Vote for Tree of Life composition by Newbury Watermill founder
Some may remember, a little over half a century ago, David Gollins founded and built The Watermill theatre. In 2017 he returned to The Watermill to recount the early days of its inception, and, he says, "apart from its present well-deserved world prestige was proud to find the place little changed since I left it in the 80s".
David is now hoping his Newbury connections will garner votes for his composition Tree of Life in the final round of the online World Vision Composers Contest.
World Vision Composers Contest is designed to support talented authors of classical compositions. The music piece of the competition winner will be performed by the Orchestra NOW! in the great hall of the Konzerthaus Vienna, Austria.
David studied classical composition at the Royal College of Music, London; but the ‘swinging sixties’ attracted him into the theatre world, which was then going through quite an exciting period. Here he composed various pieces of incidental theatre music as well as designing and directing. He built and founded The Watermill theatre.
From the 80s he was engaged on the production staff of the English National Opera, and time permitting, composed various musical projects. From the mid-90s he lived in Italy, and studied Belle Arte in Rome, exhibiting annually in Italy Germany and the US. David returned to Britain in 2019, where he now lives and composes.
"Quite a few still remembered me at my Watermill talk," he says, and he is asking them to give his composition a listen and if they like what they hear, to vote. The Tree of Life is for orchestra and narrator (himself) and, David feels, "contributes an allegorical meaningful plea against world deforestation".
In this work, the final round of the World Vision composers competition, David has written a piece symbolising "the very real and serious world problem of deforestation in the time of modern consumer activity over the last billionth of a second of man’s existence on the planet". Italian sculptor Andrea Roggi's iconic bronzes of The Tree of Life led to the inspiration of this piece.
David says he is grateful for the chance, through the competition, to express his heart felt concern for the environment and for the very delicate finite world we all live in – and thanks past voters for helping him to get into the final round.
To listen and vote, visit wvcomposers.classic-at-home.com/participants/522
