End of year playlist from Making Waves:  this is a marathon collection of all Soundcloud tracks featured in playlists this year.  Your holiday listening sorted!

2017 Waves

A Dawning

Bedrock (feat. Sandrayati)

On spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/61IzMVyODlZuthWLmWN7oM?si=d029eaf7623a4d9a

I wanted to capture a piece of my life in New York, blending hip hop, Latin, brasshouse, salsa, and jazz, all wrapped in my signature fantasy orchestral style. This one was pure joy to make, maybe the most fun I’ve ever had writing music, and I hope that energy comes through when you listen.

A Fantasy in the Bronx

I always gravitate towards those watery type textures. I hope you like the piece! You can check it out on spotify as well: https://open.spotify.com/track/6jYAPfyncVp0b7FOKCQldb?si=237b86469de64a53

The artist of the artwork is Shannon M. Valentine

The Water Nymph

I was lucky enough to write for Hon Thom's Aquatopia Water Park. Here is a short segment that includes some of the themes. Thanks for the listen! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_2Qyqrjnw&feature=youtu.be

Voyage of Wonders (Aquatopia Water Park)

Art by Lee Kent

You always have to jump back into your fantasy roots for a bit. Thanks for the listen

Lament of the Elves

Writing this was straight up fun. Hope you like it! It's part of my new album Imaginarium, now on Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2LbrI5AdHMhwIp5NHVfA2w?si=ce2e471ffad14f35


Journey to the Spice Isles

This piece is very dear to me, I hope you enjoy it! 

We Fell in Love That November

Concertino for double bass and orchestra.

World premiere performance by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Reade, with double bass soloist Matthew McGrath, at Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna/Hobart, on 3 October 2025.

Where Things Were Once Conjoined is a work of collage: a process of reconfiguring, smearing, bending, sculpting, collapsing, smashing, disfiguring and reanimating. To Frankenstein is to be a restless, defiant creature that ruptures protocols through highly attuned mechanisms, taxonomies and rituals.

where things were once conjoined (2025)

Responsibility

A response to the lives lost in Paris, November 2015. The piece attempts to portray the confused but overwhelmingly energised inner workings of a young, fanaticised mind and give form to their misshapen and distorted reality.

Works by playwright Wole Soyinka influenced my choice of perspective when approaching this topic. 

… the shadowy one, the waiter-stalker, a youth
 Fed on dreams of sarabands of houris
 Doe-eyed virgins, wine and sweetmeats in the afterlife 
But to his paradise, a key - the plunging knife. 

an excerpt from Samarkand
by Wole Soyinka

The Fanatic or I Am Right You Are Dead

From 'The Homeric Hymns'

In Greek mythology, Hermes was the Olympian god of boundaries and transitions. He was depicted as a capricious and astute character able to move freely between the mortal and divine worlds. Hermes was an emissary for the gods; a conciliator between the mortals and the divine. He was also charged with guiding souls into the afterlife.

Hymn to Hermes

Commissioned by Samantha Wolf for International Women's Day 2016 concert: This Will Be Our Reply. First performed on 7th March 2016 by Tamara Kohler, Gemma Tomlinson, Aaron Klein, & Adam McMillan.

There is usually more complexity on the inside than what is initially seen.

"On the Inside" explores the many aspects of identity throughout a woman’s life, from growth to complexity, (as opposed to innocence to uselessness). It rejects the idea that women are to be seen as objects only, that a woman’s value lies in her physical attributes and functionality to another. 

Musically, this piece started with a single small motif that is heard about a third of the way in, which I then grew and developed continuously. Despite rejecting external ideals, aspects that might be perceived as "beauty" have been retained because, like all characteristics, beauty is not something to be ashamed of or feared.

On The Inside

[text by Rhys Nixon, composed && performed by Dan Thorpe].

going wild here on the footpath

a dog looked at me, walked away

going to buy a dog off amazon after getting something to eat

send pictures of dogs to strangers

no one sends any back

windows fogged up 

cant see inside

 

what am i doing between tabs i’m not looking at

another day, another empty mail box

no we don’t want to subscribe to your newsletter

no we are happy with our bandwidth 

no we don’t care about your coupons

no this letter isn’t meant for us


been waiting outside way too long

yes, it’s exactly what it looks like, more than one train approaching

walk down the street in pajamas, will people even look 

they glance and mutter

they really do need to subscribe

looks like their bandwidth is low

probably uses coupons

 

walking on footpaths, broken rubbish bag

empty milk bottles rolling into gutters

think of picking them up

we don’t, look at the bus drive past

everyone waiting

 

i can use this, open a store, sell my ideas

watches don’t tell the time, coffee tastes like water

inbuilt spelling mistake maker

automatic Facebook liker

app that answers the door

service that compares all the dogs in your area

white noise dream catcher

 

if i tackled a police officer would people stop me

or will the police officer step aside

consider this while waiting for a coffee

consider this while you exit the train station

consider that the police officer 

didn’t look at you

 

i walked into traffic and all the cars stopped politely, 

the drivers weren't watching me

if you were waiting for me

i’m sorry about that

it must be the water

can i get a drink

 

i’ll look at a sad picture and not feel the need to cry

until someone says ‘wow that made me cry a lot’

we’ll walk to the bank

take all our money

throw it on the road

watch cars drive over it

pick it up and deposit it again

 

don’t worry about it, honestly, 

i’ll make sure to stand up straighter

and meet up with friends

we’ll be the friendliest people

on the end of our street

in our complex

in our combined bank account

linked to our insurance company

 

bury my face in funny videos

don’t want to know anymore

turn the volume down here so i wont be noticed

give up sleeping

stay up every day

everything feels blue

we won’t be photographed

Considerate

What can we do, there's nothing to do,
about sickness and hunger and dying.
What can we do, there's nothing to do,
nothing but cursing and crying.

Find something to burn.
Let it go up in smoke.
burn your troubles away.

Sometimes it's witches or what will you choose?
Sometimes it's lunatics, shut them away.
It's blacks and it's women and often it's Jews.
We's all be quite happy if they'd go away.

Find something to burn.
Let it go up in smoke.
burn your troubles away.

The lyrics of Caryl Churchill from her play 'Vinegar Tom'. Performed and composed by ALPHAMALE (https://soundcloud.com/dad-dreams) and Marlene Claudine Radice. This piece premiered in COUP Canberra's 2016 production of Vinegar Tom.
http://www.agac.com.au/2016/12/the-musicians-of-vinegar-tom/

Cut Common interview with Hannah and Marlene: http://www.cutcommonmag.com/how-can-we-use-music-to-achieve-social-change/

Something To Burn

Mark Holdsworth [BMus, BA (Hons), MMus] is an Australian composer and researcher currently based in Perth, Western Australia. Holdsworth is a graduate of the University of Western Australia's Conservatorium of Music; he received first class honours for his Bachelor of Arts (2015) and was awarded the coveted Rupert Thackray Prize for Music Education,  he was also the recipient of a full Australian Postgraduate Award for his Master of Music (2018). Holdsworth studied primarily under renowned Australian composers James Ledger and Dr. Christopher Tonkin.

Holdsworth's current projects include four new commissions for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as part of the 2018-19 Australian Composers School, and 2 new commissions for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as part of Holdsworth's appointment as the MSO Young Composer in Residence for 2019.

... Holdsworth's works have been premiered by some of Australia's most prestigious musicians. In 2010, he was selected for the National Composers Forum (Adelaide) where he received tutelage under composer Carl Vine. The event culminated in the premiere of his Frida Kahlo Portraits by the Australian String Quartet. In 2014, he was selected for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra's Young & Emerging Artists: Composition Project, culminating in the premiere of his Chamber Symphony: A Broken Vow (further information and podcasts may be accessed through the official ABC and Australian Music Centre websites). Holdsworth was subsequently commissioned by Ted Snell and the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery to compose Primrose for the 2014 Momento Mori Exhibition. In 2015, Holdsworth was selected to attend the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra's Composer's School culminating in a performance of Odyssey, Holdsworth's symphonic overture, for which he was awarded the Dorothy Ellen Ransom Prize in the previous year. His relationship with the TSO has since led to the collaborative education project Songbook. Holdsworth has also worked on various film projects including the FTI WA short film Outline directed by Cody Cameron-Brown, which premiered at the Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner in 2016. The short was nominated for 5 Western Australian Screen Awards including Best Original Music. In 2016, he was commissioned by Andrew Foote and the School of Music at the University of Western Australia to compose Komm Du a work for solo soprano, mixed choir and wind symphony. Komm Du was premiered by Gemma McNamee, the UWA Symphony Chorus and Wind Orchestra. Holdsworth was accepted into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's 2016 Composition Summer School where he received tutelage under Sir James MacMillan, Gordon McPherson, Oliver Searle, Rory Boyle and David Fennessey. His work for sextet, The Ashes of Time was performed and recorded by the RCS's ensemble in residence, Musiclab. Following his involvement at the RCS, cellist Krista Low gave the world premiere of Holdsworth's latest solo cello work The Crucible at Academie Voix Nouvelles, Royaumont Abbey, north of Paris, France. In 2017, Holdsworth was among four composers selected nationwide to attend the Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp where his second chamber symphony, A Fool's Prayer, was premiered by an ensemble comprising tutors of the AYO NMC. Holdsworth was subsequently commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to compose a new work for the 2017 Cybec Composition Program. L'appel du vide was premiered by a subset of the MSO in February 2018. Holdsworth was consequently appointed the MSO Cybec Young Composer in Residence for 2019. Holdsworth has also been chosen to return to the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra's Composer's School for their new two-year reformatted program involving the commission of four new works across 2018-19.

Making Waves is a monthly series of curated playlists streaming one hour of quality, new composed music.  Founded in 2015, Making Waves shines a spotlight on the music of Australian composers. Fresh playlists are released on the first day of each month and older playlists are made available all year round via our archives; perfect for those with just a few minutes to explore one track or for hours perusing a myriad of diverse sound-worlds.


The project offers wider exposure to emerging composers, their music and the talented performers who champion it. We also provide an easy-to-access platform for listeners to sit back and enjoy a curated hour of exciting new music or explore our living composers more actively.  The playlist themes (and media through which they’re shared eg. Soundcloud, YouTube) evolve each month depending on the content received directly from our talented composers.

At its core Making Waves is a curated listening space. In 2016 we branched into producing our own content through a special project, Making Conversation, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Making Conversation: Australian Composers Project is a series of podcasts and vodcasts presenting the human side of living Australian composers, released on popular audiovisual and social platforms mid-2017.
Composers Lisa Cheney (Melbourne) and Peggy Polias (Sydney) are curating this project.

 Listeners, we encourage you to explore current and past playlists and discover more about our featured composers. 

Composers, we encourage you to send us links to your streamable audio via our website. Visit: www.makingwavesnewmusic.com for more information.

Hymn to Hermes

Mark Holdsworth

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