PAUL Jarman has composed music for events and choirs across the world, but he said it is the enthusiasm of young children that continues to inspire him. Speaking at the Armidale School’s Junior School Speech Day, he told students, teachers and parents that the key to success was to keep doing what they enjoy doing. “What would you like to be when you grow up? I hope it is happy. If you do what you love in life, you’ll find happiness and meaning. Do what you love, and you’ll find love, give love and be loved,” he said. He also told parents that if they look at the child within themselves, they will usually find happiness and joy which can add richness and meaning to life. “Bring your own energy into your life. Communication, innovation, adaptation, will all help you move beyond the everyday.” At workshops with students earlier in the day, he played folk instruments from various countries, explaining the significance of music in different cultures. A highlight was him conducting all of Junior School singing his work ‘Shackleton’ to delighted parents and friends, at Speech Day. In addition to composing for various choirs as well as the Australian band Sirocco, his commissions are as diverse as orchestral pieces for the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup, to marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King for the Boston City Singers, and a tribute to fallen World War One soldiers that has been performed across Europe. “Music brings so much joy to life, to so get into life and help people.”
