I’m Kailesh Reitmans, currently studying a Bachelor of Music – majoring in Composition and Music Production – at the Australian Institute of Music. Formal music training began for me at a later age than many, starting piano at 13, but it was an innate passion and desire to learn music which led me on that path. I gained an education in classical repertoire as many pianists do, but soon I developed a love for improvisation and exploring the possibilities of harmony available at the keyboard, and this allowed me to visit an entirely new scope of music. The idea of creating my own, original, and personal music is vital to me; it’s what provokes an interest in all forms of music and composition as I hope to follow a career in film scoring in the years to come.
Composition Inspiration
In such a brief work it can be difficult to capture and successfully develop an idea, but naturally I drew inspiration from composers and works that I hold in high regard and value. As a piece which required explosive and vibrant sound, John Williams was undoubtedly the strongest influence; his use of bold brass, rich harmony, and rhythmic displacement are all ideal musical characteristics for a fanfare of this nature. I took inspiration from his musical aesthetic more than any one piece per se, and derived a straightforward but pronounced theme with a strong emphasis of tonic and dominant in the melody. On this basis I derived some more adventurous harmony using dissonance as a key tool to build tension and excitement, Williams was certainly an influence here. Composers such as Holst and Stravinsky were innately influential as well (as they were to Williams) in creating a vibrant and lively sound. It’s titled ‘Celebration’ more as a representation of the brazen orchestral sound and energetic tonal forces which move throughout the piece.
Kailesh was the winner of the 2017 ATYP Sound Design Scholarship.