World premier Ellen Reid

‘I had a quite open invitation to stay for a few months in Amsterdam, among other things to work in smaller concerts with the incredible players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and to compose a commissioned piece.’ Reid has experience with residencies, but this one was different from anything she’d experienced before. ‘In Amsterdam they’d looked at my work, and they wanted my experience to fit as closely as possible with me as an artist and a person. Usually the premiere of a piece falls within the residency period, but this time the residency was before the composing. So there was more time to connect.

I worked with members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and its Academy on performing chamber pieces for a concert in the Recital Hall [on 11 April 2024, ed.]. At the same time, purely by coincidence, the Dutch National Opera was premiering The Shell Trial, also with orchestra and Academy members playing. It was wonderful to see all those talented people at work.’ 

'The orchestra players are so gifted and open, the hall is gorgeous and the audience is so warm. It’s like healthy soil for a new piece to grow.'

A gift

‘I experienced everyone as very open, it just felt like part of the culture of the orchestra.’ When I ask if this collaboration had also influenced her as a person, in how she works, Reid takes her time and thinks before answering the question. ‘As an artist working in the world, there are a lot of experiences that are … weird, or not positive. This [experience] has just been great. I felt a lot of support in a creative environment. The orchestra players are so gifted and open, the hall is gorgeous and the audience is so warm. It’s like healthy soil for a new piece to grow. And that’s just a gift.’

To the concerts with Body Cosmic by Ellen Reid

Reid also experienced this open atmosphere when trying out sketches of her commissioned piece in a run-through rehearsal in June, online – when she was back home in New York. ‘It was very useful for me and it was really generous of the orchestra for taking the time to do it. I could hear the orchestra via a private YouTube connection and I communicated with the conductor Alena Hron via Zoom. I’d written two versions of a passage in the first movement of my work. The thematic material was the same, with a few differences in the instrumentation.’ With gestures on screen, she explains: ‘The first version went outward, the other one went inward. It was really useful to be able to hear both versions.

'The musicians were great. I asked a lot of them, “instead of what I wrote on the page, can you do this?” and then they just did it’, says Reid, with admiration in her voice. Laughing, she says, ‘I could also hear what wasn’t working really well. I had written instructions for some passages, and sometimes that works better than just a few words. “Repeat this, and every time a little higher and a little louder.” Everyone threw themselves into the instructions to create the right texture. It was productive, but for me also a little bit uncomfortable, since the material was still so raw. You’re giving away something that doesn’t have its final form yet. Some moments give relief and excitement, and other moments… But that’s what you do it for; as a creator you have to explore boundaries.’

Looking forward

It’s a month before the deadline and there’s still a lot to do. ‘Do you play Tetris, by any chance? It feels a little like that. Everything has to fall into the right place. The closer I get to the deadline, the more ideas I get. This is my first orchestral work with separate movements. It was really fun to connect each movement but keep their own characters.’ The first movement will turn inwards, and the second outwards, Reid decided after the online rehearsal. ‘Since that rehearsal I’ve already changed a million things. I know that these musicians can play anything and I don’t have to dial it down.

'I’m really looking forward to the answer that Klaus and the orchestra will give to my work'

The best part of the residency is still to come. I can’t wait for this orchestra and Klaus Mäkelä to play my music in this great hall. It’s like a conversation – I’m really looking forward to the answer that Klaus and the orchestra will give to my work, with their talent they bring the music to life. And then we’re going on tour in the United States, a whole new chapter. The music develops during a tour like that like a person you get to know better and who you end up loving.’

Will the tour be the closure of the residency? ‘For now – we’ll see! Amsterdam and I have a good relationship, so hopefully it’ll continue in the future.’

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Written by Carine Alders for Preludium