‘Beacons’ awarded further support
I feel very happy that this week Tŷ Cerdd have chosen my piece ‘Beacons’ to be awarded further support from the CoDI Buddies scheme. Congratulations to Iestyn Harding too who also receives further support. I will look forward to working with Côr Aduniad further on the piece next year.
Unanimous Winner of Manchester Chorale Competition!
I am delighted to announce that I have won 1st place in the Manchester Chorale 40th Anniversary Competition – £1000! The competition was judged anonymously and my piece ‘When Voices Rise’ was chosen to help the choir celebrate their 40th anniversary year. The piece will be performed throughout their season next year so I will be looking forward to hearing it then! Congratulations to Martin Neill and Lydia Jane Pugh who also had pieces selected, looking forward to hearing their pieces too. I will update you when I have more information regarding performance dates.
Video of Beacons
Here’s a link to the recording of my new experimental piece ‘ Beacons’.
I am very grateful to Côr Aduniad and to Tŷ Cerdd for their support with the creation of this piece. It was a lot of fun to work on and record! It has given me lots more ideas for working with speakers in this way, so watch this space.
‘Beacons’ is recorded!
Last weekend I recorded my new experimental vocal piece ‘Beacons’ with Côr Aduniad. I am in the process of getting the video ready to share with you all. The idea for the piece came from the Brecon Beacons, which reportedly gained their name as they became used to signal against invading troops which were spotted from afar. I would like to thank Tŷ Cerdd for commissioning me to undertake work on this project, and also to Côr Aduniad for being patient with my sometimes strange requests! The function of the piece was also to experiment with using four portable speakers to perform with. I wanted to experiment with sound and space in this piece, and relate it to the overall thematic composition. I have learned a lot from my work with the choir and this piece, and it has allowed me to start building a new vocabulary which I intend to use to devise more pieces of this nature. Keep posted for links to the video!
Christmas commissions in May!
When the weather is not so summery it feels slightly less weird to have been working on a few Christmas commissions for the London Gay Men’s Chorus. I don’t think I am supposed to spoil the surprise of the arrangements I have been asked to create, you’ll have to book tickets to the concert later in the year. I’ll update this sight when I have more information.
CoMA concert Bristol
On Wednesday night this week I was lucky to be able to make it to the CoMA concert in Bristol. Chris Holley (pictured above) led the ensemble in the beautiful and acoustically generous Victoria rooms in Bristol. They gave very convincing performances over a range of different compositional styles and approaches. Hannah Kendall, Ailís Ní Ríain, and Zöe Martlew also had performances of their pieces written for CoMA which were all very impressive. It was good to hear contributions from Masters composition students from University of Bristol, each of whom had to grapple with the challenges of writing for open-score ensembles.
Proud in Cardiff!
The SWGMC are performing a piece, ‘Nothing and Everything’, I wrote as part of the ‘Shame Chorus’ a couple of years ago. I went to their rehearsal last week and they are sounding great so make sure you book your tickets soon!
Bristol Humming Bird, CoMA concert!
The last performance of this piece was in Birmingham last year, and I am looking forward to this performance by Bristol CoMA. The programme looks great and I am keen to hear Hannah’s and Zoë’s work too! Their concert is on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm in the Victoria Rooms, Bristol, hope to see you there.
Codi Buddies Partnership announced!
Very excited to be able to announce that myself and Côr Aduniad have been selected for one of these CoDI Buddies partnerships. The piece will be quite experimental in nature and I am looking forward to working on it with MD Wayne Beecham and the choir. It will definitely be a new way of performing for the choir and I am very interested in what we find out along the way! Congratulations to all the other successful partnerships too!
2018 round up! Happy New year!
This year has been a busy one with the performances of Cinderella, the last of which was at the start of this month. Also, special congratulations to Darius James, director of Ballet Cymru, on his recently announced OBE! Lovely to have been able to work with you this year. It was also very exciting to be asked to judge one of the categories for the British Composer Awards 2018. I hope that 2019 brings health and happiness to you all!
Jack White 