Luci Holland, 21.

When did you first start playing music?

I began playing music with my introduction to the oboe when I was 7. I became interested in the piano when working with my accompanist in my oboe lessons, and started to read the piano part as well as the oboe part, teaching myself to read the bass clef and play with both hands simultaneously. My music teachers at school took interest in my self-lessons and gave me a great amount of support, helping me understand the instruments and the music I was so engaged in.

What inspired you to compose new music?

With my blossoming performance interest I received many invitations to join youth orchestras and ensembles, which introduced me to the orchestral sound and the variations of instruments and timbres. Becoming integrated into this musical world sparked my interest in the complexities of music and its composition, and I began writing short arrangements.

How did you get started?

I would write many short pieces as they came to me, using my electronic keyboard. In my 5th year in high school I wrote a short string and piano piece which I took to one of my school teachers. He suggested I orchestrate it and enter it into a competition. He gave me lunchtime tutorials on orchestration techniques and the practicalities and logistics of orchestral instruments whilst I worked on the piece. Once it was finished, he asked me if I'd like the school orchestra to play it at the end of year concert (which by then was Spring 2006). The concert was hugely rewarding and inspiring to me and I am so grateful to the teachers and students who worked on my music. It was my first realisation of the wonderful intricacies of composition and more specifically orchestration, and his lessons had a profound impact on me. To this day when I write music, I remember little tips and pointers he gave me on writing for different instruments.

Instruments? 

Oboe and piano, but my room is full of a strange and eclectic mix of instruments which I have for composition aids and general music appreciation and making, including a beautiful flat piano (I like to think of it as 'prepared'), a violin, a bass guitar, a small unpitched percussion ensemble, and a kalimba.

Direction?

As my composition studies have developed I discovered a great interest in film and game scores. I now aim to work in this industry. I write music for a wide range of purposes however, and don't feel my style of writing is limited to the one industry. For example, I have written and am writing for symphonic performances, short film scores, games audio integration purposes, cabarets/vocal performances etc. If I am approached and the project sparks my interest, I am happy to work on it if I know I'm capable of the sound desired.

Training?

I had very little specific composition training until I came to Edinburgh University. Before then I had had oboe lessons, and the private orchestration tutorials I mentioned. Because opportunities for specific training were sparse at school I feel even more grateful for the support I received there.

Do you compose alone and as part of a group?

I usually compose alone, as the work I have been engaged in before has never required more than that. I did however write a piece of music alongside two other students in my first year at University as part of a composition project; it was called Echoes in the Trees, co-written with Mark Lavery and Rachel Watterson, and was based on a piece of art by Paula Kane. The music and lyrics (there were vocal solos and choir entries) were faintly cheesy, but the whole experience was great fun and I'm proud of the music we wrote.

Who inspires you now?

Any composer who writes a piece of music that makes me stop and think, "... How did they do that?" I hear music everyday that renders me dumbstruck, whether it is incredible masters of film music, or students I'm teaching. My favourite composers vary too, as I shift moods or am introduced to new artists or music, but my firm favourites would have to be Camille Saint-Saëns, Samuel Barber, Claude Debussy, Hans Zimmer, Joe Hisaishi, Nobuo Uematsu, Jeremy Soule, and Toshiyuki Honda...

What do you like to compose (as an individual and as part of group)?

Again this may change depending on my mood or the purpose of the music... But generally emotional, orchestral, film score-style music. However recently I became bored with writing orchestral music and decided to change it up a little and write for smaller, more delicate ensembles.

What was the first event you ever provided the music for?

My end of year (and end of school for me!) High School Spring Concert in 2006.

What’s the best event you’ve composed music for/put on?

I was privileged to be invited to compose a variation on a theme for the University of Edinburgh Sinfonietta. I was the only undergraduate approached alongside some much more experienced composers, so I felt quite honoured. The orchestra were fantastic and the concert was brilliant. Right now I'm working on some exciting projects, so watch this space...!

What’s the best thing about composing (individually and as part of a group)?

When emotion, thoughts, memories, stories, relationships you yearn to convey are realised through your music. That moment when the orchestra strike up the first chord of your piece, and everyone is smiling, and it sounds bliss. When you are approached by a listener and they tell you they understood. That feeling, for me, can't be likened to anything else.

What was your first record you bought?

Oh dear... Probably a Spice Girls or Aqua tape... I remember blasting Outkast's 'Sorry Miss Jackson' out of the car tape player on the way home from a shopping trip too. My mum was laughing at us screaming the lyrics.

Challenges?

I came to realise my challenge was incorporating the exact sound a potential employer/director/lyricist was after. After realising this I can now take steps to be aware of it, and work with the person to create the music they want.

Top Tips for budding composers?

Never stop listening or reading music. It may sound like an obvious one, but for me, I always learn the most by totally immersing myself in scores, in the piano, or in that incredible first longing, aching note in Barber's Adagio. Those moments mean something and define you as a composer, ultimately defining your music.