Programme Note
Inspired by the malleability yet fragility of glass, “Glass Forms” follows a glass sculptor shaping a glass figurine of a dancer, as a metaphor for sculpting our dreams. Throughout the piece, dynamic swells are used extensively to reflect the malleability of glass transforming into different forms, and echoes alluding to the beautiful reflectivity of glass.
“Glass Forms” highlights the warmth of the brasses, agility of the winds, and the gentle and glassy timbre of mallet percussion. The piece opens with a sustained texture built on a motive derived from the word “glass”, capturing the warm, fiery glow of thick orange molten glass. Undue pressure is then applied to the glass, causing it to shatter into many fragments. This is reflected in a powerful rhythmic tutti section that highlights the beauty and strength of each glass shard. Through cycles of gentle sculpting, growth and reconstruction, the glass shards gradually form into a beautiful figure of a dancer.
Influenced by Grainger’s melody-first approach to constructing musical material, Dancing Figures are used in this piece. This is a notation style that I have been developing over the past few years, derived from tracing dance photographs into hand-drawn dancing stick figures. This visual material is then reinterpreted as melodic contours, which are then layered with various harmonies. Ultimately, through exploring how brittle yet beautiful glass is, requiring tenderness and care for a sculpture to form, “Glass Forms” reminds us to be gentle with ourselves as we continue to shape our actions and chase our dreams.
Composer biography
Su Min Lee is a composer, harpist, improviser, pianist and dancer whose artistic practice centers around exploring the links between sound and movement. As a composer, she enjoys exploring the versatile sound colours of combining the harp with various instruments. She has written and premiered new works for, and with, Monash Percussion Studio, Syzygy Ensemble, and Nicole Canham. She also frequently collaborates with dancers, having composed music for choreographies in dACADEMY Singapore’s annual dance production, BREATH (2022-2025), and co-directed and co-composed Chrysalis (2024), a new Contemporary dance work by Monash Uni Student Theatre (MUST). As a harpist and improviser, she has performed with the Monash Academy Orchestra and Monash Art Ensemble (2023-2025), and alongside artists including Paul Grabowsky, Ngaiire, Sandy Evans, Raymond MacDonald, and Mindy Meng Wang.
Su Min’s awards include winning the 2024 Allan Zavod Performers’ Award, 2024 ANZCA Composition Scholarship, and 2022 Composition and Music Technology Award. Her solo piano composition, Fly High, Butterfly, has been published by ANZCA Music Examinations in the Associate Performer Diploma (Classical Pianoforte) 2025-2027 syllabus. She also received a Green Room nomination for Outstanding Sound Design in Independent Theatre for her harp improvisation and performance on Felix Nobis’ Beowulf: Reforged (2024), presented at Melbourne Fringe Festival. Su Min has also released eight albums, several singles, and dance films. She aspires to continue to compose music for the stage, while collaborating with artists from various backgrounds to create art that connects.