members tearing up. I think that my artistic goal here is accomplished and I feel like I’m on the right path with my writing. The composition has now been premiered in London, once again, with a great reception from the audience, so Phoebe has been invited to perform it again, a week later. I’m looking forward to the Australian premiere of “I want you to panic” later this year and many more to come.
Musicians for the future
So what is our moral duty as society members, as Earthlings and as musicians? Is it true that we’re powerless against the gritty politicians who feed us with promises to make a necessary difference? What can a teacher, a businessman, a bus driver and a musician do to make a difference when we’re so far away from politics or oil industry?
And the answer is – we can do a lot.
Especially when we are doing it together. And the change starts from small things and reducing our carbon footprint by flying less, commuting by public transport more, reducing our meat and dairy intake and being mindful with our waste. These are some very manageable things for an individual and can be easily achieved with more thought of the nature and with the thought of our planet Earth – our only home!
