Canberra composer Michael Sollis hasnโt slowed down since COVID-19 restrictions heavily disrupted arts across the world in March.
Between his various roles as director of leading Canberra chamber group, Griffyn Ensemble, Musica Vivaโs artistic director of education, and facilitating the Canberra Artists Action Group, Sollis has recently found time to return to one of his loves, composing new work.
Sollis has written a brand-new piccolo solo he composed for and in collaboration with his wife, acclaimed flautist Kiri Sollis, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO), called The Hairyworm Hobble.
The curiously named work will premiere tonight at 6.45pm via the CSOโs YouTube channel.
Sollis told Canberra Daily that creating The Hairyworm Hobble has been his first opportunity โin a long timeโ to create new music.
He said collaborating with his wife is one of his favourite pursuits, the couple having done so โsince weโve known each otherโ.
โWhen youโre a composer, sometimes too much stress can be placed on making sure you have enough notes on the page; what you want is the right idea and framework for a performer,โ he said.
โTo be able to collaborate with her on that is fantastic, thatโs whatโs exciting about being a creator, itโs a collaborative process.โ
The workโs title comes from a 19th century superstition, where people would wear the carcass of a caterpillar around their neck to stave off the whopping cough – at that time caterpillars were known as hairyworms.
โI had this image in my head of a creature moving through a landscape and the name came afterward,โ Sollis said.
โI hope people laugh, itโs a two-minute piece for solo piccolo, it has a bit of character, hopefully people find it a little bit amusing, itโs kind of like a demented march.โ
No slowdown during pandemic
Itโs not an overstatement to say the last six months have been a busy time for Sollis.
โSince COVID started, most of my energy was really put into helping others in the arts sector and the broader community,โ he said.
Between spending a lot of time facilitating the Canberra Artists Action Group โ helping dozens of local artists navigate their way through the turbulence of the pandemic โ Sollisโ role at Musica Viva has also led to him enlisting 60 of Australiaโs finest musicians to perform over 300 online interactive concerts for students across the country.
Heโs also been working on a new, ground-breaking performance with the Griffyn Ensemble, titled Songs from a Stolen Senate, that will premiere online next week – 4 September at 7pm and 5 September at 2pm & 7pm.
Sollis described the feat heโs accomplished with Musica Viva as the โbiggest project Iโve been involved in in my lifeโ.
โIt really speaks to power of creativity to bring people together,โ he said.
โThe power of creativity to navigate uncertainty, kids across country being inspired by these concerts, to create and deal with these really trying times,โ he said.
The Griffyn Ensembleโs Songs from a Stolen Senate will premiere works by six different First Nations composers, all from different backgrounds, all of whom are telling their own stories.
โItโs inspiring to be able to translate their stories of witnessing youth in custody, having people they know get shot by police, their reflections on climate change, solar generation, and the words of Indigenous politicians,โ he said.
Part of this process involved recording the works and accompanying video footage at Mulligans Flat, a significant site for the local Ngunnawal people.
โWe worked with local Ngunnawal custodians to perform at Mulligans โฆ weโve done filming out there just recently for the project,โ Sollis said.
โIt sent shivers down your spine to bring these Indigenous voices to Canberra and share them in these three online performances.โ
Visit the Griffyn Ensembleโs website to register for Songs from a Stolen Senate.
