Composer John Kefala-Kerr talks about creating music for the Steamsong Opera
Over the past few months, I’ve been focused on filming composers at work, and one of the most fascinating projects has been my short interview with composer John Kefala-Kerr in his studio.
John is currently deep into composing music for his upcoming opera, Steamsong. As someone who loves filming composers and documenting creative processes, it was inspiring to witness his unique approach as he transforms the evocative sounds of steam locomotives into a modern operatic score.
Steamsong is scheduled to premiere at the Gala Theatre in Durham as part of the Brass Festival. At the time of our filming, the opera was still very much a work in progress, with John developing the score and refining sonic ideas drawn from field recordings. The performance is set for July 17, 2015. As John explained during our conversation, the piece combines recorded steam sounds, live choir, brass ensemble, and soloists to tell a story that bridges industrial heritage and contemporary musical expression—a perfect subject for anyone interested in filming composers exploring new creative territory.
One of the most compelling moments of our interview came when John described how a trip to York’s National Railway Museum sparked a crucial musical element for Steamsong. Standing about ten feet from a steam locomotive, he recorded the whistle as it gradually built pressure. Initially, the sound was weak, with “a kind of hiss” and buffeting wind noise captured in the microphone. As the locomotive reached full pressure, the whistle finally produced its powerful, haunting tone.
“So there’s quite a lot of wind noise in that. So you get the, you know, all that kind of buffeting sound. That was a windy day. And so the, the job really was to try and clean that up,” John shared. “The thing I was aiming for really was a kind of a serial sound. There’s a lot of hiss in it as well, which is the sort of propulsion of steam through the whistle itself.”
John detailed how he used software tools on his laptop to clean up the audio, reduce hiss, and transform the whistle’s pitch. From this raw steam sound, he extracted harmonies that became the building blocks for sections of the opera’s choral writing—a fascinating example of the hidden detail captured when filming composers in their workspace.
“The idea here is to try to make the whistle evoke something more than the train, something that sounds a bit like a voice, like a distant voice, something that comes out of the ether, almost.”
In the film, John demonstrates the translation of these industrial sounds into musical language. On the piano, he played a chord derived directly from the steam whistle’s harmonic content, explaining that the choir’s opening lines in Steamsong are built entirely from this motif.
“The whole passage of music for the choir is constructed out of that idea, just using the train whistle. The train whistle harmony and translating it into human voice.”
This creative process reflects John’s signature style—something that makes filming composers like him so compelling. He seamlessly weaves environmental sounds, technology, and traditional instruments into experimental yet emotionally resonant music. In Steamsong, the train whistle is not merely a mechanical artifact but becomes a kind of ethereal, human-like voice, bridging past and present.
While filming composers like John, I’m constantly struck by the meticulous attention to sonic detail and the deep commitment to evoking place and history. The Steamsong opera seems poised to be a striking and immersive piece, fitting perfectly within the Brass Festival, which has long celebrated innovative collaborations between contemporary composers and brass musicians.
I’m looking forward to filming the live performance at the Gala Theatre and capturing how these studio experiments come alive on stage. For anyone interested in filming composers, new music, industrial history, or the creative processes behind large-scale musical works, Steamsong promises to be an unforgettable experience.
You can explore more of my films about artists and creative processes here: Artist Films