• Mark Holdsworth. Photo by Matthew Dwyer

FREMANTLE local Mark Holdsworth reckons he’s a regular young bloke, hanging out with mates doing what comes naturally to 24-year-olds.

“The thing that is out of character is, I write classical music,” he tells the Herald.

In his final year at UWA and well on his way to a dream of being a classical composer, Holdsworth has had a stellar run, earning a number of gongs for his works.

But the culmination is becoming a finalist for the 2014 Ransom Prize for Musical Composition.

The UWA Symphony Orchestra will premiere his Odyssey, alongside one of his heroes.

“The amazing thing about this composition is I get to play alongside Peter Sculthorpe,” a grinning Holdsworth says.

Not bad for someone who gave up piano in high school because he didn’t like practicing–but he did discover a “proclivity for writing”.

“I started writing piano miniatures…it felt pretty good—cathartic.”
Earlier in the year his A Broken Vow was performed by the WA Symphony Orchestra.

“Dad always told me it’s better to pursue your dream and fail, than lead a life doing something ordinary.”

It gave friends a chance to see his alter ego first hand: “A lot had no idea…they knew I write music but not what.”
Critics describe the work as “impressive”:  “With whispered harp arabesques…and moments of grim hand-wringing anguish that gripped the attention.”

Holdsworth says his earlier works were introspective, but in his final year they’re more aggressive: “Punchy like Stravinsky, but more modern.”

He carries a notebook with him wherever he goes to write the music constantly swirling around in his head.

“On Sunday I woke at two in the morning and had all this music to write…but I had to go to work [at a local cafe] in the morning,” he says with a mock groan.

With a choice of WAAPA or UWA, Holdsworth was drawn to the strictly traditional approach of WA’s oldest university.

But he’s also keen to do a fusion of classical music with that of his mother’s culture: “I’d like to synthesise music that draws on Indonesian music.”

With his uni career coming to a close, Holdsworth is looking ahead with dreams of further studies, or heading to the bright lights of London.

Whatever he chooses he’s not one to hold back from following his star. “Dad always told me it’s better to pursue your dream and fail, than lead a life doing something ordinary.”

by JENNY D’ANGER