Karoline Wallace tells about being almost at the finish line with Borealis Ung Komponist 2022!
Borealis 2022 is next week! Right now the participants of Borealis Ung Komponist are doing their very last preparations together with ensemble TABULA RASA, before the concert next Thursday, 17th of March. How does it feel to be so close to the concert and how is it to look back at the process they’ve put behind them? We’ve had a chat with Karoline Wallace to hear!
Karoline: The process with Borealis Ung Komponist has been incredibly different from how I’ve composed earlier. Mostly because I’ve had so much more time to test out things with the ensemble throughout four whole workshops! There’s a massive pile of material and tests which I’ve had to put aside for this piece. I have ten different videos of myself singing into these bowls of water. And I have tested using ultrasound and stethoscopes with contact microphones to create works using hearth rhythm. There’s so much exciting stuff which I can pick up again later. The whole process has given me so much.
Also the mentors who have guided us through each gathering have all given us such varying and interesting feedback which has influenced our pieces. You learn so much when you have someone show you ten different solutions to each question you’ve asked. The vocalists in TABULA RASA have impressed me so much with their level of openness they’ve had with testing out weird stuff. And the three other composers in the program, Astrid, Mirsaeed and Peder Niilas, have all inspired me with each their own set of experiences and methods – they’re all my new heroes.
Now we are so close to the concert, which is both super exciting, and scary. In a way I wish that we could just jump in time and do the concert right now! However, even though we know our pieces pretty well at this point, we’re still going to practice a bit more with the ensemble, and look the score up and down to perfection, so that everything is as clear as absolutely possible. Oh yeah, and then there’s the pipe which I’m hoping will arrive in time!
Karoline Wallace is a singer, improviser and composer from Stabekk, Norway. Her music and singing is inspired by folk music, jazz and contemporary classical music, and she is always seeking sounds that tickle and shake. She has released music with her projects Stiklinger, Lang vinter and Molecules & Erlend Skosvoll. She has also written for string quartet, big bands, wind orchestras and choirs.