Five Things I Learned From GLFCAM
written by Roydon Tse
Bahlest Eeble Readings Cycle 14 Fellow
January 17, 2023
“Process vs Result”
The GLFCAM experience was different from any workshop or mentorship programs I’ve done in the past. It has an emphasis on the idea of process rather than outcome. I have been part of many workshops where one simply writes a piece, sends it to performers, and then show up to the rehearsal and performance. Done. Rinse. Repeat. GLFCAM, however, invited me to converse with the musicians from the get-go. Relationships were formed. There was mentorship that felt intentional and genuine. All these things felt so valuable and rare in the small world of music composition.
“Composing should be fun”
I have always known and believed that being a professional composer meant delivering a close to perfect score on demand. If there is a short deadline, it would be our job to find a way to meet it without compromising on quality and creativity. This creates great stress when it comes to crunch time and saps the joy which comes from simply exploring and creating. Yes, there were deadlines for GLFCAM, but there were also opportunities to try new things and restart. Maintaining that joy and sense of adventure in each piece was so important in my writing process for the Academy and I am thankful for having had that space to do so.
“Courage to Restart”
Have you ever had that feeling when you kept going on a project but knew it would be better to stop and restart? I definitely have. I began the piece with a radically different idea, only to scrap it after writing all the parts and getting musicians to learn it. The new piece felt so much better, however, and I only wished I knew from the get-go where I would end up. We keep learning…
“Letting go of what people think”
Oftentimes I jeopardize myself by thinking too much about how a piece might be perceived. Will people like it? Will it fit into the ‘new music’ sound? Questions like that take precious time away from actually creating music, and I find so much more joy when I come to a place when these questions recede into the background.
“It’s about community”
A memorable moment during the workshop was the time dedicated to sharing our music from the past. Each of us took turns to play excerpts and share stories about them. To be able to share my music – especially after being away from audiences in-person for a long time – was an incredibly affirming and positive moment. To have a wonderful community of receptive and supportive artists is a wonderful thing, and GLFCAM gave us that space to return to the core of why we make music.
Canadian-Chinese composer Roydon Tse (b.1991) is passionate about communicating to audiences from all backgrounds. His music draws from the intersections of Eastern and Western traditions, the environment, psychology, places of being, and loss. His music has been performed in 16 countries, by ensembles such as the Brussels Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and members of the Paris Opera and La Scala Orchestras. He was named to the list of “Top 30 under 30” Canadian Classical Musicians by the CBC in 2017, and is the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s NextGen composer for the 2021/22 season.
Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Tse studied in the U.K. and holds composition degrees from the University of British Columbia (BMus) and the University of Toronto (MMus, DMA). He is based in Toronto where he splits his time between composing and teaching at the Canadian Opera Company and Regent Park School of Music.
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