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In Touch With Humanity

© Anne-Marie de Bruin

If you're any kind of film buff you may have wondered where the soundtrack may have come from. But what if you took it a step further? You may even have wondered about the composer. Where did they come from? Just what was their inspiration for getting into film music and how did they get started? Picture this then. What if you could isolate a moment in time and talk to one of the film composers before they made it big, before they got started. What would have been their thoughts, inspirations and dreams?

With these thoughts in mind, I set out to find just such a young musician, someone with promise and talent, so I could perhaps record what they were like now and maybe twenty years from now I could say I interviewed them and this is what they said...

Dave Koelmeyer is one such up and coming artist. Currently a student at Auckland University's Music School Dave composed the music for the recent successful season of Antipasto Theatre at the Maidment, has been featured in Concert FM's Festival Of Youth and has plans to compose for film and theatre.

Dave (23) got his start to music quite early in life. "Mum enrolled me in piano tuition at the age of six and I stayed with that for nine years. I chose to sit School Certificate music at college (De La Salle in Mangere) but it wasn't until sixth form that I decided I wanted to make music my life. This was around the time I started to compose - using a computer system, which our music teacher had installed in the music department. After college I went to a polytechnic to study audio engineering for 2 years, and eventually ended up at Auckland University School of Music in 1998 where I am currently studying part-time."

Having interviewed former Music School student and successful film composer, Victoria Kelly, a couple of years ago, I was curious to find out from Dave what exactly was happening at the School right now. "Well, I've just completed my second year of study there and it's been great. The subject matter is generally pretty dry, but the staff are all really interesting people and it's always a pleasure to be around other young musicians. For me the Music School isn't so much about what I learn - which may seem like a stupid thing to say - but I really am not too interested in how to write Baroque 4-part harmony or Renaissance Counterpoint. For me it's about people - I'm just fascinated with learning more about other people and what they have to say, both in words and music."

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