Performed by Ensemble Offspring as part of Hatched Academy in December 2021

My Heart Skips A Beat - Julia Potter

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra perform “Stay Close” at Deakin Edge in Federation Square, Melbourne on Saturday the 28th of January. Conducted by Carlo Antonioli.

Stay Close

Performed by Omega Ensemble. 
Clarinet: David Rowden
Violin: Alexandra Osborne
Viola: Neil Thompson
Cello: Paul Stender
Piano: Vatche Jambazian

The essence of this piece stems from the notion of borrowed memories and borrowed emotions. Experiencing another’s narrative so intently that you too feel a sense of ownership and nostalgia for their recollection. You are encapsulated with the richness and wonderment of someone else’s memory and are consumed by it. 
Similarly, this sense of borrowed nostalgia evokes a sense of frustration and jealousy. You will never experience an intensity of emotion so strongly as the original owner of this memory. You are left instead to your imagination, and long to feel such vibrance and warmth in your own human experience.  
Musically, this piece can be divided into three sections. The beginning section centres around a perpetual piano ostinato which rambles and develops unpredictably. In time, the sense of drive and persistence prompted by the piano line unravels and slows to a moment of stillness and reflection. This moment is a warm glow, a moment where the music focuses perhaps more on texture than harmony. The third section is playful and sprightly. Each instrument initially locks into place through various rhythmic ostinati before breaking loose to explore other threads.

A Nostalgia I Have No Right to Own

Our coral reefs were once vibrant, bustling under water cities complete with high rise structures and even rush hours for schools of fish. Each day, as the rays of sun hit the water, a morning chorus would emanate through the reef. The ecosystem was alive with purrs, grunts and groans: a noisy place. Described as the rainforests of the sea, our reefs were an explosion of colour, teaming with fishes, plants, invertebrates, sea turtles, and sea mammals.

In the past 30 years, 50% of the world’s corals have perished through the process of coral bleaching. Cities of bright and beautiful colours have transformed into graveyards of eerie white skeletons. These biomes are disappearing seemingly unnoticed; the world under the ocean is largely out of sight and out of mind.
In 2015 in New Caledonia, the documentary crew for Chasing Coral stumbled upon a perplexing glowing radiating from the corals. The corals had become florescent, producing a chemical sunscreen to protect themselves from the heat. Though this transformational phenomenon is extremely stunning it is, in reality, an “incredibly beautiful phase of death”. The coral was turning bright, and then eventually white due to stress.
When It’s All Gone attempts to capture this moment, this last moment of brightness before imminent decay. The piece is veiled through a lens of a tender sadness, as though Mother Nature herself is comforting the corals. The mood created also reflects my own sorrow and guilt in witnessing the destruction of something so magnificent.

When It’s All Gone was commissioned by Musica Viva Australia and composed for Claire Edwardes as part of the Morning Masters series. It was premiered on the 25th of October 2023 at The Concourse, Sydney Australia.

When It's All Gone

Live performance by the Penny Quartet at their concert Golden, February 10th 2020

Belonging And Longing To Be (LIVE) The Penny Quartet

Credits for upcoming AFTRS podcast 'Refuge'
Performed by Ike See (violin), Paul Stender (Cello) and Julia Potter (Piano). 
Music mix by Geir Gunnarsson

Refuge [PODCAST] end credits

Orchestral score with tape.
LIBEROSIS; n. the desire to care less about things—to loosen your grip on your life, to stop glancing behind you every few steps, afraid that someone will snatch it from you before you reach the end zone—rather to hold your life loosely and playfully, like a volleyball, keeping it in the air, with only quick fleeting interventions, bouncing freely in the hands of trusted friends, always in play.

Liberosis Visual Poem [AUDIO]

End Credits music for pilot episode of 'The Retreat'
Piano by Julia Potter
Vocals by Vic Zerbst

Des Excuses. The Retreat (miniseries) Credit Music

Soundtrack to opening scene for Acts for the Invisible- directed by Kate Vinen

Acts for the Invisible- The White Dress

Soundtrack for Acts for the Invisible, Directed by Kate Vinen

Acts for the Invisible- Alter Scene

Acts for the Invisible- Directed by Kate Vinen.

Julia Potter

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