Britten Sinfonia News

Blog on the move

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 10:29:00 +0000

Following the launch of our new website we are now integrating our blog into our main site. We'll still be posting blogs of behind the scenes information, Q&A's with soloists and composers and photo galleries and you'll be able to access these via the News section of our website, where you'll also be able to find reviews of recent performances and other news. This section of the website has a filter option so you are able to select which type of post you would like to view.

Check out our new website at www.brittensinfonia.com

Our website has been designed in collaboration with CubiqDesign

A year in the life of Britten Sinfonia Academy

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 12:43:00 +0000

On Sunday 6 September 2015 a group of 30 young musicians got together for their first day of Britten Sinfonia Academy (BSA) 2015-16. With three quarters of the musicians new to the ensemble we improvised, played games and rehearsed Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony. Over 10 months later the passionate and thriving ensemble, now all good friends, will be playing their last concert together of the year to include that same symphony. This group have worked hard all year, explored a variety of repertoire spanning a breadth of musical styles and grown and developed as an ensemble and as individual musicians. To celebrate an amazing year they will be performing their own At Lunch concert as part of Britten Sinfonia's 2015-16 series - At Lunch Five in Norwich, on Thursday 30 June, and Cambridge, on Friday 1 July.

“I cannot stress enough how lucky I feel to be able to play alongside professionals and individuals of such high standard, who all share the same love for music.”
Katie, violinist BSA 2015-16

Ahead of the upcoming concerts we want to take a little look back over the past year and celebrate the achievements of this delightful, talented and passionate group of young musicians by looking at some of our favourite moments.

“It is so difficult to pick a highlight from the BSA year! All the time I have spent with the group has been really fun and it has been exciting to watch the group grow. One of my favourite things this year would have to be the concert at the Barbican where we played Vivaldi and Stravinsky – it was an exciting performance and the enthusiasm and commitment from everyone was so thrilling!
And my second highlight is lunchtimes?! I really enjoy the breaks we have in rehearsal days where everyone relaxes together eating whatever food they've thrown into their bag from the fridge that morning, and then sharing cake (hooray!), football, and general nattering. It's such a lovely collection of people!!"
Ali Reid, Britten Sinfonia violin

“My favourite moment was performing at the Barbican with Nicola Benedetti. It was one of the most amazing opportunities BSA has given me. She was really inspiring and gave fantastic advice alongside our regular professional coaches to make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience in a wonderful venue.”
Lucy, 2nd year in BSA on violin and viola

“It is the young people we have the good fortune to get to know over a BSA season who make it all worthwhile.

My favourite moment this season was about half-way through the year, there was a particularly shy lovely individual who played with a very beautiful, very musical and very small sound. Course 4 was three days of rehearsing Louis Andriessen’s Workers Union. This astonishing, relentlessly pulsing piece is 20 minutes of intense, gritty, ugly fortissimo requiring absolute and unfailing concentration. This is not pretty music, it is not dainty, softly spoken, polite Cambridge music. This is raw, rude and unapologetic.

This piece was performed in the Barbican foyer the following weekend where it was met with enthusiastic applause from curious and intrigued passer-bys. Our vibrant young players looked happy but exhausted as they filed off the stage past me. At the back of the group, someone was looking far from rung out – she was bouncing and flushed. Brandishing her instrument at me she “That was f….” she stopped herself and amended “That was just AWESOME!”
Jen, Creative Learning Director

"This year has been incredible fun, and the breadth of opportunities and repertoire has been extraordinary! In particular learning Louis Andriessen’s Workers Union for our performance in the Barbican was informative and incredibly enjoyable, and it introduced me to Andriessen’s work which I have since grown to love more and more."
Morgan, 2nd year in BSA, clarinet

"What’s really struck me throughout my year working with the fantastic young people of the Britten Sinfonia Academy, is the level of creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment within the group. A particular memory that comes to mind was a morning rehearsal session with composer Kenneth Hesketh, where the players were invited to share their own short compositions on a given theme/style. Not only was I hugely impressed by the sensitivity, imagination and musicality of the work being shared, but I was also struck by the supportive, appreciative and very respectful environment created by every member of the group. That was a very special moment for me and I feel very optimistic about the future of the arts knowing that such a positive, professional culture is being cultivated in these young players who are the upcoming generation."
Jamie, BSA Trainee Mentor, bassoon

“This was my second year and whilst it was really sad to see some of the older members move on to start University, or live overseas, it surprised me how quickly the new group gelled as an ensemble, which is great because we’ve done some amazing and challenging projects this year and I’ve really enjoyed every course.

In particular I really enjoyed the focus on contemporary repertoire at the beginning of this year and I have found the rehearsals for the new commission by Kenneth Hesketh exciting, especially when he participated in one of our rehearsals as it was great to clearly see his intentions of how the movements are to be played in order to have the effect he wants us to create, I’m really looking forward to the concerts in a few weeks time!”
Aimée, 2nd year in BSA, viola

The young musicians of Britten Sinfonia Academy for 2015-16 have worked so hard all year – always with eagerness, fearlessness, determination and passion. We look forward to finishing the year with two amazing concerts and hope to see you there!

Emily, Creative Learning Assistant

Tickets are still available for At Lunch Five, featuring music by Philip Glass and Beethoven, and world premieres from Kenneth Hesketh and BSA member Jasper Eaglesfield, performed by Britten Sinfonia Academy. Hear it in Norwich St Andrew's Hall on Thursday 30 June 1pm, and Cambridge West Road Concert Hall on Friday 1 July 1pm. Click here for more information and booking via our website.

A Concerto Grosso named Salmigondis - Ken Hesketh

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 13:30:00 +0000

Later this month the young musicians of Britten Sinfonia Academy will give the first performance of Concerto Salmigondis as part of At Lunch Five. Ahead of the premiere, we asked composer Ken Hesketh to share his experience of writing this work, which was also inspired by Handel manuscripts from the Fitzwilliam Museum, for the young ensemble...

Writing for a young group, without conductor, using the music or some aspect of George Frideric
Handel (to be found in the marvellous Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge) is not the type of
commission that comes across my work desk every day, or even every year. Don't get me wrong - it intrigued me and the unforeseen is certainly a good thing, at least musically. Thus, I accepted the commission.

My work is (far more often than not) rhythmically agile and turbulent, usually rapid in harmonic
change and generally quite tricky to pull off. I like it that way. However, I also like working with
younger players, especially those who have technical facility and musically open minds. The brief
necessarily challenged my usual way of working and so this particular commission became an enjoyable conundrum that needed to be solved and one that in doing so sharpened my lateral thinking skills. There are various approaches I could have pursued - graphic score, some form of aleatoricism, some sort of post-minimal knitting music (rhythmically repetitive to get around the no-conductor stipulation). The list of options could go on as you might imagine. However, the Handelian requirement of the brief gave me a clue as to how to proceed.

During the workshops with Britten Sinfonia Academy, led by the wonderful Rachel Byrt and
Christopher Suckling, I was able to indulge my early joy of the music of Handel, specifically from my years as a chorister and as a young school boy. One of my first Dover edition scores was the Concerti Grossi, Op. 6, or Twelve Grand Concertos, HWV 319–330, by Handel. The other was the complete Brandenburg Concerti. Both are now discoloured with age and show signs of early dog-earing. Being able to peruse the delicacies and riches of the Fitz Handeliana collection (thanks to Rachel Sinfield and Dr Suzanne Reynolds at the Fitzwilliam Museum for such access) was a real joy, particularly in the company of Rachel and Christopher. Seeing the young performers from BSA enjoying their exploration of the collection was a delight. The introduction by Dr. Suckling to various aspects of Handel's music, life and times really enthralled the young players and in the process suggested a way for me to combine aspects of the collection in my own new piece. Amid the manuscripts on display during the workshop was a carillon part from the final chorus of Part 1 of L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (an ode by Handel based on the poetry of John Milton) titled "Or let the merry bells ring round". In my correspondence with Dr. Suckling regarding the carillon part, he sent me the following rather splendid quotation from Charles Jennens to Lord Guernsey, 19 September 1738:

"Mr Handel’s head is more full of Maggots [an 18th century term for an earworm] than ever. I found yesterday in his room a very queer Instrument which He calls Carillon (Anglice a Bell,) and says some call it a Tubalcain, I suppose because it is both in the make and tone like a set of Hammers striking upon Anvils. ’Tis play’d upon with Keys like a Harpsichord, and with this Cyclopean Instrument he designs to make poor Saul stark mad."

Look up TubalCain in the bible (Genesis 4:22) by the way (and Jubalcain if you have a few minutes after that).

The carillon part itself seems to be transposed by a perfect fifth (it sounds in D, but is notated in G). I therefore chose to put a quotation from this part in G (though the surrounding texture of my work is anything but G, D or anything else). There is speculation, according to Dr. Suckling, that Handel's carillon "had thick bars to sound like [an] anvil with pitch higher than written notes (for metal bar free at both ends, thicker bar = higher pitch)".

The one extra-musical element present in my work comes from a painting, "The Charming Brute" - a caricature by the French engraver, painter and set designer Joseph Goupy of Handel (dated 1754) - which also resides at the Fitzwilliam museum and suggested the title for one of the movements of the Concerto. The story behind this painting is fascinating and there is a recounting of it in the Monthly Epitome and Catalogue of New Publications, Volume 2, Jan to Dec 1798 (reproduced below):

An interesting insight to Handel’s culinary generosity!

In order to bring these elements together I chose a musical form called the pasticcio (literally pasty in Italian); a musical work built from an adaptation of an existing work (or works). Handel worked with the pasticcio form throughout his life, for example in Muzio Scevola (1721) and Giove in Argo (1739). My work for BSA, Concerto Salmigondis, utilises this form. The word salmigondis is a synonym for pasticcio (salmigondis is a French word meaning a disparate assembly of things). Loosely based on the Concerto Grosso form, similar to those found in the Op. 6 concerti, it is in five sections - Intrada, Lento, Leggiero – The Charming Brute, Musette and Hop Jig. The antique titles and forms of the movements have been freely interpreted and, if one is frank, resulted in a neoclassicisation of my style for this particular work. The concept of the concertino and ripieno groups from the Concerto Grosso form is utilized (mostly formed of principle strings and harpsichord, but also, in the ‘Brute’ movement, of various groups of flutes, oboes and brass); the carillon part from the Fitz Handeliana collection also peeks through textures in various forms in the third movement. Four of the five movements are based on music written when I was about the age of the average BSA member (the 'Brute’ movement has no antecedent). The reworking of the originals includes extensions and recastings as well as the imposition of various episodes for the concertino groups on the extant materials’ formal arcs. This frequently meant taking the originals down very different compositional routes allowing me to have a great deal of fun in the process.

After hearing a rehearsal of the completed work for the first time with BSA I was convinced I had
fulfilled the brief. I had enjoyed doing so, and it was clear - wonderfully clear - that BSA really
enjoyed what I had written. When that happens it's a wonderful feeling as you might imagine. Being able to cut one’s musical cloth accordingly and to quickly commit to a project outside of the everyday was something Handel was pretty good at. I greatly enjoyed doing likewise, just for a moment, and in the process communicated, interacted and responded to the wider musical world in a way that usually evades me.

Ken Hesketh (composer)

Concerto Salmigondis will be performed by Britten Sinfonia Academy as part of At Lunch Five. Tickets are still available for both performances, in Norwich's St Andrew's Hall on Thursday 30 June, 1pm (tickets), and in Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall on Friday 1 July, 1pm (tickets). More information can also be found on our website.

Jacqueline Shave - celebrating 10 years as Britten Sinfonia Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 12:07:00 +0000

This April we celebrate Jacqueline Shave's first ten years as Britten Sinfonia's Leader. A unique and inspiring musician, we talked to some of our principal musicians and others about what makes her so special...

Jackie taking her bow after directing Strauss' Metamorphosen in Wiltshire in April 2016.

Clare & Jackie in Norwich in Jan 2016

She is a wonderful musician and a natural, gifted leader. She directs with passion and commitment. Every rehearsal is injected with her enthusiasm and positivity - and this is shared amongst the players. Jackie's attitude in rehearsals is serious and fun. She skilfully and respectfully handles all our different personalities - things can get very heated when we are under pressure preparing for a performance with limited rehearsal time. She will steer everything in the right direction, often with humour, taking everybody on board. The culminating concerts, the success of which she is utterly committed to, always feel like a real collaboration of our work and ideas. Jackie is a special person. We are lucky to have her!
Clare Finnimore, Principal Viola

David & Jackie collecting an RPS award in 2013

Jacqueline's musical credentials and spirit embody the artistic ethos of Britten Sinfonia; a collaborative chamber musician of pure class and quality, hungry to embrace a wide range of music and collaborations from across the musical spectrum. It must be palpable to audiences watching and listening, how much she is adored by the orchestra and the many collaborators we’ve worked with over these years, and there’s no doubt that her artistry, inspiration and pure unfettered love of the music we play, has had so much to do with the orchestra’s happy success over these years.
David Butcher, Chief Executive

Jackie Shave is a musical force of nature. She has led and directed Britten Sinfonia over the last ten years with a magical combination of warmth, passion and inspirational music making. She ignites every project she undertakes. Her direction of Bach's St. John Passion was a triumph of unashamed emotional commitment combined with technical mastery. It was a highlight of my musical career and a privilege to participate.
Caroline Dearnley, Principal Cello

Jacqueline Shave is simply one the most inspiring musicians I have had the privilege of sharing a stage with. Britten Sinfonia is deeply collaborative but in the end we would follow her anywhere without question. The Bach St. John Passion she directed was a deeply moving experience for us all and a 3-year journey for her. I will simply never forget it. She led the same piece for me at Dartington last summer with amateur forces and was equally as inspiring.
Nicholas Daniel, Principal Oboe

Thomas & Jackie in 2011

I've learned so much from sharing a desk with Jackie over the years in Britten Sinfonia - her unfussy leadership style, flamboyant musicality, and her special ability to deal with stressful situations by relaxing everybody around her. With leaders as good as Jackie, who needs conductors?
Thomas Gould, Associate Leader

Miranda & Jackie rehearsing in 2012

As ever this season, Jackie has been a real inspiration through her fabulous musicianship and unparalleled ability to encourage each member of an ensemble to give of their best. Britten Sinfonia is propelled by her into meteoric flight in any given genre or period of music, taking the audience with her.
Miranda Dale, Principal Second Violin

She’s such a fantastic leader – she’s very charismatic. You can tell that she’s thinking about so much more than just the notes.
Elena Langer, composer

This April and May Britten Sinfonia tours a programme specially curated by Jacqueline to celebrate her ten years at the helm of the orchestra. With performances in Wiltshire, Cambridge, Norwich and London the concerts feature a Bartok string quartet movement, a Mozart piano concerto with soloist Benjamin Grosvenor, Strauss' Metamorphosen and the world premiere of a new work by Elena Langer, commissioned and written especially for Jackie. Find out more here.

In both Norwich and London, Jacqueline will discuss her role as leader/director with Fiona Maddocks in a special pre-concert talk.

An introduction to new music - as recommended by composers...

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 11:22:00 +0000

At Britten Sinfonia, commissioning and performing new music is a huge part of what we do, but we know that new and contemporary music can be daunting if you haven't had much experience of it before. Our upcoming concerts in April feature two world premieres - B ryce Dessner's El Chan, which will feature in our At Lunch Four programme, and Elena Langer's story of an impossible love, which will be performed in our programme featuring pianist Benjamin Grosvenor.

To get you in the 'new music' mood, take a listen to our Spotify playlist of works by the composers we've commissioned in our 2015-16 season (including Bryce Dessner and Elena Langer). We've also asked the OPUS2016 shortlisted composers for their suggestions of what to start with if you're looking to explore more...

Daniel Kidane:

Don’t be scared to immerse yourself in to something new – you have nothing to lose but so much to gain.

Robert Peate:

Anything and everything – just keep listening and be open to what you hear. Don’t worry about ‘understanding’, just experience it (more than once if you can).

Neil Smith:

There are some great pieces to begin with such as Berio’s Sinfonia or Xenakis’ Rebonds but sometimes the best way in is to listen to more experimental popular music. Anyone who enjoys a bit of Autechre shouldn’t struggle with the best bits of Stockhausen or Boulez. There are also lots of British composers who write music I still consider beautiful in quite a traditional manner: take George Benjamin’s amazing Written on Skin for example.

Andrew Thomas:

Find a sound/texture you like and follow how it develops during a piece - be open to all the parameters of sound available in contemporary music and embrace what you don’t understand - the music I most admire is the music I don’t understand!

Andrew Baldwin:

My advice would be to start with a composer(s) you know and like, and list what musical ideas you like about them (what is common in their music etc). Then consult with a music friend that knows of other composers that use similar processes/ideas. Suddenly you will notice your listening repertoire growing and discovering some great music. I created a Spotify playlist that my teacher and I came up with of works that I would find interesting, and there hasn’t been one piece that I haven’t taken something away from – as well as discovering some new favourite contemporary composers.

Emma Wilde:

I think people should not be afraid. Most people have been confronted with modern art in some way even without knowing it, they have probably been to an art gallery or exhibition and modern music is no different. My listening recommendations would include anything by Ligeti as I think that was the first contemporary composer I really connected with. Also the German composer and pianist Nils Frahm, his live shows are electric, he has a great connection with the audience and is a really innovative composer and performer, there are many good videos on YouTube.

Margaret Haley:

Tune in to Radio 3 programmes: Late Junction, and Hear and Now. Listen with an open mind. Listen to recordings as much as you can, then listen again. Music festivals can also provide a great way of sampling new music, e.g. HCMF shorts.

Sohrab Uduman:

Start with whatever is to hand and whatever grabs your interest for whatever reason, however seemingly profound or trivial it may appear to be. It is not life-threatening, will not cause you physical damage and will not, probably, change your political allegiance. It is art, a voyage, an adventure; an opportunity, at the very least, to step out of routine and ‘normative behaviour’ and experience something that should prove beautiful, moving, revelatory and subversive.

Gonçalo Gato:

An open mind and receptiveness to the fantastic, as opposed to the ordinary. Also, it is important to look for concerts that feature some sort of introduction carried out by music historians, musicologists, or composers themselves. This will provide context and prepare the listening experience for those who find it more difficult.

James Hoyle:

I don’t believe in starting with something ‘easy’ - I’d suggest to just throw yourself in, listening to as many different types of new music as possible. There’s such a wide variety out there so there is surely something for everyone.

At Lunch Four features Bryce Dessner's El Chan, Schumann's Piano Quartet Op.47 and a selection of Bartok's folksong-inspired Duos - Norwich Fri 8 Apr, Cambridge Tue 12 Apr & London Wed 13 Apr. Find out more.

Benjamin Grosvenor directs features Elena Langer's story of an impossible love, Mozart's Piano Concerto No.27 and a works by Bartok and Strauss - Bradford on Avon Sat 23 Apr, Cambridge Wed 27 Apr, Norwich Fri 29 Apr & London Sun 1 May. Find out more.

The creation of Link Explorer

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 14:34:00 +0000

Back in May 2015, I tumbled out of Shoreditch Overground station for a meeting to discuss the possibility of running a series of ‘relaxed’ concerts making them more accessible to audiences with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). There was to be no particular therapeutic agenda, rather, we wanted to identify and address some of the barriers to SEND audiences attending a concert just like any other concert-goer. Feeling painfully uncool in the hip East London surroundings, I made my way to Oxford House and the offices of Children and the Arts. Oxford House on Derbyshire Street was established in 1884 as the first “settlement house” where students and graduates from Oxford undertook a period of residential volunteering to learn first-hand about the realities of urban poverty. Today, the trendily restored building (all steel and polished concrete) continues a legacy of social conscience with affordable office space (in addition to Children and the Arts, it is home to community dance and drama organisations, ethical fashion designers, the British Union of Spiritist Societies, Food Cycle - recycling surplus food for the homeless - and the Phoenix Community Housing Co-Operative – among others), a gallery and performance spaces and regular community learning and engagement activities. It seemed fitting therefore that my meeting about engaging with SEND audiences and participants should take place in a building which, for 150 years has housed efforts to engage with the marginalised, the forgotten, the difficult and, if we’re very honest, the scary.

As human beings, the unknown is always challenging at best and at worst, terrifying. For the privileged young graduates of Oxford’s Keeble College, coming to work in what was the most deprived corner of East London in the late 1800’s must have been an eye opener. Britten Sinfonia, was about to step into similarly unfamiliar and difficult territory; the world of disability and special needs.

Have I raised your eyebrows? Have I perhaps said something, even at this early stage, which might be offensive? Inappropriate? Or, god forbid, politically incorrect?

No, not yet but it's early days and the question is an example of one of the many challenges we face voyaging into new territory with which we’re relatively unfamiliar, with which the orchestral industry has engaged only in a relatively limited way, and in which we are certainly not expert but in which we’d really like to make a positive contribution.

In a previous incarnation with another orchestral organisation, I recall asking players to be involved with a project for Cooltan Arts, a London-based charity for adults with mental distress (I googled it and ‘mental illness’ is a term they prefer not to use - mental distress better describes, in a less discriminatory fashion, their clientele). I had little success in my recruitment efforts and was surprised and saddened. Here were a reliable group of enthusiastic, warm and caring musicians who greatly valued the projects with which they’d previously been involved. Why were they now reluctant? Incensed, I switched from email to phone (things were clearly getting serious) and called one of them. "It’s not that I don’t want to do it," he explained, "it’s just that I’m not an expert and I wouldn’t want to do something wrong, upset someone, say the wrong thing or make someone have a terrible experience. I don’t know anything about physical or mental disability; I’m not trained in that kind of work!"

And there it was. Much as the will is there, we worry that because we’re dealing with the less-well-known, we don’t have the way.

Even at my meeting just talking about it, I found myself worrying if I was doing or saying the right thing. It started well, I described the difficult journey amid rush hour commuters as ‘completely mental’ and, having dropped my note-book and its stuffing of loose notes, photocopies and clippings all over the floor, apologised for being ‘a complete spaz’. The more I tried not to be offensive, the more I inadvertently seemed to be so. I don’t ordinarily use these words, honestly, I haven’t used them with any frequency since the school playground in the late 1980s but for some reason, my anxious attempts to be utterly correct resulted in their bubbling irrepressibly to the surface with embarrassing frequency.

For those of us who don’t work every day with engaging SEND, it is worrying to think we might stumble as we take our first, exploratory steps and understandably, we are therefore inclined to step back and let the experts take over. For any person, a negative experience can have long-term effects and for a vulnerable person, it seems fair to assume the effects may be magnified.

The pitfalls are very real but, they’re not unique to SEND work so why, when SEND is involved are we so cowed by the fear of failure? Why do we immediately feel that SEND is something other, beyond our familiar frame of reference?

I wonder if it has something to do with the profile of this work. It’s topical which means that failure is trotted out like a cautionary tale. It’s a hot topic and hot is hard to handle correctly. We fall automatically into the trap of thinking about SEND (them) and the concert (us). SEND audience members (them) and non-disabled audience members (us).

I remember calling a Deaf and Blind…sorry, a hearing and visually impaired … sorry, a deaf blind composer and performer and asking him how we should bill him in the programme. He laughed heartily when, embarrassed, I said that honestly, I really didn’t know what the correct terminology was and that I hoped he wouldn’t be offended by my call. "Everyone’s different," he explained, "everyone identifies in different ways. Some people use the word ‘Deaf’ with a capital ‘d’, others prefer ‘hearing impaired’, some use the pre-fix ‘profoundly’ but for me, that doesn’t accurately describe my personal hearing loss and I don’t really like labels anyway so I’m happy with whatever you like. I am human though, and I might change my mind!"

Well thanks, I thought, that’s not terribly helpful! But then, as the conversation percolated over the following days, it occurred to me that is was the simplest and wisest piece of advice anyone had ever given me about working with SEND; everyone’s an individual, everyone’s different, everyone will have a different way in which they identify. Suddenly, it seemed simpler. If I stopped thinking about ‘SEND’ as an ‘other’, a collective unknown, a group outside my frame of reference and started to think about individuals, their unique needs, abilities, backgrounds, opinions, means of expression and so on, then I could even the playing field and we would all be on the same page. Rather than trying to find a way to fit SEND into a normalised frame, I could change the parameters; widen the frame to include all of us in all our special individuality.

As this realisation took place some years before my Oxford House meeting, it is clear that it was not a quick fix. We’ll always be a little anxious when we venture out of our zones of familiarity and unfortunately, in my case, this usually results in an episode of slapstick buffoonery. Focusing on individuals and what a person can do, their ability rather than disability levels the playing field. We don’t have to be experts because we’re all in the same boat. We can get involved, try things out, challenge and be challenged by a new frame of reference.

Jen, Creative Learning Director

Find out more about Link Ensemble in this blog

On Saturday 2 April 2016 in Cambridge Britten Sinfonia presents its first 'relaxed' family concert. Find out more about the Link Explorer Family Concert and book tickets here

Visceral, emotionally charged... thoughts on Seven Last Words

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 15:51:00 +0000

Ahead of our performances of James MacMillan's Seven Last Words our Artistic Planning Director describes why she has a particular 'soft spot' for this emotionally charged piece.

Friends often ask me about the concerts we have coming up here at Britten Sinfonia, and I’m in the enviable position of always being able to wax lyrical about the next thing we’re about to do, since my role allows me to have a hand in planning all our events. I’m never going to give the green light to anything I don’t want to hear in a concert, so the seasons are always chock full of wonderful works and spectacular artists. I don’t generally have “favourite" concerts, as each one is so very different, with its own back story and compelling drama. However, I have to admit to an enormous soft spot for our forthcoming event over Easter, since it features one of my Desert Island Disc pieces (er, should Kirsty ever invite me on the programme): James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross.

I first met James MacMillan whilst I was working at the Philharmonia Orchestra, where one of my roles was planning the orchestra’s new music series, Music of Today. I loved managing this series (which is still going strong, incidentally), with its bite-sized concerts offering staggeringly good performances of brand new music, all for free. The real creative brain behind the series at that time was James MacMillan, who held my hand and guided me throughout, shaping the content of the series, introducing me to a whole host of composers from across the globe, always so generously and with great care to offer balance and variety. Since that time I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on several of Jimmy’s new works over the years, here at Britten Sinfonia, but his Seven Last Words has always remained a really special work for me.

MacMillan’s vocal writing is always incredibly effective, and as a choral scholar, I would’ve dearly loved to have got my teeth into singing this; sadly it wasn’t composed until after I’d left college and had well and truly hung up my vocal chords. Of course, the subject matter is emotive in itself, but the vocal writing is so visceral, contrasting with the beautiful string lines so painfully at times that it moved me to tears the first time I heard it; and the heavy silences that occur throughout the work are so emotionally charged that I always find it impossible not to be affected. In our world of what can seem like ceaseless over-emoting on a daily basis, I am more than grateful for that.

Nikola
Artistic Planning Director

Performances of Seven Last Words from the Cross take place on Sun 20 Mar at Birmingham Town Hall, Wed 23 Mar at Cambridge's King's College Chapel and Fri 25 Mar at London's Barbican Centre. For full details and to book tickets click here.

Sinfonia Student review - At Lunch Three

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 16:00:00 +0000

Sinfonia Student Helen shares her experience of our At Lunch Three performance that took place in West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge on Tuesday 23 February...

Having never heard the combination of flute, viola and harp before – as well as being an enthusiastic Debussy fan – I was particularly looking forward to yesterday’s At Lunch concert with Britten Sinfonia. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t disappoint: the programme provided a fascinating and varied exploration of instrumental texture and colour, masterfully performed by Emer McDonough (flute), Clare Finnimore (viola), and Lucy Wakeford (harp). The blending of these three instruments created an extraordinary atmosphere in West Road Concert Hall – the perfect form of escapism in the middle of a busy day.

The concert opened and closed with works by Debussy, which gave an attractive symmetry to the programme. McDonough’s performance of Syrinx immediately drew us into the sound of the flute. Syrinx is a pivotal piece in the flute’s repertoire and one I have heard performed several times, but never quite like this: McDonough combined hauntingly lyrical melodic lines with delicate, acrobatic phrases in an almost hypnotic fashion, featuring moments of extremely soft dynamic which filled the vast space of the concert hall with remarkable ease. It was a breath-taking – if slightly eerie – insight into the range of colours the flute has to offer.

Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason

The flute was joined by the viola and harp for the next two items. As well as introducing me to a new combination of instruments, this section of the programme also exposed me to the music of Takemitsu and Daníel Bjarnason, two composers I had barely encountered before. In fact, I have discovered something new at each of the Britten Sinfonia’s At Lunch concerts this year, which is one of my favourite aspects of the series. Both pieces draw upon mosaic-like processes, resulting in fluid and fragmented textures in which short melodic ideas pass between the three instruments. In the Takemitsu, I particularly enjoyed the occasional moments where these fragmented parts converged onto a more unified triad or melodic line. What really stood out here was the blending of the viola and flute: I was not expecting two such different instruments to combine into such a homogenous timbre. These two instruments often seemed to work as a pair against the harp; Bjarnason particularly exploits this texture in the second section of Parallel, in which the flute and viola, playing sustained chords beneath a prominent moving part in the harp, gradually shift from the background of the texture to the foreground, capturing the listener’s attention as the harp slips away. Such subtle changes in texture always occurred seamlessly and organically, due to the carefully balanced and sensitive playing of the performers.

Next, the programme focused exclusively on the sound of the harp, with a performance of Donatoni’s Marches by Lucy Wakeford. This piece brought yet another new discovery: I had not previously appreciated the versatility of the harp as a solo instrument. Marches was a true showcase of harp technique, displaying a virtuosic range of sounds, colours and dynamic extremes; like Syrinx, the quietest moments of Marches were particularly captivating. I enjoyed the occasional jazzy harmonies emerging from the texture, which was again built from very fragmentary material – a clear preoccupation of this programme.

Debussy’s Sonata for flute, viola and harp provided a return to the Syrinx sound-world for the end of the concert. The piece generally featured more homogenous textures than the other works, exploring yet more textural possibilities of this combination of instruments. Indeed, what most struck me about this piece was the fact that there was never a sense of one ‘solo’ instrument being accompanied by the others, as might be expected from a sonata model. The three performers participated equally and, despite their differences, no instrument seemed out of place. The remarkable cohesion of the performance has encouraged me to consider other instrumental combinations that might provide unexpected unity. Like so many Britten Sinfonia concerts, At Lunch Three demonstrated the benefits of thinking outside of the musical box.

Helen McKeown (Sinfonia Student 2015-16)

Don't miss At Lunch Four - featuring Schumann's Piano Quartet and a new work by Bryce Dessner - Norwich 8 April, Cambridge 12 April, London 13 April. More details.

A party and a pledge - celebrating ten years of At Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 10:53:00 +0000

If you've ever sat in the audience of one (or more) of Britten Sinfonia's At Lunch concerts then you'll recognise the feeling of anticipation when a new piece of music is about to be premiered. Think about it: your ears are some of the first in the world to encounter what is going to be played, as a member of an attentive audience silently waiting to experience something new... And if you haven't had the pleasure yet, what are you waiting for?!

Britten Sinfonia is committed to commissioning music from some of the world's most established names and the best emerging talent. You'll find a huge variety of new music throughout each concert season, interwoven with the more familiar. So far in 2015-16 the orchestra has performed new music from the OPUS2015 winner Edward Nesbit, Anna Clyne and Daníel Bjarnason as part of its At Lunch series, which has been shedding light on new music for ten years, with five programmes to explore each season.

Britten Sinfonia musicians cutting the cake at the 10th anniversary party

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the At Lunch series, on 20 January we hosted our own birthday party after the Wigmore Hall performance of Anna Clyne's This Lunar Beauty that included bubbly, balloons and of course, cake! We welcomed composers whose works had been premiered over the last ten years and displayed some of their scores as a mini exhibition. Since the first concert in October 2005 at Cambridge’s West Road Concert Hall (where every single At Lunch programme has been performed) there have been 43 new works premiered in 157 performances. Our Principal Cellist, Caroline Dearnley has performed in the most At Lunch programmes (33) and she joined us at the party alongside some of her fellow musicians and those who have helped make some of our music commissions possible: generous individuals who have donated to Britten Sinfonia’s Musically Gifted campaign.

A selection of scores from the past ten years

Since launching in 2013 Musically Gifted has raised nearly £50,000 from 135 individuals who have chosen to be part of new music from as little as £10. Ten of the lunchtime commissions have been supported through this scheme. At the party, we launched match-funding for the Musically Gifted campaign to the tune of £10,000 thanks to a generous, anonymous individual who wanted to boost our commissioning campaign for new music this year. If we are able to raise £10,000 before 31 March 2016 from people like you, we will be able to claim the generous pledge of the same amount. This means we need your help. From £10 to £1,000 every gift will help us get closer to our target. You can support Bryce Dessner, Elena Langer, Kenneth Hesketh, Sohrab Uduman (OPUS2016 winner), or Mark-Anthony Turnage, four of whom will feature in our up-coming At Lunch concerts.

So far we've raised £5,650 towards the £10,000 target (since 20 January) but your donation really will make all the difference and help us cross that finish line. We'd like to thank: Pauline Adams, Stephen & Stephanie Bourne, Robert Clark & Susan Costello, Eduardo G. Melguizo, Susan Maddock, Simon & Jenny Martin, Patrick Meehan, Trissa Orange, Sue Prickett, Judith Rattenbury, Roger Rowe, Paul Sackin, Barry & Ann Scrutton, John Stephens, Richard & Fiona Walford and three anonymous donors for helping us to get this far.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Britten Sinfonia’s At Lunch series over the last ten years and all our composers and musicians who have performed so wonderfully. We’ve welcomed more than 25,000 of you to hear new music at lunchtime and hope to see many more of you in the coming seasons.

For more information about Musically Gifted and how you can be part of new music visit www.musicallygifted.org.uk and don’t forget that if you donate before 31 March 2016, your gift will qualify for match-funding and will be worth twice as much to Britten Sinfonia’s new music campaign.

Rising Sun, Falling Rain: Our Concerts Director's introduction to Toru Takemitsu

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:31:00 +0000

Ahead of our At Lunch Three tour, James our Concerts Director, shares an introduction into the work of Toru Takemitsu, whose music is featured in the programme...

The timing of our Britten Sinfonia At Lunch Three tour this week is particularly poignant, as our musicians Emer McDonough, Lucy Wakeford and Clare Finnimore perform Toru Takemitsu’s trio for flute, harp and viola Then I Knew t’was Wind, marking the 20th anniversary of the composer’s death, 20th February 1996. Takemitsu is a composer I admire greatly, his music much like that of Messiaen’s: inspired by nature, the environment, Japanese cultural aesthetics but also his bold confrontation of social and racial boundaries of his era (he was commissioned by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic back in the 60s, at the time hailed as one of the world’s leading composers).

His sizeable output is stylistically difficult to define, his concert scores layered with traditional Japanese, jazz, pastiche and eclectic musical idioms not to mention his 90 or so film scores, both mainstream and arthouse, including one to a film starring Sean Connery and Will Snipes. His first feature-length film score was for the controversially erotic 1956 Crazed Fruit, written for guitar, banjo, trumpet, piano, flute harmonica, tenor sax, vibraphone and an array of percussion, unusual to say the least for the time, littered with seductive portamento and detuned effects, Hawaiian-esque guitar slides and a sleazy jazz waltz.

Although he later confessed that as a young man he had little or no knowledge of traditional Japanese music, Takemitsu’s incorporation of traditional Japanese instruments (particularly the biwa and shakuhachi) and non-Western themes, notably in his earlier works Eclipse and November Steps, led where others feared to tread at a time when the Darmstadt School were by far the loudest voice in the classical music scene.

Takemitsu is in good company for our hour-long programme featuring some of the relatively limited catalogue of repertoire scored for this configuration of flute, harp and viola, particularly Debussy’s trio written for the same ensemble. Sixty years earlier, Debussy was experimenting with incorporating aspects of the unfamiliar into the familiar, a process of ‘borrowing’ from different musical styles and traditions, a process and a work with which Takemitsu was evidently familiar.

Personally, Takemitsu’s musical logic speaks to me, not purely through a string of evocative titles (it really is much more than that), but in how this music ‘breathes’ so-to-speak; the fact that he was largely self-taught and unafraid of pastiche, but also how this endearing somewhat patchwork approach to composing provides a glimpse into his philosophical, ethereal approach to The Cosmos.

For more on Takemitsu, I’d recommend his autobiographical treatise Confronting Silence, published a year before his death, and also Tom Service’s 2013 Guardian article, which is available here.

James, Concerts Director

At Lunch Three takes place in Norwich on Fri 19 Feb, Cambridge on Tue 23 Feb and London on Wed 24 Feb. More info here

An extended version of this programme will also be performed at Southampton's Turner Sims Concert Hall on Thu 25 Feb. More info here

Ten years of At Lunch - from the stage

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 10:39:00 +0000

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of our At Lunch concert series, we asked some of our players to share their favourite memories from the last decade of lunchtime concerts...

Joy Farrall (Principal Clarinet):

"There is real excitement in opening a brand new piece of music once a year (if not twice on occasion), knowing it is a piece written especially for your orchestra and your colleagues by an amazing establishment figure or up-and-coming young genius, and for that privilege to have been on-going for ten years is a total delight."

Clare Finnimore (Principal Viola):

"In Norwich there's always a fabulous keen and supportive audience. We can really feel that they're with us every step of the way- they're especially open and receptive to the new music.

With the BBC broadcasts often being taken from Cambridge's West Road Concert Hall there is always an 'edge' to these lunchtime performances in more ways that one. I'll always remember the bitter cold at the beginning of the rehearsal and the howling gale coming in through the back door with the BBC wires! It's always lovely chatting to audience members here afterwards, then going to Burwash Manor Barns for tea and cake.

Wigmore Hall is such a special place holding many memories for each one of us. With the pressure of the live broadcast behind us it's great to wallow in this perfect acoustic!"

Huw Watkins (Principal Piano):

"It's been a huge privilege to launch so many new pieces in the last 10 years of At Lunch. I'm particularly proud to have written one of the very first of these commissions in 2006, Dream, for violin, clarinet and piano. Not only was this a remarkable experience musically (working with Joy Farrall and Alina Ibragimova, who joined us for this tour) - we also took the programme to Kraków, where the food was unforgettable!"

Alina Ibragimova, Joy Farrall, Michael Zev Gordon (whose music also featured in this programme),
and David Butcher (Chief Executive) on tour in Kraków.

Miranda Dale (Principal Second Violin):

"Perhaps most of our interesting experiences have been played out before Norwich concerts, including the time when we turned up in a taxi to play at the Assembly Rooms and Jackie realised that she had left her violin on the train! On hair-tailing back in said taxi and feverishly searching the train, which luckily had not started it's return journey, she even more luckily spotted a cleaner walking down the platform with her violin on the trolley! Not much rehearsal was had before that concert, just tea and scones required!

The other famed Norwich incident was when it started snowing just after our train started out from Liverpool Street station in London - it snowed so hard and fast that our train could not cope and we limped towards Norwich having to disembark at Ipswich in order to wait on the freezing platform for another train. Phone calls were feverishly made to and fro to our colleagues and concert manager who had driven there from nearer by and as the time ticked quickly by and the concert should have started we were still on the train! Joy and David valiantly saved the day (Norwich audience as ever game) by having a pre-concert talk (only during concert time!) whilst we scrambled to the Assembly House. I seem to remember Caroline running onto the stage from the taxi and joining Huw in her stocking feet to play a sonata with him followed by our commission before jumping back in a taxi to catch our return train!"

Thomas Gould (Associate Leader):

“At Britten Sinfonia we often say that a chamber music mentality is at the core of everything we do, and the At Lunch series provides us with the chance to put our money where our mouths are! As well as providing an opportunity to interpret chamber masterworks, each programme also features a world premiere composition. We've been privileged to work with composers such as Joey Roukens, Enrico Chapela, Dobrinka Tabakova, Charlie Piper, Nico Muhly and Jay Greenberg (to name but a few) over recent years, and it has been wonderful to see their careers flourish. A particular highlight for me was the At Lunch programme that featured Argentinian bandoneonist Marcelo Nisinman in music by his compatriot Astor Piazzolla. We had a lot of fun letting our hair down and undoing a few buttons for that one!"

Don't miss At Lunch Three, featuring music for the unusual combination of flute, viola and harp by Debussy, Takemitsu and a new work by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason - Norwich Fri 19 Feb, Cambridge Tue 23 Feb & London Wed 24 Feb. More information and booking.

Find out more about Ten Years of At Lunch.

Meet Emer McDonough

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:12:00 +0000

In another of regular Q&A blogs we asked Britten Sinfonia Principal Flute, Emer McDonough a few questions ahead of her performances of Debussy's Syrinx and his Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp this February in Norwich, Cambridge, London and Southampton.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Being on the same stage as Martha Argerich when she played Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major. I cannot begin to describe the colours she created. I'd never heard such exquisite, evocative and sultry sounds from a piano.

When are you happiest?
When we are all on holiday and all is harmonious between my three boys ...

What is your earliest musical memory?
Watching my big sister play the piano and feeling so desperate to learn too.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
My mother. She is everything I admire in a person. Kind, gentle, thoughtful, tactful, unbelievably intelligent, the most attentive listener.... I really could go on and on.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?
Misunderstanding a conductor's beat in the second movement of Liszt's Piano Concerto No.2 and going off piste for what seemed like an age. It was just horrible. I still don't know what I played or if he was in 2 or 4. I still blush and feel queasy when I think of it.

What is your most treasured possession?
Apart from my wedding ring and poems, pictures and stories by my kids, my holy communion cross is my most treasured possession. I've had it since I was 6 years old and I wear with it in times of need. I'd be devastated if I lost it.

What would your super power be?
Obviously to be in two places, no make that 3 or 4 places at once!! What's the technical term for that?

If you were an animal what would you be?
I love dogs and horses but I wouldn't want to be one. I caught sight of a hawk the other day riding the wind over an under 10 rugby match I was watching and I remember thinking it would have been pretty spectacular to be soaring up there.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Being absolutely useless with any technology. Speed reading and thus gleaning all the wrong or no information. Forgetting people's names the instant I hear them. Being uncomfortable with silence......

What is your favourite book?
Anything by Colm Toibin or Sebastian Barry. Irish literature is especially dear to me, both prose and poetry, but I still love the Shakespeare sonnets and plays I learned at school and I always return to Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I don't really know. I must find one quickly though. I was about to say finishing a cup of tea when it's still hot but I realise that's more of a basic human right than a guilty pleasure. Perhaps watching a panel show called "A league of their own " with my husband. It's just so silly and daft.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Marcel Moyse, Roy Keane, Roger Federer, Ronaldo, Messi, Jessica Ennis, Judy Dench, Fireman Sam, Johnny Wilkinson, my husband, my closest friends and my three boys who all are football mad hence mainly sport themed dinner party.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?
To when my 2 year old slept.

How do you relax away from the concert platform?
I run, a lot.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Passing my driving test first time with a stupendous parallel parking manoeuvre & my children, oh and the principal flute stuff. I'm really very proud of that too.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
To be calm and take each moment as it comes. I forget to abide by this but the intention is often there.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?
"Go to bed early" seems like a good one but not very eloquent. I say it a lot to the little people and to myself but rarely does anyone, including myself, listen! So I think to treat others as you would like them to treat you is my philosophy in a slightly cracked nutshell.

Emer performs Debussy's Syrinx, a new work by Daniel Bjarnason and Debussy's Sonata for flute, viola and harp with fellow principal players, Clare Finnimore (viola) and Lucy Wakeford (harp) in Britten Sinfonia's At Lunch Three tour. Performances take place in Norwich on Fri 19 Feb, Cambridge on Tue 23 Feb and London on Wed 24 Feb. More info here

An extended version of this programme will also be performed at Southampton's Turner Sims Concert Hall on Thu 25 Feb. More info here

You can read Emer's full biography here.

What is it like to be a member of Britten Sinfonia Academy?

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:24:00 +0000

Britten Sinfonia Academy (BSA) is now recruiting for young musicians to join them for a fifth year of exciting musical adventures. Whether you have heard the name before, know someone who has been or is a member of BSA or are completely new to us, you might be wondering about what being a member of BSA is like. To answer this, we hand over to current and past BSA members to tell you exactly why you should apply to be part of BSA 2016 – 17.

Remember the application deadline is fast approaching on Monday 29 February.

Katy

Instrument: Trombone

Katy, BSA Year 1, 2012

BSA history: Joined BSA in its first year, September 2012 and left in July 2015

Fondest memory: The residential week combining BSA and AYM in the summer; sitting on the beach absolutely knackered after a solid day of rehearsals. It sums up how we felt every Sunday night after BSA weekends, exhausted but very very happy.

Katy, BSA Year 3, 2014

What Katy learnt through BSA: Musically, BSA greatly improved my confidence and taught me a lot about playing as a group. But, for me it is the friends I made that have had the biggest effect; having left BSA last year I still see the friends I made in the orchestra and I think the connection that is formed between the players both musically and personally is really special. You don't have to want to do music as a career to enjoy it, work hard at it and be good at it.

What Katy is up to now: I'm studying Biochemistry at Sheffield University and I love it! Music is still a massive part of my life, and I hope it always will be.

Alex, BSA Year 1, 2012

Alex, BSA Year 2, 2012

Alex

Instrument: Cello
BSA history: Joined BSA in its first year, September 2012 and left in July 2015
How Alex would describe BSA: Being part of BSA is like being part of a family; everyone is valued and everyone is pushed beyond the boundaries to get the most out of the music. BSA is a place where you can thrive musically and feel like part of a community.
What Alex learnt through BSA: BSA taught me how to get the most out of every piece of music, and how important the most mundane of notes could be. I also learnt how to work as an ensemble much better than beforehand through the musical interaction between every instrument.
What Alex is up to now: I am studying Geography, English and Maths in sixth form and I have a place to study Geography at Oxford with a choral scholarship from this October. I hope to work in something to do with sustainability and conservation but still doing as much singing and playing as possible!

Siân

Instrument: Violin
BSA history: Joined BSA this year, 2015
BSA in three words: Fun, exciting, inspiring!
What being a member of BSA means to Siân: It means so much to me to be a member of BSA! It is so special to be able to play in such a great chamber orchestra and really enriching to play a range of different styles of music. I have gained a lot of confidence in my playing. In BSA you get to play alongside and learn from friendly and inspiring musicians from Britten Sinfonia and you get to play exciting and varied music to a high level with other keen young players!
What Siân has learnt at BSA: I have learnt so much from playing in various ensembles - usually without a conductor - and listening to the different parts. I am also more able to independently understand the music, whether fingerings and bowings or expression.

Lucy and Siân, BSA Year 4 – rehearsing Vivaldi with Nicola Benedetti

Lucy

Instrument: Violin and viola
BSA history: Joined BSA in its third year, 2014 and is still a member
BSA in three words: Inspirational, challenging and engaging
What being a member of BSA means to Lucy: It means having a fantastic opportunity to learn music I never would elsewhere and play in venues with people I would never have the chance to elsewhere
What Lucy has learnt through BSA: I have learnt to appreciate many more styles of music and unusual techniques for creating music.
Lucy’s plans for the future: I hope to continue playing music as a hobby, hopefully joining an orchestra or playing for choirs

Gabriel

Instrument: Cello
BSA history: Joined BSA in 2014 and is currently a member
BSA described in three words: Inspiring, immersive, challenging
What Gabriel has learnt in BSA: I've learnt more about what it would be like to be a professional musician. I've also learnt to listen more carefully to myself and others when playing in ensemble.
How Gabriel would describe BSA to a new applicant: We have great fun, make good friends and in the process we cover a wide range of repertoire. We're treated like professional musicians, given real responsibility and expected to step up to the mark. Since being in BSA my musical skills and confidence have developed hugely.

Gabriel performing alongside Nicola Benedetti on the Barbican stage, BSA Year 4

Want to find out more? Visit our website or email us: academy@brittensinfonia.com

Apply here now!

Emily

Creative Learning Assistant

Hannah Kendall reflects on the OPUS2016 workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 16:18:00 +0000

Across two days in January the Barbican hosted the OPUS2016 workshops in which ten composers from the scheme had an opportunity to work on their piece and receive valuable feedback from Britten Sinfonia musicians: Thomas Gould, Huw Watkins and Ben Chappell. The workshops were open to the public for the first time so that all composers, musicians and music enthusiasts were able to observe the exchange between Britten Sinfonia musicians and the shortlisted composers, and learn from this fascinating and challenging process. Hannah Kendall shares her experience:

I’ve been an admirer of Britten Sinfonia for a number of years, and so it was a privilege to work so closely with the superb musicians from the ensemble, its executive team, and the 10 shortlisted composers from the OPUS2016 initiative recently. Not only was it an enriching artistic experience through gaining a deeper knowledge of the music of my peers, I also had the opportunity to have an insight into the overall ethos of one of the UK’s leading ensembles.

Supporting contemporary music, and composers in general is integral to Britten Sinfonia’s attitudes. How incredible to have two whole days dedicated to new works by 10 different composers, and performed in such great detail. I really enjoyed the openness of the sessions. Thoughts were shared freely between the musicians, composers, and audience members, which allowed for fascinating discussions. A particular in-depth conversation focused on how each of the composers generate their musical material, and how this might translate to being performed by an acoustic instrument if achieved through a computer programme.

As well as ‘Composer’, I had also been given the title ‘Diversity Ambassador’. I like it! Redressing the imbalances in new and classical music in general is very important to me. Whilst conversations around this topic didn’t specifically come up over the two days, I was very much encouraged by the fact that Britten Sinfonia was demonstrating that it’s at the forefront of their activities.

I loved meeting and working with such talented composers. I particularly admired the confidence that they each displayed through in their writing skills, which were strikingly individual. They all very much deserved to be selected for OPUS2016, and I’m looking forward to hearing more.

Hannah Kendall

The winning composer will be invited to write the piece as a commission for the award winning At Lunch concert in December 2016. The prize will include a dedicated rehearsal for the commissioned piece 6-8 weeks in advance of the concert, three performances of the work (London, Cambridge and Norwich) and a commission fee.

Watch this space, OPUS2016 winner will be announced soon!

What is Britten Sinfonia Academy?

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 15:34:00 +0000

When we asked current members "What is Britten Sinfonia Academy?" these are some of the responses we got:

Britten Sinfonia Academy (BSA) is an exciting and dynamic training opportunity for talented secondary school aged musicians from the east of England. Now in its fourth year, BSA is looking to recruit a new generation of musicians for the 2016-17 season. We are looking for young people who love music, are open to new ideas and have a healthy appetite for adventure.

As a violinist I often find myself surrounded by musicians at rehearsals and as conversations flow someone inevitably asks me what my job in the Creative Learning department at Britten Sinfonia involves. BSA is one of many projects the team works on and it is certainly one of my favourites. That doesn’t, however, make it easy to condense what BSA is into a short conversation! “BSA’s players get together to play chamber music alongside our Britten Sinfonia professionals who are really engaged in their development. They explore fantastic repertoire, perform in amazing places, challenge themselves musically with new skills in different musical settings, have a blast, make new friends and and and … the list continues!”

BSA is captured best in moments. One of my favourites, for example, happened this year. I met an incredibly shy violinist, joining us for the first time at the beginning of the season. She barely said two words at the first rehearsal except to offer to help us set up. This last weekend (half-way through our current season) she sat down as one of two solo lines opening a performance of Steve Reich’s Eight Lines, she took a deep breath and her smile lit up the room along with the beauty of her playing. The rest of the ensemble followed her confident leadership and I could barely recognise the quiet player offering to help with music stands from just a few months ago

“I feel so lucky to play alongside professional musicians and individuals of such high standard who all share the same love for music.” – Current BSA member 2015

One of the nicest things about BSA in a way has nothing to do with playing music. It is the environment in which members can support each other and where new, life-long friendships are born. At our most recent course, I watched a group of 18 players squeezed into a small room, trying to work out where they should seat, what part to play, who was in charge. Following a hectic start, the group started to shape and they worked out exactly who to watch and at what point it was their turn to lead or to help the person next to them. It was fascinating to watch a group of very different individuals of different ages and backgrounds work together to become a single ensemble.

“The academy and orchestra members have shaped me as a musician and given me great memories – not to mention friends for life” – BSA alumni violin 2013

BSA is a unique experience for these young people; an experience which compliments their musical activity with their teachers, schools and county youth orchestras. Over a season in a series of intensive courses run ordinarily over 2 weekends during term time, BSA offers skills and development which players then take back to their musical lives elsewhere. We hope, whether they go on to join the music profession or simply to continue to play for pleasure, that they’ll take the pioneering spirit of adventure, the desire to push the boundaries and explore new possibilities which they learn at BSA, with them.

Applications are now open for chamber orchestral instrumentalists of Grade 8 standard. Applicants need to submit a competed application form together with a statement from their teacher. The successful applicants will be invited to a first round individual audition in April. A selection of players will then be invited for a second round, group audition day in July.

Apply here to join the BSA adventure: BSA 2016-17

Mateja

Creative Learning Co-ordinator

Sinfonia Student review: At Lunch Two

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 11:20:00 +0000

At Lunch Two: West Road Concert Hall, Tuesday 19 January

Stephen Wilkinson

Although this programme, the second in this season’s At Lunch concerts, was created as a celebration of texture, thanks to the musicians’ skill and sensitivity it became a showcase of artful balance and ensemble. The 250-year timespan of the pieces, stretching from Bach to a new composition by Anna Clyne, showcased similar techniques and sound worlds which formed parallels between temporally- and geographically-distanced composers’ works, which was hinted at by the title of Ligeti’s Continuum. The result was a varied programme, which attested to the richness and intertextuality of the Western classical tradition.

Despite the spacious dimensions of the 500-seat concert hall, the musicians created an intimate atmosphere from the very beginning of the programme, which began with the welcome addition of the sinfonia from Bach’s BWV21. The instrumental movement set the tone for the rest of the concert, drawing the audience into the fine textural world of J.S. Bach’s 1714 cantata in its stately pace, which was maintained by the whole ensemble, despite the absence of a conductor and with no perceptible intervention from Jacqueline Shave. At the outset of the concert, the ensemble’s disposition outlined a key element of the concert. The soprano, Julia Doyle, was seated by the harpsichord at the rear of the ensemble, allowing her colleagues to take centre stage. This was a programme in which no divide was felt between the vocalist and the instrumental group, instead promoting a sense of unity, which added to the overall impression of balance.

Julia Doyle’s silvery soprano was a perfect fit for the ensemble from which her first soft sighs of ‘Seufer, Tränen, Kummer, Not’ seemed to issue in the aria from BWV21. Doyle’s expressive singing never compromised the intimacy created by the ensemble’s sparse accompaniment in this movement, establishing a mood which was carried on into ‘Chi m’addita, per pietà’, the first of two arias from Scarlatti’s Due arie notturne dal campo, arranged by Sciarrino in 2001. Whilst Doyle afforded a slightly more indulgent, warmer tone to this Italian aria, she once again appeared to work with the string players who, even in monophony, achieved a beautifully subtle balance, which supported the soprano perfectly. Doyle’s repeat was adorned with understated decorations and never detracted from the searching, internalised mood that was shared by both the first Bach and Scarlatti arias.

Sciarrino’s layered string texture, particularly in the use of harmonics, found an interesting parallel in Pärt’s Fratres for string quartet (played today by Jacqueline Shave, Miranda Dale, Clare Finnimore and Caroline Dearnley). An example of Pärt’s ‘tintinnabuli’, a neologism of his own coinage, the success of this piece was testament to the instrumentalists’ superb grasp of balance. The four voices were so unified that the impression was of one instrumentalist rather than a quartet. The steady unfolding of Pärt’s ‘tintinnabular’ variations was effected so skilfully that the entire audience was completely motionless, including four rows of schoolchildren, as the piece’s sense of expansive timelessness stretched out, a notable achievement in a lunchtime programme of only one hour.

The ensemble found a new, more expansive, positive tone in the second Scarlatti arr. Sciarrino aria, ‘Non to curo, o libertà’. The imploring, internalised vocal tone Doyle had found up to this point was replaced with an enriched, confident warmth as the piece swung onwards. Doyle’s postural change here, opening up to the audience and allowing herself more movement, also marked this shift whilst her vocal performance always remained as restrained as the elegant strings. In the absence of oboist Marios Argiros, this all-female outfit was reunited in Bach’s soprano aria ‘Tief gebückt und voller Reue’ from Cantata BWV199, in which the pious timidity of his earlier work is replaced by a more self-assured tone. In response to this shift, the ensemble’s accompaniment was generous yet never overpowering. In return, Doyle’s attention to the soaring, more expansive soprano lines, although allowed to blossom from the instrumental texture, never detracted from her colleagues’ sensitive playing. Bach’s BWV187 aria ‘Gott versorget alles Leben’ saw the whole ensemble united in this warmer, fuller sound which accompanied Doyle’s more lavish tone in her declaration of ‘Weicht, ihr Sorgen’ (‘Worries, be gone!’), with the soprano and oboe lines joyfully interweaving above an accompaniment which glittered with harpsichordist Maggie Cole’s rich spread chords.

Cole’s performance of Ligeti’s Continuum saw the harpsichord’s capabilities span from its role in Bach’s cantatas to a more modern setting. Ligeti’s piece is at once reminiscent of Bach’s keyboard works and of twentieth-century minimalist techniques. The piece’s gradual changes and sense of steady crescendo created a sense of Cole taking a Baroque invention in all its intricacy of form and demarcation of individual notes, and slowly melting it down until smaller elements are lost in a blurred and blended sound world in which only broad changes can be perceived. As the piece moved towards the higher registers of the instrument, the percussive sound of the plectrums falling back onto vibrating strings suggested other more recent realisations of the harpsichord’s capabilities with a hint of musique concrète. Cole’s flair and sensitive playing were rewarded with applause worthy of this accomplished performance.

The nocturnal theme from Scarlatti’s Due arie notturne dal campo was echoed in Anna Clyne’s new work, This Lunar Beauty, co-commissioned by Britten Sinfonia and Wigmore Hall. As W.H. Auden (whose poem Clyne sets for soprano, oboe, string quartet and harpsichord) and Benjamin Britten were collaborators as well as close personal friends, there was a sense of reuniting the two as the Sinfonia that bears Britten’s name played Clyne’s setting of Auden’s poem. The piece neatly encapsulated many of the programme’s explorations, mixing suggestions of British folksong with a more modern, avant-garde sound world. The setting of the poem’s second stanza sees rising scalic melismatic patterns in the soprano, echoed in the instrumental lines, suggesting a raising of the eyes and voice to the lunar object of the persona’s meditation. These more expressive, confident voices then surrender to a once again personal, introspective mood.

This programme showcased the capability of a small group of musicians to work together in order to create a diversity of moods and to highlight unobvious intertextual and intertemporal links between a range of pieces. Given the amount that this programme achieved, it is surprising that it lasted only an hour. It is testament to the quality of the musicianship and the diligence of the programming that the lunchtime concert was not only intellectually appealing but also contained many moments in which a weekday’s inevitable busyness seemed to melt away. All of the musicians are to be congratulated for today’s subtle yet no less powerful, varied or transporting performance.

Stephen Wilkinson (Sinfonia Student 2015-16)

What inspires composers?

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 16:09:00 +0000

Ahead of the OPUS2016 open workshops taking place this week at the Barbican (Friday 22 & Saturday 23 January), we asked our ten shortlisted composers what inspires them...

Robert Peate:

Everything really... I still get very excited when I see/hear people playing instruments, and the idea of writing music is still an inspiring thing. Apart from music itself anything with a strong character or feeling to it can suggest ideas... it’s hard to say exactly where and when and what you’re inspired by most of the time, a lot is also subconscious I think. Nature is always a source of fascination, pleasure, truth and inspiration to me though, as are relationships between people.

Margaret Haley:

Visual sources. Abstract paintings, e.g. Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky. Poetry often shapes the outcome of my vocal music. Astronomical phenomena have a strong bearing on my music for traditional instrumentation. The rotational forces of the cosmos have certainly influenced my writing over the last decade.

Neil Smith:

My pieces can be the result of inspirations from almost any subject or area. They don’t always have to be extra-musical, as often I find particular musical ideas are inspiration enough to write a piece. Recent pieces have been based on Spanish poet Lorca, the nature of musical speeding up and slowing down, the phenomenon of discovering historic hoards, the science of animation and Arabic art. In the past five years I have found science in particular a fertile are for exploration. Scientific models can be represented in fascinating musical ways. This is something I want to explore more in the future.

Emma Wilde:

Everything but particularly other art forms, visual art, drama, dance, poetry and literature, all sorts of music, lately I think listening to electroacoustic music has changed the way I think about composing a lot. I listened to a lot of popular music growing up and still do and I think this has had a big effect on me too.

Gonçalo Gato:

I would say that what inspires me is indeed the mystery music still is, and how it makes me feel and think all sorts of things. I get inspiration from other people’s music because it transforms me, and because I can hardly picture myself living without it. Music is a kind of ‘speaking sound’, and in this sense I can hear the human voice in it. I am also an audiophile, very interested in Hi-Fi and acoustics. I take much pleasure from the ‘plastic’ aspect of sound and from sound reproduction fidelity.

James Hoyle:

Many things inspire me: recently these have included visual art, medieval music, architecture, food, political issues... It’s impossible to pin down any one point of inspiration because I enjoy the fact that many seemingly unrelated things can collide together as I work.

Andrew Thomas:

Anything from a novel, a line in a poem or an image to a noise, sound or smell from traveling and the real world. I gain constant inspiration from contemporaries and older composers and would cite particular influence from Nielsen, Sibelius, Purcell, Ligeti, Harvey, Grisey and Japanese music and aesthetics.

Andrew Baldwin:

My inspiration for pieces is often drawn from eclectic places – unless it is a commission with a specific theme. I have a big interest in orchestration and find that I spent a lot of time of this once my musical ideas are formed. I always find brilliant examples in the works of Ravel, Varese, and Takemitsu, as well as contemporaries Philip Hurel and Magnus Lindberg. My compositions often take a directive to effect the listener in a range of emotions.

Sohrab Uduman:

A difficult question since I cannot pin it down to one thing. The impulse, idea, can come from a number of sources; fine art (particularly important for me in recent times), literature, landscapes, environmental sounds, pieces I have heard, plain curiosity. Any piece I write usually takes up something that was present, to one degree or another, in a previous piece of mine.

Daniel Kidane:

Everything and anything. It could be a sound, or something visual or perhaps an idea I want to explore.

Click here to book your free place to attend one or both days of the OPUS2016 open workshops at the Barbican (22 & 23 January).

Meet Allison Bell

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 14:30:00 +0000

In February, soprano Allison Bell performs Louis Andriessen's ethereal Dances with Britten Sinfonia as part of the Barbican's celebration of Andriessen's life and work, M is for Man, Music and Mystery. The concert is part of a BBC Total Immersion day devoted to the music of Louis Andriessen, We caught up with Allison ahead of rehearsals to find out a bit about hat makes her tick...

... highlight of your career so far?

It would have to be a tie between my first Lulu Suite at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall with Vladimir Jurowski and the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra (Svetlanov) and singing guest vocals with the Violent Femmes at the Troxy in London as part of their reunion tour in 2014. They were one of my all time favourite bands as a kid and it was so unbelievable to be sharing the stage with not only them but also two more music heroes of mine, Steve Mackay from the Stooges (who sadly passed away recently) and Mick Harvey from the Bad Seeds. Both concerts were surreally within weeks of each other and both equally incredible, pinch-myself moments.

When are you happiest?

Long sunny days, deep in the wilds of Tasmania, with good friends and lots of cheese and wine.

What is your greatest fear?

I have a few. Religious fundamentalism. Xenophobia. Stupid people with guns.

Earliest musical memory?

My mum singing Split Enz 'Six months in a leaky boat', loudly, along with the car radio - I must have been 3 or so.

Which living person do you most admire, why?

My childhood music teacher in Tasmania, Rennie Herbert. She instilled in me not just a curiosity and love for music and culture but literally devoted her life to becoming effectively the surrogate mother to a great many kids, like myself, who came from very poor, dysfunctional backgrounds in rural Tasmania. Rennie gave us not just music but a sense of hope, self-worth and self-discipline. Through her we saw there was a bigger world out there to explore. And she's still there for me today, aged 90, whenever I need advice or moral support.

Embarrassing moment?

I think my embarrassment meter must be faulty, I very rarely get embarrassed. I probably should. I'm sure my friends can give you pages of material. Ok, I guess I did find it pretty uncomfortable having to warm up in my hotel room at the Hôtel de la Tremoille in Paris when I was singing around the corner at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, knowing Jack Nicholson was staying in the room next to me. And I knew he was in - we had come up in the lift together. I was singing Polly in Weill's Threepenny Opera, which involved an unconventional warm up to say the least. One where you have to make really ugly, brutal noises before you make the nice ones. For a huge cinephile and lifelong Jack Nicholson fan, yep, that was actually pretty bad.

If you were an animal what would you be?

A high-soaring bird like an eagle. A lyrebird would also be fun.

What is your most unappealing habit?

Impatience. Belligerent when hungry.

What is your favourite book?

There are too many to choose just one but my more recent favourites are Stoner by John Williams and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Both quietly but profoundly beautiful, moving.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

I only have to get the faintest whiff of lactose to become a congested mess so I have to avoid dairy in order to sing. So it's got to be eating cheese. With an ice-cream chaser.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Giorgio Locatelli to cook, no question. My ideal dinner party involves getting tipsy and laughing raucously rather than cerebral, challenging conversations. Nothing too high brow. So with that in mind, and narrowing it down to the living, I'd invite Bill Murray, Larry David, Louis CK, Chris Lilley, Susie Essman, Amy Poehler and Amy Schumer.

How do you relax away from concert platform?

I want to say getting out in nature, on a remote coastline somewhere, reconnecting with the elements etc. But it's more likely that you'll find me in my pyjamas, binge-watching any number of TV series and films for days at a time.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Being able to keep a roof over my head as a freelance musician. Also having such wise, loyal and supportive friends.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Don't wait for that moment where you feel 100% ready or 100% secure in yourself and your abilities to go forth and do your thing. That moment never comes. Most of the people you admire are just as scared as you. It's a privilege to be out of your comfort zone most of the time - it sounds cheesy but that's where the magic happens.

In a nutshell, what is your philosophy?

Stay in the moment. Don't sweat the small stuff. Mind your own business.

Allison appears with Britten Sinfonia on Saturday 13 February at 3pm at London's Milton Court Concert Hall in Louis Andriessen's Dances. To find full concert details and to book tickets click here.

For full details of the Barbican's celebration of the life and works of Louis Andriessen, M is for Man, Music and Mystery click here.

Discovering Steve Reich's The Desert Music

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 11:33:00 +0000

When looking through Britten Sinfonia’s advance schedule (which looks at least at five years into the future) there are often projects that appear that immediately put a smile on your face and you anticipate with excitement (in my case both personally and/or with my marketing hat on). A couple of years ago I was thrilled to spot plans on the schedule for a project including a performance of Steve Reich’s The Desert Music – a piece I have loved for a number of years.

I first discovered the music of Steve Reich whilst at university – I studied The Desert Music for one of my modules and was entranced by the sound-world created and compositional techniques and structure. I bought my own score and the Nonesuch recording (no mean feat for a poor music student) – and poured over these night after night. This very much annoyed my non-music studying housemates who were all into house and dance music. I tried explaining that what they were listening to and what I was listening to was similar in so many ways and perhaps they should give minimalist contemporary music a go but to no avail.

My passion for this piece has not ebbed (the opening vocal line Begin, my friend still sends a tingle down my spine). I’ve seen a number of live performances and it still remains one of my most played recordings. It led me to discover, firstly, other works by Reich including Electric Counterpoint, Different Trains and Three Tales (which I had the privilege of seeing the UK premiere of at the Barbican Theatre) and then on to other minimalist composers.

I do hope my enthusiasm for this piece will be shared by the audience on Tuesday 9 February when Britten Sinfonia and Britten Sinfonia Voices conducted by Clark Rundell perform Reich’s The Desert Music alongside works by Louis Andriessen and Steve Martland. Book tickets here.

Claire

Marketing Director

This concert forms part of the Barbican's celebration of Andriessen's music and life, M is for Man, Music and Mystery. Find out more about the series here.

You can listen to a Spotify playlist (including Steve Reich's The Desert Music) here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Daniel Kidane

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 10:32:00 +0000

Full Name: Daniel Kidane
Age: 29

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I was born in London and I currently live in London. Some of my pieces do reflect my heritage and upbringing. But I’d say my music speaks for itself.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 for Britten Sinfonia?

I would like to explore the resonant features of the piano trio.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ensemble 10/10 and many other great groups.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

As a kid I remember going to a lot of concerts involving solo violinists. I was fortunate to see many of the old school greats.

When did you first start to write music?

My first compositional endeavours began whilst I was a student at the Royal College of Music Junior Department.

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

Settling on a musical language, making the most of each opportunity that came my way and meeting some great performers and ensembles along the way.

How do you start a new work/what is your composing method?

Piano, pencil, computer (that order).

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

ABBA

What instrument do you play?

I was a violinist and now I dabble at the piano when I compose.

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

There are some great opportunities out there; however I do think more could be done especially when it comes to developing sustained partnerships.

What would be your advice to other young composers today?

It’s a tough road but rewarding at the same time.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

Currently working on a piece for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for the Shakespeare 400th anniversary year. Looking forward to working on many more exciting and interesting projects.

You can join Daniel and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Sohrab Uduman

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 12:27:00 +0000

Full Name: Sohrab Uduman
Age: 53

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I was born in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and now live in Cheshire, around the corner from where I work at Keele University. I grew up in South East Essex where, thanks in part to the then-enlightened practices of local government, entrepreneurs and the regional arts board, there was a rich musical life not only in Art Music but also jazz and rock; notably, in the last case, the Canvey Island R&B of Dr Feelgood, Lew Lewis and others. A healthy local circuit of recital spaces, civic halls, venues, pubs and clubs kept all this accessible, alive (and live). l doubt, however, whether any of this expresses itself on the surface of my music.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

With relish. This is an ensemble whose work I admire and I’ve had in mind for some time to write a piece for piano and strings.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I had a very enjoyable period at IRCAM some years ago working on a commission from them for the Ardittis; it was great fun. Recently, and following on from the work at IRCAM, I’ve worked with musicians such as Jane Chapman, Susanna Borsch, Sarah Watts and Antony Clare on projects incorporating live electronics and the kind of musical ideas I’m interested in looking at. I also worked with Jon Barraclough, the visual artist, on a number of projects involving music and moving images including exploring ways of integrating live drawing with performance and computer transformation.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

The music around our home in Colombo; my mother playing Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata on the upright in the front room, an LP of Nat King Cole singing, amongst other things, Perfidia, Kandyan drumming in the street processions and my father (plus his friends) gathered around the piano at the end of the day for what you could call a spirited rendition of Foggy Foggy Dew.

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

Another tough one since these pivotal points acquire significance after the event but the important ones relate to my composition teachers, George Mowat-Brown, Jonty Harrison and Vic Hoyland who, as well as imparting technique, attention to detail and openness to the irrational, have the knack of presenting complex ideas in simple terms. Apart from that, my formative experiences came from performing and hence encountering the music of composers such as Messiaen, Webern, Stockhausen and Boulez. Interestingly, the issue of accessibility of 'new' music during my student days at Surrey and Birmingham meant simply that; one of access to the music. Since scores and materials were readily available it was relatively straightforward, given the company of other like-minded people and some quality time, to gain physical contact with this music. And, yes, there was also an audience!

How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method?

Largely at the computer, for sketching and playing with material and for its ability to allow you to work in interesting ways with physical sound in conjunction with abstract, symbolic, ideas and notation. Recently I’ve been trying to spend more time sketching with pencil and paper since, for purely instrumental, ‘acoustic,’ music, this is more efficient.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

I don’t associate pleasure with guilt. On the other hand, if I sit at a piano I tend to play Beethoven sonatas, which I do badly and annoy my family, so this would be an embarrassing pleasure.

What instrument do you play?

It was the clarinet, but in another lifetime. I owe a lot to the instrument since it went some way in bringing me to composition by putting me in direct touch with some great music, including those extraordinary Alan Hacker pieces by Birtwistle and Maxwell Davies, and Roger Heaton’s performances of music by Globokar and Radulescu.

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

These exist and the main challenge for us is getting our work an airing, rather than producing it. Hence, the great opportunity provided by OPUS2016 in this instance to write for Britten Sinfonia.

What would be your advice to other young composers today?

I recollect Poul Ruder’s advice when he was once asked this question: “ Always use a ruler [for straight lines I assume] and stay out of jail.” Well, computers have largely made rulers redundant for us composers but the latter part of his guidance is still worth taking note of.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I don’t know what it holds but I’ll try and deal with it one piece at a time.

You can join Sohrab and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Andrew Thomas

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 14:53:00 +0000

Full Name: Andrew Thomas
Age: 33

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I was born in Essex but have lived most of my life in Surrey. I don’t feel this has a direct impact on my music though - I would say I have a global outlook and field of aesthetic influence.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

I’m going to write a piece that will exploit the skills of the players in the ensemble and develop some recent pre-occupations in my music and hopefully as a result find some new directions for me to go both in this piece and in the future.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

London Sinfonietta, CHROMA, Orkest de Ereprijs, Schubert Ensemble, London Chamber Orchestra, Construction Site Ensemble, Kokoro amongst others.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

I used to love the song with the chorus ‘we didn’t start the fire’ (so much so that I broke my dads tape player from rewinding it so often) although I can’t remember who it’s by. My first ‘classical’ memories are singing as a treble in choirs and seeing the Lutoslawski cello concerto at the proms.

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

My lecturers as an undergraduate (Simon Emmerson and Dennis Smalley) were very influential in the exposure and insight to new music they offered, as well as the encouragement of my composition teacher Rhian Samuel and flute teacher at the GSMD, Katy Gainham, who encouraged my exploration of contemporary repertoire. I was also lucky enough to study with Jonathan Harvey whilst completing my masters which has had a lasting impact on my aesthetics and technique. In terms of my music I would say that a project I completed with the London Chamber Orchestra in 2012 was pivotal in the maturing of my voice and style which continues today.

How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method?

I always start by imagining sound, then I try to notate it with pencil and paper. I then do a lot of pre-composition and analysis of the material I’m generating so I can start to structure the piece. Depending on the piece I then might use a computer to check complex rhythmic combinations or discuss things with a performer. I never use a computer to orchestrate and I’m a terrible pianist so work at the piano is only ever in the early stages.

What living person do you most admire, and why?

Apart from (obviously) my beautiful wife and two young children I am a big fan of Kaija Saariaho - her music is so original and she speaks and promotes contemporary music with real authenticity.

What instrument do you play?

I trained as a flautist and have been playing professionally for about 12 years. I also sing professionally as a bass in small ensembles and solo oratorio roles as well as conducting.

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

There are a lot of good, able, qualified composers applying for not many opportunities. Very few involve anything more than expenses so it is becoming more and more difficult to devote enough time to composing and earn a living. Luckily it’s something I’m passionate about so I find the time but it can be hard and involve very late nights and time away from the family.

What would be your advice to other young composers today?

Listen to as much music as possible but always be critical and ask how your voice and aims fit with what you're listening to and don’t forget the importance of music of the past on what we do today. Be pro-active in writing for players, don’t wait for them to come to you and grow thick skin - for every success there’s more rejection. Only do it if you REALLY want it - you won’t make a fortune out of it!

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I’m working on a new piece for Japanese Noh musicians, harp, soprano and electronics for Kings Place and will then be starting a piece for The Hermes Experiment to be premiered in November 2016. I’m also arranging a number of future projects for various duo combinations.

You can join Andrew and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Andrew Baldwin

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 12:21:00 +0000

Full Name: Andrew Baldwin
Age: 29

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?
I was born and educated in Dunedin, New Zealand, and have been living in London for the most part of four years (having studied here for two years). Whether or not where I’m from has a bearing on my music – I’m not sure! Possibly. I have certainly in some recent works been using cultural references to home but it varies from piece to piece.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

My aim for OPUS2016 is to make the most of the opportunity to work with professional musicians and revisit what I have learnt about instrumental techniques in the past, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to write for piano trio as I had planned in the future to write one!

The initial approach to my piece will include a lot of planning as I would quite like it to be a substantial work and know in which direction the piece is heading. Certainly this is important when for the January workshop we present the beginnings of the work as this will help in knowing the trajectory in which it is likely to take when I finish developing the work in the future.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I have had pieces workshopped and recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances by the Auckland Philharmonia and Southern Sinfonia. During my studies at the Royal College of Music I composed music for a new collaborative project with English National Ballet. Recently I was commissioned by the London Mozart Players and the Choir of Portsmouth Grammar School and the resulting work was performed at a concert commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. I write for choirs regularly also and this has been a big focus over the last few years, though I am now looking more towards a balance of choral and instrumental/orchestral.

When did you first start to write music?

My first compositions came about through piano lessons at age 10. My piano teacher suggested I write a short piano piece for a local composition competition and the resulting piece was awarded a prize. I was so delighted that I started writing for fun and it very rapidly became a huge passion of mine. I would come home after school and spend hours working on new pieces, often until the wee small hours – and being very tired for school the next day!

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I started seriously focusing on composition at secondary school mentored by my Head of Music, an amazing teacher who had been at the school for thirty years and was a towering figure within the music scene in my city. He encouraged me to listen, helped me with techniques and put me off to a good start. The next major step was beginning my undergraduate degree at the New Zealand School of Music as it was my first formal training in composition. I loved all the classes that went with it as it was my first introduction to harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration.

My compositional style has taken a while to focus, and though it is still not entirely focused yet I have much to thank my teachers at the RCM for – it was during my Masters years (2011-13) that things began to slot into place for me as a composer. Looking at that time and remembering what I learnt there retrospectively has really helped me to move forward as a composer.

How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method?

When I began composing I almost entirely composed on the computer. This is because I was bought Sibelius for my birthday when I started school and it seemed so natural to use it. As my ideas became more complex and I started to plan and structure my compositions more, I found the need to adapt this method to include a mix of different methods. Currently, I do a lot of planning and writing on manuscript paper and much less on computer than I used to as I find it gives me more freedom.

The last concert you saw?

The last performance I saw (that counts, doesn’t it?!) was the production of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at the Royal Opera House. I thought it was one of the best things I’ve seen at the ROH and I think it’s a very clever opera, particularly the first act which is a whirlwind of music and ideas.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

In typical composer fashion I like really geeky things like harmony and counterpoint exercises. A recent project which was a lot of fun was transcribing a mid 20th century choral work of which the score was lost. I was armed with the original LP recording and the first page of the choral score, and writing out the whole work. It has made me realise I’m a bit strange as this undertaking sounds like most musicians’ worst nightmares but to me was a great and enjoyable challenge!

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

I have been very fortunate to do my undergraduate degree in New Zealand where there are endless opportunities for workshops and recording sessions – it is wonderful as it allows young composers to really make a head start and build up a portfolio of music which they can then use to apply for courses, commissions and funding. I do not have as much experience of composer opportunities in the UK but what I do understand is that there are some fantastic schemes here for composers but with so many applying it makes the chances of being successful rather slim – hence I am delighted that I was chosen along with my fellow composer colleagues!

What would be your advice to other young composers today?

Write without restriction, listen to feedback but don’t let what you do be ruled by it.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I would like to do some further study and base myself in Europe for a while. Eventually I see myself working as a composer in New Zealand but before I do that I would like to spend a good amount of time soaking up the vast opportunities in this part of the world.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - James Hoyle

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 11:51:00 +0000

Full Name: James Albany Hoyle

Age: 22

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I’m originally from Leicestershire, but for the past few years have lived in London. I go to a lot of new music concerts in London but equally I always make a conscious effort to listen outside of what is immediately popular here and now. I’m sure my surroundings do play a role in my music but it’s one aspect of many.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

I’ve started by composing a number of fragments of material which each treat the ensemble in a slightly unusual way. Later I’ll assemble these together like a jigsaw puzzle to make the piece.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

I’ve been lucky to work with some great new music ensembles recently, including EXAUDI and the Plus-Minus Ensemble.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

When I was a small child my mother tried to teach me to play the recorder. I didn’t get it and gave up.

When did you first start to write music?

I started taking an interest in music when I was 11 and started learning the violin. At this point I began writing music almost instantly.

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I started composition lessons age 14 at the Royal Academy of Music, Junior Department. I had actually auditioned as a violinist but taken some compositions along to the audition. Apparently my violin playing wasn’t quite up to scratch so I was offered to study as a composer instead - prior to this point I had no idea that composition was a discipline one could study formally. Since then I have been in permanent full-time education, studying with many different teachers at a number of institutions: the Purcell School of Music, King’s College London, and presently the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

How do you start a new work/what is your composing method?

I usually compose with pencil and paper, with a piano nearby. Notes are not always the first thing to appear however, I often start by writing words, or drawing pictures or diagrams.

What living person do you most admire, and why?

I don’t think I’d single out any particular person, but all the people I admire most simply follow their own convictions, albeit never blindly.

The last concert you saw?

Georg Friedrich Haas’ new opera, ‘Morgen und Abend’.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Puccini operas.

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

There are many wonderful opportunities available for composers embarking on a professional career. When I was growing up in Leicestershire, however, opportunities were few and far between. I think schools and regional arts organisations could do far more to encourage creative work of all kinds as an integral part of education.

What would be your advice to other young composers today?

Keep your ears open: listen to a lot of music (not just contemporary music but all types of music), and go to as many concerts featuring new music as possible.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

I’m hoping to do a PhD at some point, and at present I am setting up a new contemporary music ensemble. In the meantime, I’ll continue to write lots of music!

You can join James and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.

OPUS2016 shortlisted composer - Gonçalo Gato

noreply@blogger.com (Britten Sinfonia) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 10:49:00 +0000

Full Name: Gonçalo Alves Gato Lopes (artistic name: Gonçalo Gato)
Age: 36

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you think this is relevant to understanding your music?

I’m from Lisbon, Portugal, but I currently live in London. Moving to London had a great impact on my personal and artistic life, which is in some way codified by my music. So, although I can’t quite define how it affected the compositions, I’m sure the influences are there. London has allowed me to benefit from a great variety of events related to the arts in general. Particularly important was the attendance of concerts by great orchestras such as the LSO, the BBC Symphony or the LPO.

How will you approach writing your OPUS2016 composition for Britten Sinfonia?

First of all I’d like to say that it is a great honour to be able to work with Britten Sinfonia. I will approach the writing with both audacity and a sense of discovery. Although I’ve relied on very intense planning in the past — whereby I would pre-define the materials, lengths, formal sections, etc., that would feature in a given piece — now it seems to make more sense to actually go through a discovery phase: I assume I do not really know everything about how the piece will end up before I begin writing it. This way I can take care of the actual building process, assessing at every moment the materials and compositional steps and avoiding the effect of what one could call artificial initial assumptions. Of course there is always some degree of planning and strategy devising, but all is rendered flexible after I begin composing. Philosophically, it is a matter of allowing the process of knowing to take place: although one has to rely on previous experience and acquired technique, a space should be left for new things to happen so that one can become aware of their impact, study and integrate them.

Who have you worked with previously? What ensembles/orchestras/organisations?

As a composer I’ve worked with many different groups of instrumentalists. Particularly important was an ensemble (NOL) I founded back in Portugal when I was completing my composition honours degree. Knowing first hand how musicians and maestros work, what they need, and how to make concerts happen — from producing to stage preparation — had a huge impact. Working with professional groups — such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chroma ensemble or the Ligeti quartet — on the other hand, had a different impact: it enabled me to take bolder steps but also to refine my writing. Working with experienced, gifted musicians, but who are also open to experimentation, is really something I look forward to in the future.

Describe your growth as a composer to this point. What were the pivotal points?

I guess the first pivotal point occurred when I started learning harmony and counterpoint with a composer called Eurico Carrapatoso, my first master. His classes were very enjoyable but also very, very clearly articulated. Every subject was presented as clearly as possible and as pedagogically as possible, always with a sense of intellectual honesty and elevation. At the time I was finishing my Chemistry degree, which I completed and which gave me a sense of rationality but also of how knowledge is always evolving through research. And if artistic knowledge is quite different from scientific knowledge, it also progresses through research.

The second pivotal point occurred when, after having pursued higher formal training, I saw my music being appreciated and valued as I got selected to some competitions, some of which I won. This made me realize that my life could be devoted to making music. So I kept going until I progressed to the third pivotal point: starting doctoral studies in London, a vibrant musical city. I was ready to take an important step towards refining my craft and I couldn’t ask for a better supervisor than Prof. Julian Anderson.

How do you start a new work/ what is your composing method?

To start a new work I usually spend some time just thinking. I ask: what aspects of music are most fascinating for me at this time? I take text notes and let imagination come up with possibilities and strategies. At the same time, I usually listen to other composers’ works written for the same instrumentation. I have the conviction that music is always a bit about acknowledging other composers’ work and progress. This contextualizes things but also raises concerns that point me to creative research and originality. Therefore, I start experimenting with material I’m curious or passionate about, usually at the computer using compositional algorithms (mostly through OpenMusic software). They work as a kind of musical laboratory, exceeding by far the piano’s limited playback capabilities (quarter-tones or polyphony, for instance) and allow me to devise new sonorities and techniques. Nevertheless, sometimes I use the piano because it provides me with an organic, living sound and poses constraints that can render my music more simple and effective. I then progress to musical sketching, usually directly on notation software. I tend to save different initial ideas, along with various versions of work-in-progress scores. Then I develop the ones I like the most and start taking more and more definite decisions regarding form and consistency. So, form usually comes late in the process after I have the materials I want and have sketched some of their developments and transformations. So, as I said before, I try to avoid taking too many initial assumptions, which can later prove artificial. I try to let the materials develop and show me the way.

This is how I usually work nowadays, which does not mean I’ll keep this process in the future. There are various methods — some of them I’ve tried before — and all of them surely have advantages as well as disadvantages.

The last concert you saw?

Actually it was an opera: ‘Morgen und Abend’ by Georg Friedrich Haas at the Royal Opera House.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Just recently I was having fun with friends asking this question, which I’ll try and take as lightly as possible. If there is guilt, it means I feel guilty because in someway I like it. In that sense, I’m afraid I have no musical guilty pleasure. On the other hand, there is music that is in some way pleasurable to listen to, even though I do not hold it in high regard. Mostly it boils down to pop music I heard on TV/radio during my childhood or adolescence — or to which I danced to in discos in happy moments — but that I do not consider artistically profound. It’s mostly entertaining. There are many examples, one of which is the song ‘Material Girl’ by Madonna (I hope I’m not being unfair). I still find this song quite fun… in a funny way! And it brings to mind the format of the so-called ‘pop hit’, together with its social impact. Furthermore, it can be considered an icon of mass-consumption culture of the 80s in the form of easy‑listening music, which raises other questions…

What instrument do you play?

Guitar. I can play both classical and electric guitar. Right now I’m playing more the electric as I love jazz improvisation: both challenging and very rewarding. And I love to improvise with other musicians. I have an ongoing obsession with electric guitars, their timbre and playability.

How do you feel about the opportunities that are available to composers?

The ‘contemporary classical’ music world is very peculiar and demanding. Although, no doubt, it is the area I naturally gravitate to and aesthetically feel most comfortable in, its not without its challenges and problems. Composers still face several difficulties in trying to get their works performed and trying to build a career. There is so much one has to prove and so many connections one has to make… Everything that can be made to provide composers with more opportunities is welcome, of course, although the situation now is better compared to decades ago. Some teachers I had told me that one could easily go through a whole 3-year degree without a single performance opportunity!

In terms of professional performances, there is the issue of aesthetics, which still means that some currents/tendencies are favoured in some locations and by some commissioning institutions/individuals. This does not always correspond to artistic quality, I’m afraid. Add to this the very nature of being an ‘emerging’ composer (if you’re lucky to be considered as such), not fully knowing how the medium works (agents, publishers, venues, etc), and things can get really complicated. But I think even some renowned composers have a hard time making a living out of just composition. The situation is strikingly different for a number of other professions, as we know. And composition is usually as hard a task as, say, computer engineering. I wish this situation could be changed and that composers would be called more often to contribute to cultural supply — whether through pure music or through combinations such as opera, dance, musical theatre, installation, etc. — and that the arts would gain prominence in a society that is too much centred on just getting work and getting paid. I firmly believe that one of the promising areas of economy in the future lies in the cultural sector. Culture too can generate profit, and together with education is indispensable to create developed and balanced societies based on tolerance, interchange, reflection and creativity.

What does the future hold for you? What are your next steps going to be as a composer?

Well, I have to say that the future holds a continued development of my compositional technique in general, and my orchestral writing skills in particular. I want to be able to take more and more challenging projects and hope to work with great musicians, ensembles, orchestras and maestros. Right now I’m trying to find an opportunity to get an orchestral piece premiered and will soon start to collaborate with Ensemble Recherche (Germany) towards developing a piece for flute. I have some other parallel projects, which, unfortunately, I can’t yet disclose.

You can join Gonçalo and the other OPUS2016 shortlisted composers on 22 & 23 January 2016 for two days of workshops at the Barbican in London, with discussions and performances of the pieces these composers have been working on. Find out more and how to reserve your place here.