That’s how guest conductor Bill Carslake summed up Nonesuch’s Student Composition Workshop at Chiswick School on 14th January.

There were students from Chiswick School, Park High School, and Twyford CofE High School and a dozen GCSE and A-level compositions for us to get our collective teeth into. The diversity and depth of the pieces was striking and the attentiveness of the students exceptional. Many of the works were unfinished – some ending tantalisingly on a suspended cadence leaving us begging for more!

Composer Tim Watts explains a point during an early session in the autumn

Bill, together with composer Tim Watts, directed a focussed set of workshop sessions, bringing fascinating insights into the composition process (and some solid music theory). Completing the teaching team was Nonesuch leader Stephanie Waite, who demonstrated particular technical and interpretational points to the students.

Total concentration as young composer Marouf conducts his own piece at the Composition Workshop

The result was a group of students who seemed genuinely inspired. Many were characteristically modest in their comments but the quality of their work so far says much about their commitment and capabilities. And of course, hearing the job delivered by a real orchestra as opposed to a piece of software made a deep impression on them all.

Now we look forward to hearing the progress towards the finished works, a selection of which we shall include in our concert of new music on Sunday 8th March at 5pm at St Peter’s Church, Southfield Road, London W4. Check our Events page for more details!