Ones and Twos

Project Overview
This research project investigates the creation of new musical work for one or two performers through a practice-based methodology centred on collaboration, experimentation, and performance. The project explores how compositional and performative processes generate new artistic knowledge and how close engagement with individual musicians can reshape approaches to authorship, interpretation, and contemporary performance practice.
The research will result in a portfolio of original compositions developed in partnership with one or two musicians, supported by documentation of rehearsals, reflective commentary, and public performance outcomes. The project positions creative practice itself as a mode of enquiry and treats performance as both method and dissemination.
Research Questions
The project is guided by the following questions:
• How can collaborative creation with one or two performers generate new approaches to composition and performance?
• What forms of artistic knowledge emerge through sustained performer–composer interaction?
• How does working within the intimate scale of solo and duo performance challenge conventional assumptions about notation, interpretation, and musical authorship?
• In what ways can practice-based research contribute to broader contemporary music discourse?
Methodology
The methodology combines artistic practice with reflective and critical research methods. The project will proceed through iterative cycles of:
1. Creative Development – composing and generating material through experimentation with performers.
2. Collaborative Rehearsal – testing ideas in rehearsal contexts and documenting decision-making processes.
3. Reflection and Analysis – evaluating outcomes through journals, recordings, and critical commentary.
4. Performance and Dissemination – presenting completed works and reflecting on audience and performer responses.
This approach recognises artistic creation not only as an outcome but as a means of producing research insight.

This research project explores the creation of new musical work for one or two performers through a practice-based compositional methodology. As a composer, I investigate how close collaboration with performers can generate new approaches to musical language, interpretation, and performance practice, positioning composition itself as a form of research enquiry.

TBA