Christopher Mortlock

What does music mean to you personally?

An opportunity for emotional engagement and self-expression, ideally as a shared experience with others. In hindsight, I realise that I did a lot of my emotional development through music, as unhealthy behavioural paradigms like "boys don’t cry" were still prevalent in the '90s and '00s. Participating in music was a kind of valve for me. I’ve never had the constitution or the discipline to be a good performer, so composition was the natural choice. That said, I’ve sung in choirs for many years, and I find this extremely enjoyable and meaningful (although you’ll never catch me singing a solo!).

Do you agree that music is all about fantasy?

I’m not very good at big questions like this, but I suppose I would say that I don’t think music is about anything in particular, but if it were, it certainly wouldn’t be about just one thing!

If you were not a professional musician, what would you have been?

I’m very fortunate to be able to answer this non-hypothetically. After studying music at university and working as a composer for a few years, I realised I would also really enjoy working in healthcare. I decided to put music on hold for a while and retrained as a doctor, graduating in 2020 (could have timed it better…). I now balance my time between composition and working in hospitals. It’s difficult, but I’m in good company (Keats was an apothecary, Arthur Conan Doyle was an ophthalmologist, etc.).

The classical music audience is getting old, are you worried about the future?

In some respects, yes, but I remain broadly positive. I cultivated a love for classical music through listening to film soundtracks in my teens; especially John Williams, who I’m still obsessed with. Loads of my friends who aren’t “musical” - whatever that means - listen to this stuff and often find their way to classical music from there. I’m sure young people will continue to seek out classical music, but the way they discover it will keep evolving. Obviously, it would be fantastic if there were strong political interest in providing a solid arts education in state schools - including classical music - but evidently, this is not the case.

What do you envision the role of music to be in the 21st century? Do you see that there is a transformation of this role?

This question is much harder than the last one I thought I was not clever enough to answer!

Do you think that the musician today needs to be more creative? What is the role of creativity in the musical process for you?

I think musicians are already doing their best to utilise their creativity. It’s a tough profession, and without invention and innovation, success is rare. I don’t know what it was like to be a musician in the past, but I imagine the same amount of creativity was required to do the job well. In my case, I’ve found that creativity in composition is more about craft than inspiration. I need a spark to get the ball rolling and I’ll improvise around key ideas, but after that, it becomes quite analytical and procedural.

Do you think we as musicians can do something to attract the younger generation to music concerts? How would you do this?

Absolutely! If classical music is absent from the lives of the younger generation, we just need to demonstrate to them that they’re missing out. Arts organisations in the UK think about this a lot and dedicate time to outreach and diversifying their target audiences. I don’t have any bright ideas to add, but I’m confident that some great people are working on the problem.

Tell us about your creative process. What is your favorite piece (written by you) and how did you start working on it?

The last piece I really loved working on was a song cycle I finished at Yaddo (New York) in 2024. I’d been commissioned by New Music On The Bayou to write a piece for their 2025 festival, and I wanted to do something that drew on my experiences in medicine. I found an incredible set of poems by Leanne O’Sullivan, written while her husband was recovering from a severe illness in an Intensive Care Unit. I had to work for a few weeks before I got any music down that felt good enough, but I was really motivated to get it right. The soprano and pianist who performed the cycle were outstanding, so the piece had the best first outing I could have hoped for.

Can you give some advice for young people who want to discover classical music for themselves?

Ideally, just jump in and give it a try. This stuff has been around for ages; some of it must be good! There’s a great thing BBC Radio 3 does called Classical Mixtape, which is 30 minutes of uninterrupted music, usually made up of 6–8 pieces. If that’s not for you, then maybe try paying more attention to the music in the next film you watch or game you play. If you like it, look up the composer and discover more of their work. From there, you might want to learn who influenced them, and that will probably lead you to some classical music. Finally, as a last resort, there’s probably some classical music somewhere on TikTok, but please don’t ask me how to find it, because I don’t know, and I’d really like to keep it that way.

Do you think about the audience when composing?

Sometimes, especially if the music is intended to directly express something, or to express something in collaboration with another medium.

What projects are coming up? Do you experiment in your projects?

Currently, I’m working on a few choral pieces for choirs in New Zealand (where I was living until February; I’ve now moved back to the UK), and I’m putting the finishing touches on a piece for organ and alto saxophone, which has been really fun to write. As I’m newly back in the UK after a few years away, I’ll be spending some time networking and finding new projects to dive into. I’d also love to start writing music for games, TV, or film. I’ve mostly written chamber and choral music up to this point, so I’m keen to diversify; especially since it was music in those media that originally led me to composition. If anyone is interested in commissioning a piece or working with me on a project, then send me an email. I’d love to hear from you! cmortlockcomposer@gmail.com