Uncategorized – Sound World

Sound World Residency

We are very grateful to the Mount Without for generously supporting a Sound World residency at their atmospheric crypt.

The first concert of the residency will take place on Sunday 1st October (7pm) and will see Sound World (the South West’s most exciting new band) zigzag across the boundaries from classical to jazz, to blues and back again in an exciting journey through the wilds of modern music. With new work from Evelyn Glennie & Sally Beamish, virtuoso solos by Jörg Widmann & Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, a vigorous, rarely heard early piece from Iannis Xenakis… and more, this will be a stirring and uplifting evening of great music.

Tickets: £15 or £10 (concessions) plus Eventbrite commission.

For more information and to buy tickets please click or tap here.

Coming soon: the Sound World Music Club

The Sound World Music Club will launch at the the beginning of September, one month ahead of our new band The Sound World Group’s debut concert at Bristol’s The Mount Without.

All memberships will have a free, 2 month trial period. Following the trial standard Club membership will cost £10 per month and will include:

free tickets to Sound World Group concerts and other recommended events
membership of Sound World’s Concert Club
club events
access to premium online features, recordings and video
the opportunity to suggest and vote on future repertoire
the chance to attend rehearsals

Other levels will be available including young composers’ membership (with the option to submit works for consideration), donor’s membership (which support future concerts, educational events and commissions – donor members will have the option to be listed as patrons in concert programmes, marketing and online literature) and newbie membership, for those new to contemporary music who want to know more (including bespoke listening recommendations and background info).

Click below to register your interest and as soon as we’re up and running we’ll be in touch so you can begin your free, two month trial.

Arts Council England to support concerts/workshops

We are delighted to announce that ACE will be supporting our spring workshops series and concerts. The workshops will provide young composers with the chance to have their music played and recorded by professional performers from the Bristol Ensemble under guidance from leading composers.

Pieces of sufficient quality will be considered for inclusion in two concert in Bristol and Shaftesbury. These concerts will be performed by Bristol Ensemble and will feature music by Iannis Xenakis, Eleanor Alberga and the world premières of two specially commissioned new pieces by Sally Beamish and Gavin Bryars.

Sally Beamish April

April, the piece that Sally wrote for Reflections our covid project album was given its live première on 21st November at St. Anne’s church in Lewes. Originally written for saxophone, marimba and piano, this new arrangement for viola and piano was performed by Sally herself and pianist Nancy Cooley.

Reflections: release confirmed

We are delighted to announce that our long awaited album Reflections will be released on 8th December. It is the product of our Covid response project aimed at supporting freelance musicians at the height of the pandemic.

Recorded by members of the Bristol Ensemble and featuring new music by a very fine array of composers, the track listing is as follows:

Evelyn Glennie: The Grace of Silence
Gavin Bryars: Altissima Luce
Sadie Harrison: Corona Defined
Geoff Poole: Crux Coronis
Julian Leeks: Entwined
Sally Beamish: April
John Pickard: Stronghold
Graham Fitkin: Violin Violin Piano
Michael Ellison: Pek Kötü Olsa da Durum (Whatever My Sorrows)
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Chorale
Nico Muhly: Trombone Phrases
Howard Skempton: Stepping Out

Reflections: online concert

On 9th October at 13:15, nine of the new recordings/videos from our Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians project will launch the Bristol University online concert series. Composers John Pickard, Geoff Poole and Michael Ellison, as well as SoundWorld director Julian Leeks, have close ties to the university so we are delighted to be involved in this.

With new music by:
Sally Beamish
Gavin Bryars
Graham Fitkin
Dame Evelyn Glennie
Sadie Harrison
John Pickard
Geoff Poole
Howard Skempton
&
Mark-Anthony Turnage
Performed by members of the Bristol Ensemble

BBC article on our coronavirus project

We are grateful to Steve Mather and the BBC for posting an article about Sound World’s Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians. You can read this here.

Dame Evelyn Glennie, “…felt compelled to be part of it.” Photo by Caroline Purday

Crowdfunding Campaign

The crowdfunding campaign for our Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians has now finished. The final total was just shy of £5000 so a huge thank you to everyone who donated.

We are still accepting contributions via our own project page here.

Podcast now available

The Sound World Noods Radio show/podcast is now available at https://mixcloud.com/NoodsRadio/sound-world-30th-june-20/
Sound World director Julian Leeks talks to Nico Muhly, Roger Huckle, Harriet Riley and Andy Keenan about our Coronavirus Fund for Freelance Musicians.With new music by Nico Muhly, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sally Beamish, Graham Fitkin, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Geoff Poole.

Sound World podcast

A Sound World podcast will be airing at 3pm today on Noods Radio (https://www.noodsradio.com) With SW director Julian Leeks interviewing members of Bristol Ensemble, Nico Muhly and Andy Keenan and talking about our Fund for Freelance Musicians. With specially composed new music by Sadie Harrison, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Graham Fitkin and more…