A music graduate with a talent for composing has won a top university prize.
John Aulich’s distinctive portfolio of musical works earned him exceptionally high marks as he achieved a first class Bachelor of Music degree from Huddersfield University.
Manchester-born John secured the prestigious Chancellor’s Prize and will now embark on an MA course in composition.
John’s musical career began as a guitarist and it was during A-level studies at college that his music caught the ear of composer Dr Matthew Sergeant, a former University of Huddersfield PhD researcher who is now a member of its music department.
“Matt seemed to think I had a knack for composition,” said John, who has been particularly influenced at the university by Dr Bryn Harrison and Prof Aaron Cassidy, who will now supervise his MA work.
John, who describes himself an experimental composer, said: “I am trying to push the boundaries and create situations in which new things can happen, partly by finding ways to harness the creative agencies of performances and audiences, first and foremost as people, without shirking my responsibilities as a composer.”
John, who lives on a boat on Huddersfield Narrow Canal, composes for small ensembles, using a mixture of conventional classical instruments with electronics. By the same token, he uses a combination of standard scores with graphical symbols.
“It is just a way of notating things that can’t be notated conventionally,” said John. “The way that I write the music is fairly ambiguous, so there is room to make decisions. No two performances will be the same.”
In addition to his Chancellor’s Prize, John has also been awarded the J. Wood and Sons Prize for Composition and the Truscott Prize for all-round achievement.
