In this episode you’ll hear

Composer: Alex Turley
Website: alexturley.com

Interviewed by: Rebecca Erin Smith
Website:  www.rebeccaerinsmith.com

This conversation was recorded on 23rd of October, 2016, amidst the picturesque Herdsman Lake Nature Reserve in Perth. Western Australia.

Show Notes

“What keeps me going? I guess I just have to do it. If I didn’t write music I would feel like there’s a lot of stuff bottled up in my brain that I wasn’t able to get out. I’m propelled as a composer by this sense of “I don’t have a choice. I just have to.”

Rebecca Erin Smith interviews Alex Turley about his style, process, and making a name for oneself as a young composer in a competitive industry. Sitting amidst the picturesque Herdsman Lake Nature Reserve, listen to Alex as he takes you on a journey from his early experiments in minimalism, to finding a love for the richly coloured choral canon, and trying to pin down what makes his music stylistically his own. How does a composer support themself in an economy that undervalues the arts? What makes new music such an important pursuit? Are categorisations more trouble than they’re worth? Find out here.

Music in this Episode

City of Ghosts, composed by Alex Turley
Performed by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Efflorescence, composed by Alex Turley
Performed by West Australian Symphony Orchestra

Nocturnal, composed by Alex Turley
Performed by Grey Wing Ensemble

The music you heard in the opening and closing credits is:
I/O (2014), by Eli Simic-Prosic
For diskclavier, recorded by the composer.
Used with permission.
https://soundcloud.com/eli-simic-prosic

Production Credits

The Making Conversation: Australian Composers’ Podcast is brought to you by Making Waves.
This episode was recorded and produced by: Rebecca Erin Smith
Audio consultant: Daniel Thorpe
Mixing and Mastering: Thomas Green
Executive Producers: Lisa Cheney & Peggy Polias Making Waves

With Thanks

The Making Conversation Podcast has been made possible with the generous support of:

Project Patron: Cameron Lam of Kammerklang

Production Donors: Kieren Paynter, Nigel Poole, PLEXUS, Callum Moncrieff, Constance Barberakis, David John Lang, Christopher Gordon, Anne Gill, Brian Howard, Caroline Thompson, Leah Barclay and Jocelyn Wolfe and all who contributed to the successful crowdfunding campaign

Making Conversation is supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through MATCH.