Playing with an orchestra feels like surfing, says Bryce Dessner.

“It’s a thrill. You’re riding this wave of sound. An orchestra’s this complex human archetype of people who live, work, phrase and breathe together, through thick and thin. It’s quite interesting on a human level. The relationships amongst them, the way they’re able to communicate, sightlines, the different way they listen . . . it’s fascinating and thrilling being surrounded by them.”

Bryce Dessner. Photo © Peter Hundert

The American composer and guitarist is speaking to Limelight over Zoom from Paris, where he’s just taken his son surfing. French summer sun pours into his studio from a skylight over a collection of synths, a blue drum kit in the background. It’s the day after the final performance of Sydney Dance Company’s Engine at the Sydney Opera House, which included the world premiere of The Journey Itself Is Home – a work choreographed to one of his scores by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela.

Dessner’s music blossoms from subtle electronic buds into a virtuosic, almost-frenzied piano concerto. Bonachela used an excerpt from the first movement (titled How To Dance) of his Piano Concerto written for...