In so much of life we focus on completion as the goal. We’re trained that way from a young age: you don’t finish writing the essay, you don’t get the grade. And bound up with completion is the notion of perfection: you don’t write a ‘good’ essay, you don’t get a good grade.

The same can apply in music. We think about it in its complete form, but at what point does ‘music’ become ‘a piece of music’? How much does the journey from initial creative spark to finished ‘piece’ matter? Is there value in something that is incomplete or un-perfected?

In life, the journey is where we live; where life itself – in all its wonderful messiness – happens. In music, the process of composition is where the unfettered creativity lies. And that, for me, can be the most fascinating bit of all. (Incidentally, this is where AI short-circuits the beauty inherent in the creative process.)

A wonderful example of this happened last week, when a concert I had planned to attend, instead became a sharing of works in progress. Huge hats off to Fiona Robertson, Director of Sound Festival in Aberdeen, and vocalist/composer Laura Bowler, who were faced with a situation where three pieces due to be performed at the festival weren’t ready. “Life happens” said Laura, and instead of cancelling, they pivoted the event to become a sharing of the works in progress.

What emerged was a joyful, fascinating, fun and deeply engaging evening featuring the work of composers Sivan Cohen Elias (pictured with Laura above), Nwando Ebizie and Diana Soh. We saw video clips of workshops, we heard live excerpts, we watched complex tech and sound systems come to life in front of us. We got to understand the inner workings of the creative process and it was such a privilege! It wasn’t polished, but boy was it authentic and interesting. Things even – dare I say it – ‘went wrong’, but in the process of ‘going wrong’ it shed a light on just how much skill Laura and the composer were putting in when it ‘went right.’

After each sharing there was time for questions, and I’ve rarely seen an audience so engaged. Even the kids in the audience got involved: “is that blob the thing making the noise, or is it the microphone?” (If you look closely at the picture above you can see ‘blobs’ taped to the table.)

There will always be a place, and an appetite, for ‘complete’ works in a ‘perfected’ concert format. But let’s also embrace the work in progress and the journey to get there.

This is what Music Patron is all about. It gives people the chance to connect with a composer and have that wonderful, behind-the-scenes insight into the composer’s creative process. When you become a patron, you’re not only giving much-needed support to a composer, you’re enabling their artistic freedom and their creative journey to unfold. And you get a front seat on that journey.