Composition Class

Thursday April 24th.

I have received an invitation for the entrance exams for masters at the Sibelius-Academy, which will take place on the 5-9 of May. With the invitation we also got two tasks, which have to be handed in on the first day of the entrance exams. Both tasks were one page of music, and we are supposed to compose a second page (about 10 bars) in the same style as the given task. The one piece is for oboe and piano in an impressionistic French style, so that isn’t a very difficult task. The second task is a song with piano accompaniment in a modern style with complicated rhythms, and I tried for 30 min to sight read that one page but didn’t manage! So I have no idea how I will be able to compose the second page! (By the way, the tasks change every year, so that is why I dare describe the tasks online.)

Today I had composition class. I had so many questions to my teacher Hannu Pohjannoro about non-compositional random stuff: if he thinks I can apply for the grant from our school and if he can write me a recommendation letter, questions about the old and new study plan in composition (in other words questions for my thesis) and also I wanted to discuss the up-coming entrance exams for masters at the Sibelius-Academy.

I have been working for quite a while on my orchestra piece “Unborn” (all together I have had the idea of the piece for three years!), but every time I bring it to class it feels like I have done (almost) nothing and that the piece is just as unready and at it’s beginning as the previous lesson… I guess every student writing a large (orchestra) piece has that feeling…? Well, I anyway had a long lesson as I had so much questions and Hannu managed once again to make good remarks and give good ideas what I could do with my orchestra piece.