Child's Play

The approach to the compositional structure and style of ‘Child’s Play’ is inspired by the whimsical, inquisitive and imaginative nature of young children, using play to explore their world. Simple minimalistic patterns develop in each movement of this suite of short vignettes. The character of the soprano recorder lends itself well to the tone of the work and the playful approach to its composition. The work explores relatively unconventional techniques of layering and sequencing in the orchestration of six equal and similar instruments. The ensemble may choose to position in such a way as to highlight the spatialised stereo effect during performance, drawing attention to dovetailing melodies and staggered ostinati which are shared and passed around the ensemble.

Andrew Ball enjoys a diverse career as a saxophonist and composer. With a uniquely kinetic and
colourful compositional voice, Andrew draws from an eclectic variety of contemporary, improvised,
and electronic musics. Andrew has recently composed for ensembles including Barega Sax Quartet,
The Australia Ensemble, Hourglass Ensemble, and Queensland Youth Orchestras. In 2017, Andrew
launched his ongoing solo project with the release of his album Forbidden Languages, a suite of
genre-defying original works for extended and prepared saxophones. Andrew is an advocate of
new Australian music, and has premiered works, both as a performer and composer, at events
including at the three most recent World Saxophone Congress, SuperSounds (Brisbane), Tilde New
music festival (Melbourne), and Melbourne International Saxophone Festival.