Passing Notes: With AYO CEO Kimbali Harding
Four World Premieres at AYO National Music Camp
By Lola Schuele and Izzy Eagles (2026 Media and Communication)
What happens when you give four young composers a blank score, an orchestra and the opportunity to have their work premiered at Australia’s prestigious National Music Camp?
To find out, AYO’s Lola Schuele and Izzy Eagles (2026 Media and Communication) sat down with 2026 Composition participants; Otto Gibbs, Angela Zhang, Jamie Miles and Felicity Handreck who have been working hard under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Green, National Music Camp’s composer-in-residence. Each of the young composers described their influences, hopes and creative process behind their pieces.
From left to right: Angela Zhang, Jamie Miles, Otto Gibbs and Felicity Handreck
Otto Gibbs, composer and percussionist from Perth, Western Australia, premieres his work Merlion Retrospections, the final instalment of a triptych of works centred around his experiences on exchange in Singapore, an answer to Ottorino Respighi’s ‘Roman Trilogy.’ While each tone poem of Respighi’s focuses on specific landmarks and occasions in Rome, ‘Merlion Trilogy’ serves as a personal journal documenting his thoughts before, during, and after living in Singapore.
“I went to Singapore, which was written for members of WASO. I wrote the second piece while I was in Singapore, written for a group called the Straits Ensemble, and now I’ve written the third part for the tutors of NMC 2026, and it’s going to be incredibly exciting.”
Otto Gibbs presenting Merlion Revelations with Straits Ensemble in Singapore
His trilogy includes three variations each with their own character. Quirky, melancholic and sinister, Otto explores ideas of looking to the future, being in the present and reflecting on the past through a spectrum of musical sounds and colours. With the premiere of this work so close, Otto can’t wait to finish put a full stop on this journey and to share it to audiences in Adelaide on Friday.
“If I had to look forward to one thing about the premiere, it would just be seeing some absolutely stellar musicians playing my music. I’m just so honored to have this brought to life, and it’s just going to be so fun for me, and hopefully for the audience too.”
Otto Gibbs in rehearsal with 2026 NMC tutors workshopping his piece ‘Merlion Retrospections’
Angela Zhang’s piece The Grimoire of Clockwork Machinations is inspired by “the idea that human lives were never meant to be monotonous and that our lives are like a spell book with our individuality.” The work unfolds in three distinct sections: Incantation, Instability and finally Interference. In the ‘Interference’ section, Angela hopes to display that when crisis emerges a vibrant rupture and the decision to interfere with societal design—to not just endure life, but to actively, vividly live it. Her message is to re-awaken the magic of life and stop living with monotony.
We are all cogs in a collective engine, driven forward by the need to see the next day. Yet within this shared goal and challenge, somewhere along the way, the weight of persistence becomes heavier than the ambition: our lives were never meant to be monotonous; our spell-like individuality colours our existence and is the core catalyst to success.
Angela’s description behind her piece The Grimoire of Clockwork Machinations
Angela’s creative process starts with a peaceful walk in nature before she sits down to write. For Angela, like most composers who work a lot in solitude, having the opportunity to share her piece with others in Adelaide is a dream come true.
Brisbane-based Felicity Handreck’s Exploration of the Mind also looks to the human psyche and probes into the idea that a plethora of thoughts pass us by in our daily lives. Within this, Felicity dedicates her work to her younger self and to the process of finding her compositional voice. This piece represents the role music has to play in her life, “help[ing] me to put my thoughts into music.” She also offers this piece “to everyone else who’s listening and finding their way and voice. And everyone who remembers that journey too.”
For Felicity having the opportunity to gain a professional recording of her work is a huge step for her career and professional development.
Felicity Handreck has been creating stories since a young age (as included in Felicity’s program notes)
Tenured AYO Music-camper and violist, Jamie Miles entered this year’s 2026 National Music Camp as a composition participant to premiere his work Poem. Intended to evoke the feelings of reading a poem and explore how music can serve the same function as words in literature. For the first time at his own premiere, Jamie won’t be on the stage with viola or baton in hand. He gets to sit back and revel in the fruits of his hard work. Although Jamie expressed this is daunting, he is incredibly excited to see his piece in the extremely good hands of our 2026 tutor ensemble.
From left to right: Jamie Miles, Angela Zhang and Felicity Handreck hearing their compositions rehearsed for the first time during 2026 National Music Camp
Vulnerably and masterfully writing about and sharing what’s closest to their heart, shows the talent, depth of thinking and diversity of compositional styles across Australia’s top young composers. Their pieces connect us to the human experience; of love, time, and the mind in ways that have never been heard before.
The composers have had a jam-packed 2 weeks of National Music Camp, workshopping their pieces with our world-class tutors ready for a once-in-a-lifetime premiere concert this Friday. To hear these four new exciting pieces, join us at the Composition Showcase on Friday, the 16th of January, 5:30pm at Elder Hall.
