Listen to Olivia’s composition recorded by the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Listen to Olivia’s original composition submitted with her entry.
Olivia Bryant (Age 18, NSW)
FANFARE: Embolden (to have courage)
Hi! My name is Olivia Bryant, and I’m an 18-year-old emerging composer from Ipswich, Queensland.
Like most musicians, I was introduced to music at a young age, taking up piano lessons when I was 9 years old. A year later I was given a trombone and fell in love with playing from the jazz genre.
My dedication to music throughout high school led me to participate in the State Honours Ensemble Program (QLD) (2017-2021) and the Artology Fanfare Competition in 2021. I graduated from West Moreton Anglican College in 2021 with QCE subject prizes in Music and Music Extension (Composition) as well as the Performing Arts Prize for being in several music ensembles and composing two works for our Senior Chorale and Symphonic Winds.
I am so grateful for these amazing opportunities provided by my wonderful high school teachers and mentors, as they helped me secure a place at Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Only halfway through my 1st year of a Bachelor of Music (Composition for Creative Industries), I’ve already had the chance to workshop music with Sydney University Symphony Orchestra (SUSO) and become a member Spectra Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Ellen Kirkwood.
I have met so many amazing people and grown so much as a composer in 2022, and I look forward to more of this through Artology’s Fanfare and To Country programs!
COMPOSITION INSPIRATION:
Embolden means to have courage. When it came to writing my Fanfare, I wanted to showcase this idea of leadership and bravery, starting of with fast and flowing melodic lines and loud brass.
Sometimes we can doubt ourselves but ultimately if we have the courage to do something, it’ll be okay, and we’ll get through it.
I used this to form the structure of rest of my Fanfare, switching into the 6/8 time signature, with short quaver pulses and fragments of flowing melodic lines scattered throughout the section. This culminates back into the fast, loud brass and strings.