Now that the random info update is done I think I should do an update on my music.
In performance related news The Space Within went down very well at my final Queen's Composers' Concert. My first experience conducting and I quite enjoyed it, I want more! I was surprised how attentive players are. At one point during the rehearsals I remember thinking 'why are they slowing down' and stopping to question what happened. It turned out my mind had wondered and it was I that was slowing down which in turn caused them to! Unfortunately I wasn't able to perform it with the players spaced around the room but I think it worked in the more standard format of everyone at the front. You can listen to it and have a look at the score here and decide for yourself.
Another recent performance was by the Royal Irish Academy of Music's percussion ensemble. A piece of mine called Prevalence. Unfortunately I handed them a rather bad score (I tried something new layout wise which really didnt work)which meant I didn't get an amazing performance but even with that I was very happy with the piece. Again recording and score can he heard and seen here. Would be good to hear any comments on either piece.
Now onto the title of this blog......The Quangle Ensemble!
The name means nothing now but I'm hoping that soon, at least for you Belfast and Dublin folk, it will mean something. Its a new music ensemble that I am currently setting up in Belfast with the help of Mo Doris. It stemmed from the basic idea that arts organisations dont seem to create a business they seem to create a body that eats funding and puts on music (I'm not saying this is always the case or that is necessarily true just my opinion) so to combat that I want to create a business like organisation that doesn't rely on grants. When I say doesn't rely on grants I'm still going to apply for them but I'm trying to work out a way (which I think I have) to make it sustainable after the grants have run out. The plan for the ensemble is to have about 15 resident performers and about the same number of composers. The mix of instruments in the ensemble will be sufficient to create traditional ensembles, modern ensembles and a chamber orchestra when everyone is together with everyone getting paid for every concert they are involved in and signed up to the payment scheme I've come up with.
At the moment there is one concert around February confirmed with the composers (myself, Mo Doris, Ryan Molloy, Marc Tweedie, Ben McHugh and Sean Kenny) and performers (Gascia Ouzounian on violin and Laura McGrogan on Cello). This will first be played in Belfast and then again in Dublin and possible a few other places as well. The first concert will be in December but I'm still working on the players and composers for it. I'm keeping everything under wraps about December at the moment but everything will follow in due course.
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Random update
Well calling it 42 is a little wrong because this post wont answer all your questions about life but then will anything? What this post will do is sum up my last few months of inactivity while I'm sitting in Gatwick for the next 8 hours or so.
I'll start with the most up to date thing first; that of sitting in Gatwick. The reason for this is I'm on my way to Milan for two weeks to attend the soundSCAPE festival. I'm looking forward to it but I am wishing I didn't decide to do a late night flight to London to get an early flight tomorrow morning but such is life. I get to write this and I might get some of a presentation I have to do written. A weird thing about soundSCAPE is that the composer in residence is Patricia Alesendrini, a phd composer from QUB and the same composer who had to pull of form the composers concert twice due to her performers I'll health (technically it was the same problem it just happened before the first concert and continued until after the second such is bad luck).
For the presentation I have to talk and give examples of my music for about 30mins or so. I started to look at this about a week ago or so with trepidation but thankfully its a lot better than I thought. Looking through my scores from Quartet No. 1 to Untitled and Relations there is definitely a continuity apart from the obvious obsession I have with Fibonacci. Its quite comforting to find this continuity but slightly annoying that ideas I've had recently turn out to simply be codifications of things I have done in earlier pieces. Some of this continuity was a conscious decision, like in Quartet No. 1 a long note moved by a micro-tone after about 1min is used again in Puddle Wonderful (though the recording doesn't so it that well), others weren't consciously decided upon, like repeated notes on different instruments in The Space Within and Wondering Wavering Willing. But that's just a brief start have to work out where to go form that.
I'm going to out a thanks up here both the PRSF/Bliss foundation and Sir Hamilton Harty Scholarship have completely funded my trip to the soundSCAPE festival. So thank you both.
Last week my name changed, well not changed just extended a little. I graduated from Queen's Belfast with a 2.1 and now have letters after my name! This now means I am on my way to RSAMD next year, not that that was really in doubt because of my offer but its not all confirmed. The only thing that's a little in the air is that of accommodation, paid the deposit but have yet to hear back if I have got anything or not.
I'll start with the most up to date thing first; that of sitting in Gatwick. The reason for this is I'm on my way to Milan for two weeks to attend the soundSCAPE festival. I'm looking forward to it but I am wishing I didn't decide to do a late night flight to London to get an early flight tomorrow morning but such is life. I get to write this and I might get some of a presentation I have to do written. A weird thing about soundSCAPE is that the composer in residence is Patricia Alesendrini, a phd composer from QUB and the same composer who had to pull of form the composers concert twice due to her performers I'll health (technically it was the same problem it just happened before the first concert and continued until after the second such is bad luck).
For the presentation I have to talk and give examples of my music for about 30mins or so. I started to look at this about a week ago or so with trepidation but thankfully its a lot better than I thought. Looking through my scores from Quartet No. 1 to Untitled and Relations there is definitely a continuity apart from the obvious obsession I have with Fibonacci. Its quite comforting to find this continuity but slightly annoying that ideas I've had recently turn out to simply be codifications of things I have done in earlier pieces. Some of this continuity was a conscious decision, like in Quartet No. 1 a long note moved by a micro-tone after about 1min is used again in Puddle Wonderful (though the recording doesn't so it that well), others weren't consciously decided upon, like repeated notes on different instruments in The Space Within and Wondering Wavering Willing. But that's just a brief start have to work out where to go form that.
I'm going to out a thanks up here both the PRSF/Bliss foundation and Sir Hamilton Harty Scholarship have completely funded my trip to the soundSCAPE festival. So thank you both.
Last week my name changed, well not changed just extended a little. I graduated from Queen's Belfast with a 2.1 and now have letters after my name! This now means I am on my way to RSAMD next year, not that that was really in doubt because of my offer but its not all confirmed. The only thing that's a little in the air is that of accommodation, paid the deposit but have yet to hear back if I have got anything or not.
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