I am Elise Bergman. I am 13 and from Victoria. I love music, science and horse riding. I play violin, viola and piano. I have been learning violin since kinder. Recently, I have been working on Czardas, Meditation and the Bach Double violin concerto, just to name a few.
I started viola this year after begging Mum to let me take up another instrument. In my viola studies, I have focused mostly on performance styles and Baroque techniques. In piano, I love a range of different pieces including rags, dances and short, enjoyable pieces.
Composition Inspiration
When I started composing my fanfare, I wanted to catch people’s attention and then encourage them to take their seats because something exciting is coming. The structure of my fanfare starts off with the winds and glockenspiel. The di-ding is supposed to make people think they might have heard something. I want them to listen for more, which is what will happen.
Then the brass comes in with a very confident and clear theme. This is the part that is supposed to grab people’s attention and make them listen. The structure of the brass theme is supposed to represent the ‘sails’ of the Sydney Opera House against the blue sky; big, bold and beautiful. The marimba is counter-melody to the brass theme. The tick-tock-tick-tock is both a nod to the traditional bell cue and meant to build people’s anticipation.
Finally, the strings encourage people to move to their seats. The sound is supposed to create the image of sailboats moving in formation when returning to the marina, as I often see them do in Port Phillip Bay. I used Vivaldi’s ideas of sequencing and a trill to end because I like how ornaments are used in Baroque music. I am so excited to have my piece selected as a 2015 fanfare. It has been fun for me to put together some things I have learnt in my music studies and turn it into a piece of music.