The ‘elsewhereness’ of post-genre: utilising playfulness of cross-genre references as a compositional device

This set of three works individually and collectively examine the ‘elsewhereness’ of post-genre composition. Through this research, I seek to develop a hybrid compositional aesthetic through the absorption, integration and referencing of a highly personal set of ‘influences’, many from outside the sphere of classical music. A fundamental concern is the examination of the role of ‘compositional play’ or ‘playfulness’ in unifying a multi-faceted compositional language. This is often manifested through intertextuality and the juxtaposition of diverse elements that are made to function at a structural or conceptual level. Through practice-based research, I obfuscate notions of genre, performance practice and content. Using the referencing of other musics as a compositional tool, I identify playfulness as a filter through which models of influence are transformed into something personal in an attempt to define what post-genre means to a 21st century composer. On a meta-structural level, reference becomes a parameter in its own right