Romania

At the same time that I realised that the pan pipe existed in the Solomon Islands, I also understood that there was a unique style of pan pipe music existing in Romania.

After a year of correspondence to different schools and organisations, trying to find out information and connections to a teacher, I eventually made contact with Cornel Pana and his wife Theodora. Theodora spoke and wrote English, and with her help, I was able to start my plans to get there and take lessons.

In 1997 I was awarded a study scholarship by the Western Australian government, through ArtsWA, to study the nai, or traditional Romanian pan flute. I lived in Romania for just over six months and attained an introduction to what is a sophisticated style of musicianship.

I would also mention Yumiko Nozaki, a wonderful Japanese musician, who was studying in Bucharest at that time. Although we communicated via an abstract mix of English and Romanian, and my two standard Japanese sentences, we both shared a common sense of purpose, and became companions to concerts and the sights of Bucharest. Yumiko has also completed her own wonderful CD of Romanian traditional music.

The overwhelming feeling throughout the first six weeks in Bucharest had been loneliness and self questioning, as to what it was I am actually doing here; why wade through such hurdles to create music? With poverty and human suffering all around me, further threats of war in Iraq and the bombing in Indonesia, what worth did this project have? What value a piece of music?

Slowly, I gained pace with the Romanian language, made new friends and made the decision to collaborate with the only person who had shown any interest in my project. So, together with naist Yumika Nozaki, and bassoon players Adam Siminiceanu, Viorica Feher, Orban Godri and Gabriel Laurentiu, double bass player Silviu Prodam and tsambal musician Stephan Radu we created two new pieces: Geamparelele and Tall Trees. After this process of co-composition, rehearsals and finally recording them, came another low period.

A major piece was started with a wonderful naist, but suddenly he was busy with life, work and the announcement that a first baby was on the way. So after three weeks of missed appointments, and my consequent frustration, I decided to try alternate methods of connecting with musicians. I recorded two improvisations, playing didgeridoo, with virtuostic nai player Cornel Pana, and improvising vocalist Maria Raducanu.

The photo on the left shows Cornel and Peter composing the piece, The Big Slide, from the Life Is Life CD and on the right the wonderful jazz improvising singer Maria Raducanu.

We then recorded nai, tsambal and Romanian language vocals on the Four Corners song (this song having been started in Bolivia and will have sections added to by musicians from four countries).

With my departure for Africa looming, I finally broke through many of the previous barriers and co-composed two new pieces. The first was The Big Slide, with Cornel Pana, and recorded with Mihai Iordache (saxophone), Marius Costache (tuba), Petru Popa (piano), Pechis Suchio (clarinet), Ieronim Pogorizovschi (trombone), Marius Radu (tsambal) and Cornel Pana (nai).

Finally we recorded Nobody Wins At War, together with the musicians listedabove, plus Stephan Radu (tsambal). This song was a reaction to the prospects of another invasion of Iraq, the bombing in Indonesia, stories told to me by a friend Michael Grecu (of his fight not to be in the Romanian army) and the departure to Afghanistan of a nai playing friend Gheorghe Rizea with the army folklore ensemble to play a concert for the Romanian troops stationed there. This is an anti war song.

In the last month and a half I managed to answer much of my initial questioning. It is those times, rehearsing, recording or simply chatting and finding out about real peoples lives, their views and philosophies; when you see that musician close their eyes and put every ounce of their breath into a piece of music, the creative process. All these helped distill those positive reasons for making art!

My personal deep gratitude goes to all those musicians, instrument makers, translators and friends who made my time in Romania a memorable one. Adding to the musicians already mentioned, and in no particular order, they are: Alex Bratianu, Michael Grecu, Viorica Feher, Adam Siminiceanu, Mihai Chibu, Don Cairns (Australian Consul General), Victor Panfilov and Sergei, Ion Preda and wife, Ionut Preda, Ionut si Irina, Victoria and Gheorghe Rizea, Gheorghe Zamfir, Vasile Fornea and wife, Cornel Pana and Theodora Pana, Marin Baban (Marinica) and wife, Stefan Radu, Ion Negura and the students at George Enescu Music School, Costel Fodor, Gheorghe Dumitru and Yumika Nozaki and Accolade

My thanks also go to my mother Melva Keelan, my brothers John and Paul, and Geoff Prince and Kaye Stott, all for their enormous and continuing background support.