Earliest musical memory?聽聽聽聽
It鈥檚 very hard for me to pinpoint a specific memory. Everyone played an instrument in the household I grew up in, so music quickly became synonymous with family time and sharing.聽Beyond聽that, some of my most vivid memories聽of聽music are hearing 鈥� and聽experiencing 鈥� pieces that unexpectedly opened up聽a聽new聽understanding聽of what music could be.聽For instance,聽many years聽ago聽there was a聽broadcast聽of聽the concert by Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson on national television. They had this advertisement for the concert with maybe 30 seconds of music but it was 鈥渨oooow, okay, this is so wonderful and so different from anything I know!鈥澛燬o,聽I asked my parents to videotape the concert. Later on, I had the same very intense experience when listening to聽a聽Schoenberg opera聽and聽hearing Ligeti鈥檚 organ music for the first time, and so on.聽Those will always be聽memories I聽cherish.聽聽
What are the themes that inspire you most in your music?聽聽聽聽聽
I think that in order to complete any work of art you have to find a strong impetus and sort of聽trick your mind into thinking that there is a real need for you to write a piece. That impetus is very hard to describe, since it isn鈥檛 always something that belongs to the realm of language, and I think that defining it clearly would聽limit its possibilities. In the last few years, I have been struck by how music is always present in our social rituals to mark and celebrate various occasions (you would have thought that as an organist I should have realized this sooner!).聽So,聽while criticism can be a very potent catalyst for music, and has certainly been for the last few decades, I realize more and more that whenever I start writing a聽piece,聽I tend to ask myself "what do I want to add to the world?", "what story or aspect of human experience should be celebrated?",聽and聽"where should we go as individuals or as a society in order to grow?". Having a real affinity for symbolism, I generally translate those thoughts into a symbol, an image,聽or聽a metaphor that becomes a starting point for the work.聽聽
Is there a moment that brought you to now, being a composer 鈥� one that changed your course or confirmed it?聽聽聽
My encounter with Andrew MacDonald around 2015 was definitely a game changer in that regard.聽In all honesty, composition has never been a carefully laid out plan for me. Although I have been exposed to composition since my teen years (meeting and corresponding with composers聽for聽performance intentions聽and so forth), I think that, in a way, I had assumed you couldn鈥檛聽become聽a composer聽鈥斅爕ou had to have been born with it. So, even though聽I took composition and writing classes at the Conservatoire,聽I聽was聽still focused on performance. Then, in 2014, I wrote a piece and thought聽鈥渨ell, why not聽program it?!"聽While聽I was playing my run-through for聽Pamela Gill Eby,聽my organ teacher at the time, she immediately thought that I should meet Andrew (a brilliant Canadian composer) so that he could give me one composition lesson.聽Obviously, that one lesson turned into so many more! About six months in, it was very clear that composition was bringing me back to聽an聽unburdened passion for music I hadn鈥檛 felt for so long. I decided then, rather simply, that I would spend more time composing and less time performing.聽In聽a short amount of time, various opportunities聽arose that聽confirmed聽this聽path for me.聽
How would you聽describe your compositional style?聽聽
This question is very hard to answer, since it is so subjective. But, in short, I like groovy rhythms, I love to write complex chords and to lay out atmospheres that bring us somewhere else, and I often gravitate towards melody or melodic content of some sort.聽聽
If you had a mantra/philosophy/phrase for where you are right now, what would it be?聽聽
I decided that 2021 was the year to get out of my comfort zone and experiment! I tend to oscillate between moments where I am experimenting with new concepts, forms, mediums or ideas and moments where, after a while, I try to figure out which ideas I want to assimilate or integrate into my compositional language. Quite arbitrarily, I decided 2021 was a time for experimentation!聽聽
What do you find the most rewarding about composing? What鈥檚 the toughest?聽聽聽
I guess that anyone who ends up composing music has had vivid personal experiences聽that聽resonate聽strongly聽in聽this medium. As such, the most satisfying thing is the feeling that the public and the performers resonate with what you wrote, even though they might not be able to tell you exactly why. And then, of course, there is always a special feeling whenever a piece comes to life. I have to say, I am not sure the performers are fully aware of the gift they are giving to composers whenever they tackle a score.聽I am聽certain that I will聽never聽get tired of聽this, or take it for granted. As for the toughest aspect of composition, apart from the gruesome notation work, for me it is the sense of great vulnerability that comes with the creation of any work. It is as if you gave the key to part of your soul and sometimes that can be dizzying.聽聽
What would be excited to see or hear more of in the field of composition?聽聽聽
More of everything! No, seriously, I think one of the great beauties (and complexities) of today鈥檚 compositional field is the vast diversity of what is being created. I think the real issue is making contemporary Canadian music more widely available to the public in any type of venue, and daring to be vocal about our passion for it.聽聽聽聽
What would you like the audience to walk away with after hearing your piece in the finals?聽聽聽
I think explaining my process with this work will clarify this, so... bear with me! There were two main phases in the composition of this piece, the first phase being before the pandemic and the second one during it. At first, I had started to think about what theme I wanted to explore, and the idea of transparency or glass gradually imposed itself. I felt that this material was deeply symbolic in many regards. On one hand, glass took over as one of the favorite materials in contemporary architecture as the line between our private and public lives became increasingly blurry. In another line of thought, I was deeply transported by this image where art and love or art聽alone聽transformed our skin into a tainted glass that allows light into our soul. Then, the pandemic hit, and, for a few days, I was (like many others, probably) submerged by this sense of absurdity. That overpowering feeling propelled a new series of thoughts, and I came to ask myself what was the 鈥渁ntidote鈥�, if you will, to this state of being. Gradually, it became clear that curiosity, if cultivated enough, could replace that sluggishness. That is when this piece became聽Hublots聽(Porthole),聽as I felt it genuinely encompassed all of those ideas. Indeed, this word has the very rare quality of evoking, at the same time, two very opposite states: the feeling of being in an enclosed space and the vastness of the world. This piece is thus an invitation to look out, with curiosity, and experiment with this landscape as well as聽a gentle reminder that oftentimes we don鈥檛 need much more than a window in order to achieve that.聽聽
Any advice聽to future composers out there?聽聽聽
I think the main thing is to write music you feel connected to, and that is an ongoing process. In my case, I realized that the limitations of my earlier works came from a series of prejudices I had about what contemporary music should or shouldn鈥檛 be, aesthetically speaking. For me, finding a mentor and building聽constructive and genuine聽relationships with other artists, performers, and composers, has helped聽to聽progressively聽shatter those preconceptions, and have been great tools for growth.聽聽
What would winning the Graham Sommer Competition enable you to do?聽聽聽
Fair question! Honestly, it is always very hard to predict the impact of any given opportunity on one鈥檚 path. I do hope this competition will allow me to meet with other great emerging Canadian composers, to learn, and to have great conversations with the musicians and the public. I am sincerely grateful for being a finalist in this competition.聽
Sneak a preview of Laurence's entry in the GSC finals, played by the Graham Sommer Trio:
