Daniel Rojas

Daniel Rojas has been commissioned by Sydney Youth Orchestras and the Rev Dr Arthur Bridge AM to compose his second piano concerto Entre Ritos y Parrandas that will have its world première on March 12 at City Recital Hall Angel Place.

To view footage of Daniel talking about his piece and the Sydney Youth Orchestra in rehearsal click here.

For full concert repertoire and booking details click here.


INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL ROJAS

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A pilot, poet, architect, theologian, conductor and composer all rolled into one! I couldn't make up my mind...they all excited me sooo much!

How did you end up being a composer?
I dreamed about it since I was about 6 or 7 years old and started to compose pieces for violin, piano, voice and began to write incomplete concertos and even an opera by the age of 11! I had little guidance and no instruction but lots of encouragement. I spent hours upon hours every day listening to the classical LPs I would hustle my parents to buy for me from the 2nd hand markets. So my mentors became guys like Bach, Mozart, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Strauss. I even conducted some of the world's leading orchestras in my living room where I put all the chairs out in the shape of an orchestra and conducted them from my "A Tune a Day" book of technical exercises for the piano. I improvised a lot on the piano and violin, something which I had picked up along the way and I tried to write down as much of this as I could. I grew up and after a failed attempt at the Theological seminary I followed my true passion in life, music.

How would you describe what you do to someone who knows nothing about classical music?
Hmmm... what authors and poets do to the written and sounding word, I do with notes and rhythms. What architects do with their knowledge of structure, mathematics and art, I do with organising a longer sequence of sounds. Does this help?

Who or what in the world artistically inspires you the most?
The charged intensity of human passions and how we try to make sense of these.

What's the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Two great pieces of advice from good strong role models: "Remember, it rocks being a bloke!" and "Face your fears and challenge them."

What is your career highlight to date?
Working with the Aboriginal choir at Hopevale, far north Queensland. I grew tremendously as a musician and as a person and I felt I really contributed something of value.

What can audiences expect from your latest composition, your second piano concerto Entre Ritos y Parrandas that will premiere on March 12?
The extremes of innocence, openness and calm introspection against the violent, virtuosic and vigorous passions of human existence. There are lots of Latin American party musical gestures coupled with Western and Indigenous South American liturgy. You will hear references to salsa, tango and Peruvian Andean music. You can also expect a lot of crazy solo piano playing by Konstantin; as well as various moments where the instruments of the orchestra are mutually dependent for the sum of the rhythmic effect and must interact with each other like interlocking cogs. I really think this is an explicitly honest piece of music where you hear and feel the mind and soul of a Latin American migrant proud to be Australian! I could only write this work having grown up here where I am distant enough to observe the value and nature of various forms of Latin American Indigenous, folk and popular music and incorporate them into the culturally-conscious context of Australian classical music.

What can the members of Sydney Youth Orchestra expect when playing your piece for the first time?
LOL...they're going to have to play this concerto with their minds and with their hearts. With their minds for precision and with their hearts for the passion this piece requires.

If you had to sum your working life in a word or phrase, what would it be?
Fun, commitment and hard work leads to a fulfilling career.