MCB Interviews Angus MacRae
"You could be writing the most incredible, nuanced music, but if you don't know anybody who can showcase the work, or provide you with the visual art to match, then your music won't go anywhere.” - Angus Macrae
For some, the task of competing as a composer in a saturated market is daunting. Others, like Angus MacRae, find a niché and dive in head first.
“I think my best opportunities currently lie in the theatre. For many this is a less desirable route in, and there seem to be very few people who realize that the theatre actually provides a number of great music opportunities, with an increasing number of young directors keen to exploit the emotional power of music in their productions. Theatre's longevity is also well proven, and productions are making national headlines with audience members at a high too - and music is more at the heart of theatre than ever before (Underworld and Danny Boyle's Frankenstein last year).”
Rather than fearing the competition in his field, MacRae thrives from it. “We have to fight harder to be heard above the crowd. Personally it pushes me to write ever better music in order to stand out. Knowing how to make money from music is also a challenge, with an increasing volume of free music easily accessible through the internet and a huge number of young composers happy to work for free. This means long hours in the evenings and weekends, juggling a composition career on top of a day job until you're making enough money to do it full time.”
MacRae's realized his passion for composition while working on his first theatre show. “Before that show I had only briefly courted allusions of becoming a composer, but the experience brought into focus the fact that it could become an achievable reality. I actually auditioned for an acting part in the play, and at the audition the director mentioned that he was after a score. I didn't get a part, but the director was happy to take a risk and asked me to write the score, despite not having heard any of my music. The production, a version of Steven Berkoff's Fall of the House of Usher, required a wall-to-wall score, which I played live each night on a decrepit old piano.” The score was a success and was voted by members of the theatre company as the best music of the season. This enabled MacRae to make a host of contacts through this initial job.
MacRae knows that networking with the right people matters. "You could be writing the most incredible, nuanced music, but if you don't know anybody who can showcase the work, or provide you with the visual art to match, then your music won't go anywhere.” MacRae’s advice to other young composers is “seize every opportunity that arises and make sure you always write to the best of your ability in order to succeed.”
Angus MacRae is a composer for theatre and film based in London. During his time at the University of Nottingham he scored 11 shows at the city's New Theatre, with his music represented at the Edinburgh Festival and the National Student Drama Festival. Graduating with a BA Hons in Music from the University of Nottingham in July 2011, Angus has since moved to London and is currently working hard on a number of shows and short film projects due for performance in early 2012.
Thom Robson is a UK based Composer studying Music at the University of Leeds. Visit his site at ThomRobsonMusic.co.uk.