Michael Sollis. Portrait © Keith Saunders.

Next week will be a memorial service for composer and musician Michael Sollis, who passed away in May this year after a long battle with cancer.

Micheal had a profound impact on my life and career as a mentorship became a collaborative friendship over 10 years. 

Richard Gill introduced me to Michael in 2016. I was just about to graduate from three years at the Australian National Academy of Music, and Richard had recently appointed Michael as the inaugural Artistic Director of Education at Musica Viva.

Michael was in the process of recruiting new shows for the program and was immediately supportive and enthusiastic about my idea to turn Tan Dun’s Water Concerto – featuring a solo percussionist playing water – into a touring education show for primary-aged children.

Michael guided clarinettist Luke Carbon, pianist Leigh Harrold and me as we created our show Water Water Everywhere, featuring a trio version of the Water Concerto. He championed our project, and the show went on to have more than 300 performances for more than 50,000 schoolchildren around Australia. This was just one of many shows that...