Interview with Brenton Broadstock
Australia's Band World Magazine
February 2002

Kathy Clark

Walking down St Kilda Road last November on a sultry afternoon one could not help but be drawn to the chorus of Federation Bells and Brass Bands in the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. A large, appreciative audience took home a multitude of delightful stories about this history making composition that are still being retold today.

Sitting in a quiet office in the depths of Melbourne University, Brenton Broadstock, the man responsible for the music that gave this ensemble voice was equally rapt in the experience, one he sees not likely to be repeated in his lifetime.

"It was the right time, the setting of the piece that made it a most magical moment." was how he saw it.

Brenton is a quietly spoken and intense artist with a long held interest in composition, be it for rock band or symphony orchestra. He sees the core of the composer's task to extend the players and bringing some new thoughts to the stage.

His early work was mostly for the Melbourne Staff Band, and he acknowledges the support of Colin Woods as he made the leap from working in a Ballarat hospital to undertaking composition studies in America.

A composer whose wide range of repertoire includes bands, Brenton carries the title of Associate Professor as he instructs future Mozarts in the theme of his life.

His approach is as disciplined and carefully constructed as his music. Understanding the techniques of the craft underpins the matrix of creating a work, is how he explains the starting point to his students. Without technique and carefully planned approaches, there can be no spontaneous discovery of a melody begging a tune is how he sees it.

"What you write, how you write are important," he explained, "but why you write is the most important of all."

For Brenton, understanding the aims of a piece is a major factor in producing quality work. Without understanding the nuances of a piece's intentions, the piece may only be a shadow of its potential.

Like most creative folk, Brenton undertakes extensive preparation commensurate with the parameters of the commission to hand. For Winds of Change, the A grade test for the 2002 Nationals in brass, Brenton devoted several monthls whilst he was in England during a year of travel to gather his resources. The process was intensive and exacting to ensure the rich tapestry of the families, their politics, and their very lives could be understood through the musical journey.

Winds of Change was commissioned by David King and premiered at the 2000 European Brass Band Championships by Yorkshire Building Society Band.

"It was difficult to write, and a big responsibility." Brenton acknowledged.

Many A Grade players would agree with him as they match their musical experience to the layers of abstract images retelling the working life of Northern England. In a piece most discussed for its use of new and challenging tonal representations, the hymn tune St Aelered does great service to the hard working and diversely intense life of the region.

A good composition, Brenton feels, will ask as much of the conductor as the musicians, and he is more than interested in how the A grade bands approach a work far removed from the melodic style of recent assignations at this level.

Come Good Friday, playing before the composer will add an interesting touch to the presentation by bands and conductors alike.

"I'm really looking forward to hearing how they interpret the piece" was all Brenton would say about his plans for spending over five hours in the box.. When asked how he would prepare for hearing his piece nearly a dozen times Brenton would only offer an honest smile of pleasant anticipation.

Holding such an important position at a band contest is a relatively new experience for Brenton, having first adjudicated at the 2001 Royal South Street Eisteddfod.

Brass Band compositions make only a quarter of Brenton's portfolio. Whatever the ensemble, including pop and rock in his early career, Brenton matches melodic intent with musical parameters.

Sibelius, Mahler, Vaughn Williams, Holst and Lutoslawki are not household names in the band world, but for Brenton they are composers he enjoys and admires immensely.

Whilst admitting to dabbling a bit‚ on the piano, it was the trombone that Brenton played before creating the music demanded his complete attention. He seems somewhat distracted by the attention to his work, and yet his first composition, a hymn tune some 30 years ago, takes pride of place on the notice-board beside his desk. Here is a most discipline of artists, his talent is well schooled and obedient to his requests.

Brenton strongly considers bands a most vital part of the community, offering students the chance to continue scholastic music whilst not making music their profession just an example of the many benefits of being part of a community band.

"Even more so, I believe the bands should be proud of what they do, and make sure their community knows their worth." he added thoughtfully.

This theme is one Brenton accepts as common to the majority of Australian artists, most of whom seek international recognition before they consider success in their homeland. The drive in the community music arena to see more Australian compositions, and thus promote our rich heritage and wealth of talent, is a cause Brenton strongly identifies.

"As with the Bells and Brass, it was new and it was fantastic." he said. "Our musicians sometimes do not realise just how creative they are."

With composers like Brenton becoming more exposed in the banding community, an exciting blend of musicians and music makers will only grow stronger.

©2002 Kathy Clark