Denmark musician Robin Thomson on the “privilege” of teaching and validation of his compositions being played

Music is “like breathing” for Denmark multi-instrumentalist Robin Thomson, whose career of more than 40 years has seen him teach hundreds of aspiring musicians to play, most recently becoming an award-winning composer. Working from his home studio in Hay, Thomson divides his time between teaching piano to his 20-odd students and writing his own music. Having only taken up composing relatively recently, Thomson was “completely taken aback” to win first prize at the inaugural 2024 Duncan Gardiner Memorial Guitar Ensemble Composition Competition on December 8 with his piece Please, Please Rain. Thomson said the six-minute work was inspired by the 2024 Walpole bushfire that destroyed 13,700ha of bushland, and the underlying issue of climate change. He said the piece was designed to be a bit “different” and “slightly uncomfortable to listen to, as the topic is to hear about”. “Please, Please Rain is the daily plea of rural West Australians experiencing increasingly prolonged, hotter, and drier summers,” he said. “The piece employs a diverse range of tones and textures to evoke the sounds of nature, the intensity of the elements, and a multitude of emotions, including palpable fear.” The win over seven other emerging composers from around Australia, is an indication for Thomson he is on the right track. Hailing from Perth, Thomson first picked up a guitar at 15, but it wasn’t until he was 24 he began seriously considering music as a career, attending the WA Academy of Performing Arts for a Diploma of Music Teaching in its second year, and becoming the first student to graduate from the program as a guitarist. After teaching in Perth for four years, Thomson moved to Denmark, where he founded the South Coast School of Guitar, later known as South Coast School of Music, teaching hundreds of Great Southern children and adults how to play. Following a 20-year stint as a business and IT teacher at South Regional TAFE, Thomson decided to return to his real love of music, but this time with the goal of composing. “In 2009 I cut off all my guitar-playing fingernails and started up on piano,” he said. “I’ve played guitar all my life but piano is the instrument that is best to compose with, and composing really is the ultimate form of musical life in many ways. “There’s nothing as satisfying as playing your own music or listening to other people playing it as well.” Thomson said listening to the WA Guitar Society orchestra perform his winning piece in December was “very validating”, with the competition performance marking his first return to WAAPA since graduation, and the presence of his first guitar teacher Jane Ridgen at WAGS’s helm a “full-circle” moment. Thomson estimates he has now composed more than 150 pieces, including string quartets, choral pieces, baroque ensembles, jazz, blues, pop rearrangements, and works dedicated to each of his eight grandchildren. Although he is currently working towards a Bachelor of Music specialising in composition online with the Australian Guild of Education in Melbourne and churning out new pieces as fast as he can, Thomson still holds a special place in his heart for teaching. “I’ll always be a teacher. It’s one of the best professions to be in because you can really help change people’s life,” he said. “One of my students was dying of Leukaemia when they came to me and their one goal in life was to learn piano, which they did. “I received the advantages of a great education, so the onus is on me to pass that on and I consider it a great privilege.” Robin Thomson’s work is available at robinthomson.com.au.