Interview with Samuel Stalder

Where are you from?

Being a third culture kid, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where I’m from, but I can definitely try.

My passport country is French although I’ve never lived there myself. I’m a combination of French, Swiss and Indian nationalities. I was born in Thailand and lived there most of my life until I moved to India and Hungary. I wouldn’t say I’m from any of these places, but I certainly hold a special place for them in my heart.

How was your first day at AISB?

As first days generally go, my first day of AISB was really good! I was of course a little nervous, but my assigned buddy that I got to know over the summer really helped me move in easier. Within the first break-time, I was already meeting and making new friends with loads of people, all of which I still have good contacts with till today. It was a wonderful experience as everyone I met was really friendly and helpful. I managed to go to all my classes correctly that day. I’m sure every new person that comes to school can confidently say that it feels like a maze. Of course, once you go there everyday, you’ll know the halls inside out.

What are some of the best memories from AISB?

The Grade 11 fall trip in Croatia was one of the biggest highlights for me. That was the experience that really solidified friendships with my classmates. I can still remember the whole trip to this day.

There were loads of great moments of struggle, laughter and adventure. I think it’ll definitely stay as one of my best experiences I’ve ever had. Of course, I can’t forget some of the memories of school that I had ranging from performing as the drummer in the Legally Blonde musical to learning a new theory in psychology that completely changed my perspective on everything. The environment I was in allowed me to gain these great memories. I’ll never forget the one drum solo I got in the song, ‘What you want’ from the musical. It was an absolute blast to play (pun intended). Or in psychology class, learning about Schema Theory and how that completely changed my perspective on the way we think. I could recall so many memories from all my classes, but it would all be too much to put here.

Which one of the teachers made the biggest impression on your life and why?

It’s hard to choose just one teacher as they all made a pretty big impression on my life, but if I had to choose one, it would be Ms Arnold, my psychology teacher. When I first came into her class, it was unlike any other environment I’ve been in. I was always so used to strict teachers and following orders, learning content, then reciting it on an exam. However, with her class, I could immediately sense the friendliness and compassion she had for her students. Not only that, but just the way we were taught to think critically. It was no more just learning and regurgitating. I found myself making connections with the content we learned and applying that in class, then creating new ideas from those connections. All of this with the friendly and relaxed nature of the classroom that was fostered by none other than Ms Arnold. Her caring, friendly attitude and effective way of teaching has certainly had an impact on the way that I communicate with and help people to this day.

What have you been up to since you left AISB?

As I’m pursuing to be a composer for media when I grow up, I’ve been working on many projects writing music for different clients. I’ve been varying the sort of projects I work on as much as I can.

Currently, I’m working on one game, one film and two albums for production companies. One of the companies supplies the music for all the movie trailers you see online and on TV. At the moment, I’m working on the very same music that might be used for those trailers. It’s lengthy process, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. In all, alongside university I’ve been trying to build my credits by working on as many projects as I can so that I can potentially have a foot in the industry when graduation comes along.

What do you like most about writing music?

I think its the feeling you get when you see your project come together and sound good. If I could compare it to one feeling, it would be when you can finally play that piece on piano perfectly.

When your score comes together and the harmonies, textures and rhythms make sense with each other, it’s the most rewarding feeling one can get. Sometimes it can take weeks to come to that stage, but it’s all worth it in the end. Of course, you also get a really nice sounding product that you can add to your catalogue of compositions. The idea that this is a product of my own labour is also another aspect I love about writing music.

Can you explain how you might compose a new piece of work?

If you ask any composer this question, I guarantee that their answer will be different. That’s the best part of composition. There is no specific process to write music, you can do it however you like. I myself use a few different methods depending on the style of music. However, I’ll usually write something thematic which carries the same process each time. For the most part, the whole idea sits in my head and I just have to translate that to the computer. It’ll start off with laying the idea down on a piano sketch with MIDI. From there, I’ll apply aspects of the sketch to different instruments in the orchestra and see how they sound. I’ll usually play around with this until I’m satisfied with the texture and harmony. From there, I’ll add more harmony to more instruments and add some rhythm, counterpoint and/or ornamentation to spice up the melody. Once I get a produced idea, I’ll start constructing the rest of the music from there to create a realistic sounding mockup. Once it’s done, I can title it and move on to another piece of work.

However, in the rare case where I might be able to have the music recorded with live instruments and players, I’l then prepare the score in a notation software. I’ll first copy the MIDI data of the music and paste it in a notation programme. By itself it can sometimes look like an utter mess and completely unreadable to the players. It’s in the notation programme where I then have to add dynamic markings, articulations, slurs etc. Essentially instructions for the players to understand how to play the music better. Once I finish the preparation, I’ll have a score that perfectly represents my digital mockup.

What would you consider the most challenging aspect of composing music?

Keeping it simple. I find that when you get too lost in the composition process with too many ideas, you start to get a composition that does too much at once. Over my years of composing, I’ve learnt to take a step back and analyse whether all the music works together or not. I’m still learning this properly as I do find myself putting too many ideas in at once. Even if they sound good, they may not necessarily be coherent. Making music coherent is inherently a harder job than that of composition. I do have a lot to learn in that area.

How has AISB helped you with your composer career?

AISB gave me the opportunity to explore that career more than I ever would at any other school I went to. The IB music programme allowed me to explore orchestral composition in lots of detail. The tasks I did for the course also doubled as submission material for university. I can say that AISB did give me the opportunity to pursue composition as a career. If I didn’t do IB music, it would have been a lot harder to dedicate time to composing. As well as giving me the opportunity, AISB helped me showcase my music in front of audiences which helped me build up the confidence to apply for music universities. I can owe it to all those HS music concerts in strengthening my confidence to showcase my work. Finally, the music course I did at AISB taught me a lot about instruments and how we play them. This further helped with my understanding of the orchestra. A lot of the knowledge I have of the instruments of the orchestra comes from those classes.

How did AISB influence you as a person and build your character?

AISB was very much a part of my character growth throughout the two years I was there. There are two main attributes that I think stand out from the rest. Firstly would be confidence. Before coming to AISB, I was quite a shy person. I wasn’t very good in social situations. AISB taught me how to speak to people I’ve never met before and make a good first impression. It also taught me how to speak in front of crowds without feeling the nerves creeping up on me. Most importantly though, AISB taught me how to take things in a calm and cool way. This could range from the stress of IB to embarrassing encounters. Whichever situation I’m in, I’ll always take it with a calm and positive attitude because life’s too short to worry greatly about anything. Secondly, AISB taught me how to collaborate effectively. Collaboration was always that one thing in life for me where it would either go really well or really poorly for me. AISB taught me how to collaborate with anybody effectively and happily. This can tie in with building confidence, but more than that, it’s the aspect of diplomacy I found at AISB that inspired me to be a good collaborator.

Who is your favourite composer?

If you asked that question to my professors in university, they’ll know the answer in a heartbeat.

“John Powell”. You’ve probably never heard the name, but you’ve definitely heard his music as is the case with most film composers. He’s composed the soundtrack for all the major Hollywood animated features - How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Happy Feet, Rio, Ice Age, Antz, The Road to El Dorado, SOLO etc. His music evokes a sense of whimsical and bombastic nature. With pieces such as Test Drive, See You Tomorrow and This Is Berk being prime examples of that. I think it’s the way he breaks all the rules of composition and just overwrites everything to oblivion. Most of all, its the way he makes music that fits the film so well.

That’s the main reason I love his music. His command of emotion is beyond anything I’ve heard, even with the likes of Romantic period composers such as Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

My biggest dream is to create music for animated movies. As a child I would always hum the soundtracks to all the films I saw. Whenever I hear a soundtrack from my childhood, a wave of nostalgia floods over me. I think it would be great to be the bearer of such nostalgia for future generations. In 10 years I would love to be at a desk or studio writing music for a beautiful animated sequence of moving picture.