Listen to Lachlan’s original composition submitted with his entry.
Lachlan Smith (Age 17, WA)
FANFARE: To Your Seats
My name is Lachlan Smith, I’m 17 years old, and I’m currently studying Year 12 at Perth Modern School. I started my musical journey young playing the piano in kindergarten, and I played piano on and off through primary school, taking it more seriously through highschool. In year 5 and 6 I learned guitar through school, and now I have been playing French Horn for the last 5 and a half years, since the start of Year 7. I have completed my ATAR Music studies on Horn and have a AMEB Piano Comprehensive Grade 8 certificate.
Over the last few years, I have shifted some of my focus in music over to composition, which I’ve been practicing with guidance from various teachers. I’ve been lucky enough to have one of my pieces performed by my school’s Wind Quintet, which until now was the peak of my compositional achievement. This is the first composition competition I have entered, and I hope I can continue to grow with the experience I gain from this experience.
Composition Inspiration:
This piece was actually remarkably last minute. I hadn’t planned on entering, but a few hours before the deadline I decided to give it a go. I tried to mimic a simple ABA binary fanfare form to keep structure simple. I challenged myself to make more use of percussion than I usually do, and I ended up focusing on the glockenspiel as a feature, which I just fell in love with. I loved it so much, I even gave the glockenspiel its own cheeky solo godzilla moment at the very end.
As a horn player, not only did I want to end on a beautiful third between two distant horns, but I also wanted to make a feature out of the chamber brass ensemble present in the orchestra. I tried to solo this section so that I could use great contrasts in timbre and volume, but also to demonstrate the might and beauty of the brass section which I love so much in a fanfare.
The title itself came after I wrote the piece, and indicates grabbing an audience’s attention and leaving them in anticipation of what music is going to come next.