Aidyn Martens performs "More Than My Words," an original composition for the Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festival.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The composition class during the Medicine Hat Rotary Music Festival has had the same two competitors for several years, and like each year before, they were thrilled to show off their latest creations.
Sixteen-year-old Aidyn Martens and 18-year-old Anders Currah have each been creating their own original pieces for as long as they can remember.
“Honestly, I mostly do it for the fun of it,” said Currah. “Having Rotary every year is great motivation to keep composing, too.”
His song, an alt-pop piece with a working title of “The Road Less Travelled,” was both inspired by and references the poem by Robert Frost, encapsulating his feelings as he prepares to go to university and move into the next stage of his life. Currah performed every piece of the music himself, though he admits the recording he presented is not the one he had originally wanted to enter.
“I’ve been working on a good copy with a live performance of the piano and everything properly mixed and mastered, but I blew up my voice a few days ago doing my musical theatre class, so I couldn’t finish it,” said Currah. He ultimately played a cleaned up version of his original copy.
For Martens’ piece, a piano instrumental called “More Than My Words,” she says it came to her as a melody in her head, and she was simply compelled to bring it to life.
While she mostly listens to country music, the pop-influenced piece was meant to evoke strong emotions in the listener.
Both artists commented that they were grateful for the insights provided by adjudicator Karl Schwonik and that they were deeply helpful, as they helped them notice things about their creative decisions they may not have otherwise done.
“Everybody has different opinions. Music is like art so it’s nice to get someone else’s opinions and ideas to make you better,” said Martens.
