Firebird RSS - Projects

Kayla Kavanagh

2011-11-08T18:34:06+00:00

Looking forward to the new year, we are pleased to announce that singer-songwriter, Kayla Kavanagh, will be performing at a Composer-Performer Platform at Derby Assembly Rooms on 16th February 2012.

Kayla will also be demonstrating a unique piece of musical technology - the Eigen Harp!

To find our more about Kayla and her work please visit: http://www.kaylakavanagh.com/

We'll be providing more information about this event over the next few months on Firebird's Facebook page with more information back on Firebird's new website in the new year!

Mas Y Mas in Lincoln!

2011-11-08T18:11:28+00:00

We are extremely pleased to announce the next Composer-Performer Platform will be hosted by Nottingham-based Latin-American/Cuban band, Mas Y Mas, at Lincoln Drill Hall on Tuesday 22nd November at 7:00pm.

We particularly excited about this event as Mas Y Mas are fronted by Rikki Thomas Martinez who is also a member of Firebird's Artist Association. To find our more about Rikki and Mas Y Mas - as well as a video of the band in action - follow this link.

Ross redesigns 2

2011-08-23T08:58:10+00:00

During my designing and rebranding of the Firebird Trust I also designed some leaflets for Liam (one of the artists working with the Firebird Trust) for an upcoming guitar club, as well as a folk music event. I came up with a rough design for each and then worked on them for a week before showing the designs to Liam, to which he asked for only one change to the folk music leaflet.

KOMPOSIT banner

2011-08-08T13:36:25+00:00

A few months ago, just before the first Composer-Performer Platform in Derby, our Future Jobs Fund in-house graphic designer, Ross Taylor, produced a fantastic new banner for KOMPOSIT. We're a bit overdue getting it up on the site, but at last here it is.

For more on Ross's work for us, check out his designs for our new marketing materials, for the Brailsford project and the annual report.

Drumming Action

2011-08-08T13:27:01+00:00

Following on from the recent video blogs, we thought it was about time to get some content uploaded of Pete & Kev in action... Ross is still working on the video, but here are a few photos in the meantime.

Kev and Pete's July Video Blogs

2011-07-31T21:36:33+00:00

We've been catching up with the Future Jobs Fund video blogs this weekend... so here are the latest two uploaded together:

ross redesigns

2011-07-31T07:46:47+00:00

In case you didn’t read my first work diary from a few weeks ago… my name is Ross Taylor and I am part of the Future Jobs Fund team. My role is as both an admin assistant and a graphic designer. It has been a good few weeks since I have done this so there will be a lot to write about if I can remember it all. So, here’s the first of three helpings:

The re-branding has taken a very different direction now. Rather than looking “nice”, it has been decided that we should be eye catching, bold and striking, whilst trying not to be too in your face with it.

Starting with the idea of a phoenix, I started work at once with a few designs. The phoenix started off as a pencil drawing then was scanned and photoshopped with different ideas and techniques until I had a few different designs. Then I started to play with the idea of neon lights and music, creating variations in colours and colour fades. Finally I came up with the smoky guitar with music seeping from it and fading off into the distance; this design seemed to be a winner with the rest of the Firebird team and I have started to create new publicity materials using it.

Music & Dance Collaboration - Next Steps

2011-06-24T15:51:56+00:00

Our trainees, Kev and Pete, have been busy continuing their work with dancers, Fiona and Naledi, ably overseen by Future Jobs Fund trainer, Liam Robinson. It's still very much a work-in-progress and something everyone is committed to developing further over the next few months. Because of this we feel it's important to see both the video of where they've actually got to with the piece in performance (see below), but also to learn about their methodolgies for developing work and collaborating... discussing what works... what doesn't... where to go next.. and so on.

Their work here is compelling evidence of how young people can really rise to the challenge of working hard and creating great new art if the right opportunities are presented to them in the right environment.

We'll keep the site updated as the piece develops through to its final form. If things progress well, we aim to perform it somewhere in Lincoln... so if you are local to the area, keep visiting the site and we'll let you know when.

Musicians
Kevin Howden, Pete Goodyear

Dancers
Fiona Butler, Naledi Withers

Trainer
Liam Robinson
(see more of Liam's work as a folk artist here)

Ross's designs

2011-06-10T13:36:35+00:00

Hello, my name is Ross Taylor and I am part of the Future Jobs Fund team with Firebird. My role is as an admin assistant to Kayleigh, and as graphic designer for most of the company’s new promotional material.

My first design based task that I was given was to re-design the annual report, and with that the branding of the entire company; this is an on-going job and has in recent weeks involved me working closely with Robin to create the new look of the website.

During my time here I have created leaflets for events and continued to brand the company’s YouTube, Twitter, and their other social and media sites with my designs and images. I have also designed a banner and leaflets for Komposit. Recently my design work has turned to designing and creating leaflets for an upcoming event in Brailsford that is being led by Dave and Rikki; I decided to create a few different designs that would each appeal to different age groups, broadening the boundaries of those who may get involved and making it more open to everyone.

As the weeks go on I shall add more images of my designs, works in progress and finished pieces along with a few sentences about letting you know what I’ve done and what I’m doing.

Reflective Practice

2011-06-09T17:11:16+00:00

After a little delay, we've got the video uploaded of Kev, Pete, Fiona and Naledi evaluating the music and dance collaboration (a short 4-hour stint on afternoon) way back on 17th May 2011. The original video (see below) provoked some "interesting" debate online, so we feel it's extremely timely to have this new video uploaded so context, processes and thinking behind the collaboration are laid bare. And, of course, it's only the first stage in the process as they are back at it next week on the afternoons of Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th June. So expect some new footage shortly afterwards.

And for those of you who missed the clips of the actual work itself....

Kev and Pete go a bit rhythmic!

2011-06-09T16:59:21+00:00

Some good solid practical work achieved this week with Gary Hammond joining Pete and Kev to explore aspects of creative collaboration. Particular focus was given to strategies for working with dancers in preparation for next week's sessions with Fiona and Naledi.

Development of a Tumblr Site

2011-06-09T12:46:06+00:00

You've been hearing a lot from Kev and Pete, the Music Practitioners on our Future Jobs Fund team, but not so much from the admin staff, Robin Evans and Ross Taylor. But today we're changing this with the first in an occasional series of articles from them both about their work at the Trust. First up, Ross:

"This week I've been compiling a presentation on the processes which I went through in creating a new website for the Trust. This first couple of steps in the process are encapsulated in the designs shown here, showing its evolution from a first simple sketch. You can check out how the site is developing by visiting http://firebirdtrust.tumblr.com."

video blog - week ending 3rd june

2011-06-07T16:45:16+00:00

video blog - week ending 27th May

2011-05-28T09:21:42+00:00

We've got a little bit behind with these over the last couple of weeks. But this installment brings things back up to date."

Video Log for week ending 20th May

2011-05-27T18:42:28+00:00

Our Future Jobs Fund music practitioners, Pete Goodyear and Kevin Howden, give us the lowdown of their week.

Mario Gazi: biog

2011-05-27T12:22:33+00:00

Mario has worked as a performer of contemporary music since the early eighties.As both songwriter and performer he has straddled many different areas of musicranging from Jazz through to World Music. Educational projects with which he has been involved in recent years include collaborative dance projects bringing together musicians from differentmusical disciplines with contemporary dancers in addition to ‘fusion’ projects working with rock and jazz musicians. Other large-scale projects include the creation of an alternative musical incorporating elements of physical theatre,contemporary dance and rock music which was premiered at the Plowright Theatrein Scunthorpe in 2009. Extracts from this work were also performed at The Doncaster Dome. He cites his influences as ranging from contemporary jazz through minimalism to the American ‘Beat’ poetry of Ginsberg and Snyder.

Bob Dickinson: biog

2011-05-27T12:21:12+00:00

Bob worked briefly with 'Magazine' in the late seventies as keyboardist, contributing the song, 'Motorcade', to their first album, 'Real Life'. This followed work with a number of European avant garde composers including Dieter Salbert and Jean Yves Bosseur, alongside projects with 'Cabaret Voltaire' and Richard Witts (of 'The Passage'). In the eighties, he devoted his energies to educational work alongside collaborative projects with dancers and artists from other disciplines. The nineties witnessed an increasing involvement and interest in music, ritual and nature, culminating in the publication of 'Music and the Earth Spirit' by Capall Bann in 2001. In recent years he has composed pieces for 10-string classical guitar and chamber ensemble which have been performed in South Africa by Viktor Van Niekerk and in Canada by the Vancouver Miniaturist Ensemble. An album of recent work, 'Logic, Beauty and Chaos', has been released on the JNN netlabel based in the Netherlands. He has recently completed a chamber work, 'Rendition', for the Komposit orchestra (released as an interactive remix on the Fourier Transform label) and a set of songs, 'Pictures of a floating world' premiered by Siobhan Mooney and Ezra Williams at Schotts Music, London, January, 2010. Other recent projects include 'Whirl-a-gig' for orchestra and 'Minium 1-5' for Tenor Recorder, Baroque Cello and Harpsichord (written for members of the Red Note Ensemble) and premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, March 2011. A new work for COMA East Midlands is planned for their 2011-12 season.

For further information check out his website at: www.bobdickinson.org

Composer-Performer Platform #2

2011-05-27T12:10:19+00:00

Bob Dickinson and Mario Gazi

The Drill Hall, Lincoln, 17th June 2011, 7:00pm

The works to be performed at this platform will include extracts from ‘A Lincoln Piano Book’, sparsely populated pieces which explore concepts of tonality and resonance. Alongside these pieces will be a new set of songs composed collaboratively with Mario Gazi. These songs form part of an ongoing collection, ‘Not a National Songbook’ and experiment with free-form text-setting contrasting with more repetitive ‘fixed’ elements.

Komposit Composer Platforms are a new initiative designed to showcase the existing work of our composers that has been developed independently from the main Komposit project. Every composer needs to hear their music played live, and whilst we can’t offer one of our structured workshop environments to everyone, we feel it is important to offer as many showcase opportunities as possible to composers able to present their own developing work.

Drums and Dance

2011-05-20T17:17:44+00:00

This week we felt it was time to give our Future Jobs Funds music practitioners some free rein. So, on Tuesday, we let Kevin and Pete loose at Lincoln Drill Hall to put together some ideas alongside dancers, Fiona (Lincolnshire Dance) and Naledi, for new work combining music and dance. But we always like to give our artists a challenge. Get it done in just four hours!

Our Future Jobs Fund Team Leader, Liam Robinson , oversaw the action.

Musicians:
Kevin Howden
Peter Goodyear
Liam Robinson

Dancers:
Fiona Buttler
Naledi Withers

Venue:
Lincoln Drill Hall

Video log for week ending 13th May

2011-05-14T13:03:41+00:00