ABOUT

as composer and workshop facilitator, Charles MacInnes brings improvisation to the foreground of contemporary art music by encouraging children to compose and adults to play. In their hands, the musical score becomes more than a paper blueprint – images, stories, patterns, shapes and words connect to form multifaceted artistic works.

as a writer he creates content for a diverse range of music and arts events – including program notes, brochures, education kits, grant applications, biographies, reviews and articles.

as a music researcher, he earned a Doctorate from the Faculty of Arts at Monash University in Australia in 2018, and has lectured in music performance and composition at major Australian universities.

Charles MacInnes has specialised knowledge of the international arts landscape – in particular the ways that the traditional lines between music, visual art, stories and the environment have shifted and how these intersect in today’s society. These insights have grown from over three decades of working as an internationally-recognised musician performing repertoire spanning orchestral, operatic, theatre, film, improvised jazz, pop, commercial, electronic and contemporary art music.
COMPOSITION
Paint tins become sounds
Open Letter to Edgard (2017)
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A section built up almost entirely from the sort of sound effects heard in Mingus' version of A Foggy Day.

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Piano prepared
The Compositor (2013)
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In commiseration for the victims of the shootings that took place on the island of Utøya.
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Pursuing form
Utøya (2011)
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A collaboration across continents (2020)
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An early work of guided improvisation for contemporary classical players.

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Listening intently
Quiet Girl Suite (2012)
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Petit Air 1 – inspired by Peter Høeg's book about a violin-playing clown wanted for tax evasion.
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Frogs, Tonsillectomy and Novachord. For more about these sounds, listen on SoundCloud.
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Musical symbols on graph paper
Fragilis (2013)
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A distant building: is it boarded up, or was that a flickering light and curtain being drawn?
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Ensemble Density Whizzy Device
Ensemble Density (2017)
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Illustration of sound waves
Hear more on SoundCloud
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WRITING
  • Reviews
  • Articles
    Cassettes (2021)
    from The Music Trust's INSIDE THE MUSICIAN series

    I’m curious now about the future of music making and teaching in an age of environmental crisis… Could musical and artistic practices themselves lead the way to social change and establish new connections between phenomena, peoples and places?

    Read the full article – The Music Trust
    A Rhinoceros in the Room: Remembering Raymond Murray Schafer (2021)

    Canadian composer, educator and acoustic ecologist R. Murray Schafer died on the 14th of August 2021 with barely a blip in the Australian media nor mention from our leading music education bodies. This article by Charles MacInnes reflects on reasons why Schafer’s innovations in music education alone make his work as relevant today as ever.

    Read the full article – The Music Trust
  • Sound Words
  • Research
    The expansion of improvisation in mainstream contemporary classical art music today is an area that can be traced back to the many compositional experiments and converging musical styles of the 1950s. This is addressed in my recent PhD which introduces guided improvisation into a notated and composed ensemble context. The main research outcomes are scores and recordings of over an hour of music written for a variety of different ensemble configurations. The composed works are based on many of the innovations and techniques of pioneering composers Edgard Varèse (1883–1965) and Charles Mingus (1922–79).

    Varèse’s treatment of space went beyond the vertical space between instrumental registers and horizontal space of rhythm, to the idea that music be open enough to allow a musical thought or sound to pursue its own direction. In parallel to this, Mingus’ collective improvisation was evolving to incorporate methods and effects borrowed from modern concert music, including adopting extended instrumental techniques to create layers of sound effects and writing episodic pieces. My composed works incorporate many of Varèse’s manifestations of sonic space, and inspired by Mingus, these have been extended to provide the players with a new realm of freedom. The research includes the development of an original framework of instructions to encourage the musicians to vary the playing techniques of written notes, including altering joins, sustain length and horizontal placement. These are augmented by written performance actions to steer the negotiation and interaction in the ensemble, including how to adapt, fragment, reincorporate and deviate from materials within a work.

    Ensemble Density performed many of the works created during this research.

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    Die Ausbreitung der Improvisation in der zeitgenössischen klassischen Kunstmusik ist heute ein Bereich, der sich auf die vielen kompositorischen Experimente und konvergierenden Musikstile der 1950er Jahre zurückführen lässt. Dies wird in meiner Doktorarbeit behandelt, indem ich die Improvisation in einen notierten und komponierten Ensemblekontext einführe. Die wichtigsten Forschungsergebnisse sind Partituren und Aufnahmen von über einer Stunde Musik, die für eine Vielzahl verschiedener Ensemblekonfigurationen geschrieben wurden. Die komponierten Werke basieren auf vielen der Innovationen und Techniken der bahnbrechenden Komponisten Edgard Varèse (1883–1965) und Charles Mingus (1922–79).

    Varèses Umgang mit dem Raum ging über den vertikalen Abstand zwischen den Instrumentalregistern und der horizontalen Platzierung des Rhythmus hinaus, bis hin zu der Idee, dass Musik offen genug sein muss, um einem musikalischen Gedanken oder Klang zu erlauben, seine eigene Richtung zu verfolgen. Parallel dazu entwickelte sich Mingus' kollektive Improvisation, um Methoden und Effekte zu integrieren, die der modernen Konzertmusik entlehnt waren, darunter die Übernahme erweiterter Instrumentaltechniken zur Erzeugung von Klangeffekten und das Schreiben episodischer Stücke. In meine komponierten Werke sind viele von Varèses Manifestationen des Klangraums eingeflossen, und inspiriert von Mingus wurden diese erweitert, um den Spieler*innen einen neuen Bereich der Freiheit zu bieten. Die Forschung beinhaltet die Entwicklung eines originellen Anweisungsrahmens, der die Musiker*innen dazu anregen soll, die Spieltechniken der geschriebenen Noten zu variieren, einschließlich der Veränderung von Verbindungen, Länge und horizontaler Platzierung. Diese werden durch schriftliche Aufführungsaktionen ergänzt, um die Aushandlung und Interaktion im Ensemble zu steuern, einschließlich der Frage, wie das Material innerhalb eines Werkes angepasst, fragmentiert und wiedereingegliedert werden kann.

    Ensemble Density hat viele der während dieser Forschung entstandenen Werke aufgeführt.
    MacInnes, C. (2021). Laura Karpman: Compositional direction and purpose’ in Women’s Music for the Screen – Diverse Narratives in Sound ed. F. Wilcox. New York: Routledge.

    Laura Karpman’s compositional voice is immediately recognisable whether she is writing for film and television, interactive gaming, theatre or the concert stage. Her musical vocabulary challenges preconceptions of genre by blending orchestral, jazz, electronics, samples and spoken word, and by combining media across a variety of platforms. This chapter examines Karpman’s mastery of the recording studio as multi-faceted instrument for the layering of disparate sound elements, and refers to several of her major works – Taken (television series), Regarding Susan Sontag (documentary), Paris Can Wait (film), EverQuest II (video game), and Ask Your Mamma (concert work).

    Karpman’s sense of direction and purpose extends beyond techniques of composition. She is committed to instigating positive change in industries that are only now starting to acknowledge the gendered limitations that have traditionally limited women’s contributions. Along with a growing list of credentials lecturing in film composition at major American universities, she is the first female to be elected to the music branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors.

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    Buchkapitel

    Laura Karpmans kompositorische Stimme ist sofort erkennbar, ob sie für Film und Fernsehen, interaktive Spiele, Theater oder die Konzertbühne schreibt. Ihr musikalisches Vokabular hinterfragt Genre-Vorurteile, indem sie Orchester, Jazz, Elektronik, Samples und gesprochenes Wort vermischt und Medien über eine Vielzahl von Plattformen hinweg kombiniert. Dieses Kapitel untersucht Karpmans Beherrschung des Aufnahmestudios als facettenreiches Instrument zur Schichtung disparater Klangelemente und bezieht sich auf mehrere ihrer Hauptwerke – Taken (Fernsehserie), Regarding Susan Sontag (Dokumentarfilm), Paris Can Wait (Film), EverQuest II (Videospiel) und Ask Your Mamma (Konzertwerk).

    Karpmans Sinn für Richtung und Ziel geht über Kompositionstechniken hinaus. Sie setzt sich dafür ein, positive Veränderungen in Industrien einzuleiten, die erst jetzt beginnen, die genderspezifischen Einschränkungen anzuerkennen, die den Beitrag von Frauen traditionell begrenzt haben. Neben einer wachsenden Liste von Referenzen, die sie als Dozentin für Filmkomposition an großen amerikanischen Universitäten erworben hat, ist sie die erste Frau, die in den Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors gewählt wurde.
    Traditionally, the musical score is regarded as a type of paper blueprint – beginning at the top left, keeping to a designated tempo, and adhering to specific instrumentation. Sustain is my interpretation of sound ecology and includes looking at what else can constitute a score. Images, stories, patterns, social processes, objects or words all qualify as coherent scores – they all suggest a particular musical mood, density, history, style and form.

    As an example, discarded objects – and their graphic- and text-based interpretations – can become invitations to collaborate. These are arranged in a way reminiscent of what concrete poetry inventor Eugen Gomringer labels a “play area.” [1] Gerald Bruns describes this as a multidimensional place for occupying, and in the words of Lyn Hejinian, one moves through a work “not in straight lines but in curves, swirls, and across intersections.” [2]

    In recent years, contemporary art music groups are beginning to explore a more collaborative approach to composition, improvisation is returning to the technical toolbox, and listeners are no longer being regarded as passive observers. These shifts coincide with emerging research on energy humanities, for example in the literary criticism and network theory of posthumanist researcher Katherine Hayles. [3] My research project aims to explore sustainable alternatives to the earlier chamber and symphonic – and resource-rich – compositional model of fixed instrumentation and progress through the invention, development, and dispensing with themes. Musical motifs and ideas are not only assembled and repurpose from existing materials, the instrumentation and personnel are designed to be modular and portable. The players and performance stimuli alike are locally sourced, based on the resources at hand.

    1. Gerald L. Bruns, The Material of Poetry: Sketches for a Philosophical Poetics. Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2012, 67.

    2. Lyn Hejinian, The Language of Inquiry, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000, 44.

    3. Katherine N. Hayles, ‘Cognitive Assemblages: Technical Agency and Human Interactions’, in Critical Inquiry vol. 43 ed W. J. T. Mitchell. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2016, 32–55.

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    Traditionell wird die Partitur als eine Art Papiervorlage betrachtet – von links oben beginnend, unter Einhaltung eines bestimmten Tempos und einer bestimmten Instrumentierung. Sustain ist meine Interpretation von Klang-Ökologie und beinhaltet die Betrachtung dessen, was eine Partitur sonst noch ausmachen kann. Bilder, Geschichten, Muster, soziale Prozesse, Objekte oder Worte sind allesamt kohärente Partituren – sie alle deuten eine bestimmte musikalische Stimmung, Dichte, Geschichte, Stil und Form an.

    Beispielsweise können weggeworfene Objekte – und ihre grafischen und textbasierten Interpretationen – zu Einladungen zur Zusammenarbeit werden. Sie sind so angeordnet, dass sie an das erinnern, was der Erfinder der Konkreten Poesie, Eugen Gomringer, als "Spielwiese" [1] bezeichnet. Gerald Bruns beschreibt diesen als einen mehrdimensionalen Ort, den es zu besetzen gilt, und in den Worten von Lyn Hejinian bewegt man sich durch ein Werk "nicht in geraden Linien, sondern in Kurven, Wirbeln und über Kreuzungen" [2].

    In den letzten Jahren haben Gruppen für zeitgenössische Kunstmusik begonnen, einen kooperativeren Kompositionsansatz zu entwickeln, der die Kunst der Improvisation wieder schätzt, und in dem die Zuhörer*innen nicht länger als passive Beobachter betrachtet werden. Diese Verschiebungen fallen zusammen mit aufkommenden Forschungen im Bereich der Energiegeisteswissenschaften, zum Beispiel in der Literaturkritik und Netzwerktheorie der posthumanistischen Forscherin Katherine Hayles [3]. Dieses Forschungsprojekt zielt darauf ab, nachhaltige Alternativen zum früheren kammermusikalischen und symphonischen – und ressourcenreichen – Kompositionsmodell der festen Besetzung und des Fortschritts durch die Erfindung, Entwicklung und den Verzicht auf Themen zu erforschen. In Sustain werden musikalische Motive und Ideen nicht nur aus vorhandenen Materialien zusammengesetzt und wiederverwendet, sondern die Instrumentierung und das Personal sind so konzipiert, dass sie modular und tragbar sind. Sowohl die Spieler*innen als auch die Aufführungsimpulse werden je nach den zur Verfügung stehenden Ressourcen lokal beschafft.
WORKSHOPS
Some of the organisations where my workshops have been presented
City of Melbourne ArtPlay • The Song Room • Musica Viva in Schools • Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music • The Vienna International School • Geelong Art Gallery • Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Education & Community Engagement • Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Primary

Tertiary

• The University of Melbourne • Monash University • Landesmusikrat Mecklenburg-Vorpommern • Tilde New Music Academy • Super Critical Mass • Melbourne International Festival of Brass • Australian National University
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School • Rosamond School • Melbourne Youth Orchestras • Young Mannheim Symphonists • The Alice Miller School • Port Fairy Spring Music Festival • Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Secondary

Adult & PD

Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre • International Conference of Dalcroze Studies • The Grainger Museum • Footscray Community Arts Centre • Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra • Bargoonga Nganjin North Fitzroy Library • Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Feedback from Participants


Mr MacInnes controlled the pace and content just right for kids and adults alike.
Parent


I think that the group activities in the circle were really fun and enjoyable.

Secondary Student


The rhythm games made keeping the beat easy and fun
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Primary Student

I think I can speak on behalf of everyone in saying that we appreciate having someone who actually wants to push music education further.
University Student

An introduction to what happens when the lines between performer and observer are blurred. I left inspired, wondering what else might be possible.
CutCommon Magazine

I was impressed with some of the students who were prepared to either stand up and have a go, or contribute to the discussions. Many of those students wouldn't normally do that.
Regional Primary Teacher

Online Recycling Band
A remote sound project involving students from three primary schools in 2021.
MAKING NOTES – Online Workshops
A six-part online music workshop series – lots of ideas for the classroom
Moving Melbourne's Bats
A man directing a grouped of seated toddlers with instruments

An interview with Charles MacInnes on ABC Classic FM about a music workshop for under-fives at the 2018 Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music

Listen to the podcast (30mins)

VOYAGE OF MUSICAL DISCOVERY

Discoveries and new insights often arise due to a change in perspective. However, in the study of music new angles can sometimes be difficult to find – we get accustomed to following well-worn paths of enquiry, applying similar sets of parameters, and asking the same questions... [from 2022 Kit #2: Cultural Narratives]

The Voyage of Musical Discovery was created by Richard Gill AO and the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. The program differs from many in that a chamber orchestra shares the stage with a mixture of different artists – improvisers, vocal groups, singer songwriters, or contemporary ensembles – depending upon the educational focus. Since 2019, I have been writing the content for the spoken presentations and accompanying education kits. Each Voyage establishes areas of similarity between music of the Classical or Romantic eras and that which has been written in Australia during the past 25 years.

The Education Kits are aligned with the Australian music curriculum, but can be enjoyed as stand-alone learning resources for anyone interested in the connections between the musics of different times, places and styles. Each kit includes background definitions, examples, playlists and composition projects.
CONTACT

check out COSMOS –– a new place for storing images, designs and ideas


contact(at)charlesmacinnes(dot)com

IMPRESSUM
Angaben gemäß § 5 TMG: Charles MacInnes, Bismarckstr. 13, 20259 Hamburg
+49 176 5917 0502
© Charles MacInnes, 2024