Description
Duration 7:20 min
Winner of the 2025 Australian National Youth Composition Competition (ABODA National) and premiered by the Sydney Youth Orchestra Philharmonic at ANBOC 2026
Weep No More (Elegy for String Orchestra) is a poignant and evocative piece for advanced level string orchestra. It is written in the style of an elegy, a composition which traditionally reflects on a solemn occasion or a tragic event, such as the loss of a friend or loved one.
The title is taken from a poem by John Keats (‘Faery Songs’), in which death is portrayed as a natural part of the cycle of life and renewal.
The piece unfolds gradually, weaving gently between melodic fragments and subtle dissonances before coming to a sudden climax, with an abrupt moment of silence. As it nears its end, it begins to fade, returning to the opening motif in a representation of the journey through grief and loss to a place of acceptance, where the process of healing can begin for those left behind.
William Clegg is an emerging composer who lives in Brisbane. A graduate of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Compose Program and the Australian Young Composer Program, he plays trombone with the Queensland Youth Orchestras and is studying jazz trombone at the Queensland Conservatorium (Griffith University).
Standard String Orchestra Instrumentation