What's On New Music at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

CONTEMPORARY AND NEW MUSIC

THU 26 - FRI 27 APR INFINITE OPERA COMPANY

M A R - A PR 2018

0121 331 5909 | BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS /RoyalBirmCons

@BirmCons

Supported by

Birmingham City University

Three Days of Rain

Cobalt Duo

WED 7 MAR

Decibel: Ed Bennett’s ‘Togetherness’ CD Launch

DECIBEL 7pm The Lab £10 (£8) Hear new works by composers from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, including music by Rosie Tunley, Maarten Benschop, Maya Verlaak, Peter Bell, Aydin Humphries, Tom Allan, George West and Robin Morton.

WED 28 FEB

PIANO DUET PROJECT WITH COBALT DUO 5pm The Lab £5 (£2.50) Fumiko Miyachi piano Kate Halsall piano Programme to include: Richard Stenton New Work Dan Cippico New Work Emily Abdy New Work Hugo Bell New Work Daniel Cuellar Trujillo New Work

SUN 4 MAR

YOUNG COMPOSERS’ PROJECT PRESENTS REFLECTIONS IN COLOUR TUES 27 FEB – WED 28 FEB

5pm The Lab

THREE DAYS OF RAIN

£8 (£6)

7.30pm The Lab

Join us and experience the creative explorations from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Young Composers’ Project in their spectacular showcase, Reflections in Colour.

A culmination of work, this showcase deftly explores the theme of reflections in colour through collaborative processes involving film, text and dance, alongside guest artists from multiple disciplines.

Free admission Author Richard Greenberg Director Andrew Katzman

EMERGING DIRECTORS

In New York City, the reading of a famous female architect’s will rattles the core relationships of two siblings and their childhood friend – but when her long-lost journal is uncovered, they believe they’ve found a solution to the puzzling inheritance.

Young Composers’ Project gratefully acknowledges the support of the PRS for Music Foundation.

Witness events that will ripple through time and shape each character in this unexpected, hilarious, and contemplatively familial “story of a moment.”

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

Decibel gratefully acknowledges the support of the PRSF Beyond Borders fund.

THU 8 MAR

DECIBEL: ED BENNETT’S ‘TOGETHERNESS’ CD LAUNCH 7pm The Lab £10 (£8) Composer / Artistic Director / Electronics Ed Bennett Conductor Damien Harron Mira Benjamin violin Neil McGovern saxophones Michelle Holloway recorders Jack McNeill clarinets Martyn Sanderson trombone Paul Norman electric guitar Sebastiano Dessanay bass Eliza McCarthy piano Jose Daniel Martinez Martin percussion In this special portrait concert of Ed Bennett’s music, Decibel launch their new CD on the Diatribe label. Expect a high-energy programme, ranging from wild and driving polyrhythmic workouts to delicate moments of stillness and quiet introspection.

Decibel gratefully acknowledges the support of the PRSF Beyond Borders fund.

“

UNCLASSIFIABLE, RAW-NERVE MUSIC OF HUGE ENERGY AND I M A G I N AT I O N .

THE GUARDIAN

” ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE OPENING FESTIVAL Part One begins March 2018 Beginning with the Official Royal Opening Gala on Sun 11 Mar, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire presents 15 months of incredible events.

Featuring Nitin Sawhney, Jennifer Walshe, Joe Cutler, Michael Wolters, Orkest de Ereprijs, Peter Donohoe, Flatpack Film Festival and many more.

Visit www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts for more information.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

Rose Redgrave

Joe Cutler

Credit Iza Korsak

Gonimoblast

FRI 9 MAR

CHRIS MAPP’S GONIMOBLAST WITH BRASS & STILLEFELT 8pm The Lab

WED 4 APR – THU 5 APR

WED 11 APR

OFFICIAL ROYAL OPENING GALA CONCERT

REGGAE INNOVATION AND SOUND SYSTEM CULTURE

LINES/REDGRAVE/MCCARTHY TRIO

7pm Concert Hall

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

£10 (£8)

SOLD OUT (Returns only) A limited number of tickets are available for a live stream in the Recital Hall £10 (£5)

Free admission

Timothy Lines clarinet Rose Redgrave viola Eliza McCarthy piano

Conductor Mirga Gražinyté-Tyla Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra

£12 Tickets available via www.thsh.co.uk This one-off performance sees Gonimoblast collaborate with a brass ensemble of friends and allies, playing new music written by bassist Chris Mapp. Additionally, Annie Mahtani (BEAST) will use the surround sound system to specialise the performance with an immersive visual reaction to the music from Chromatouch.

Stillefelt, also led by Chris, merges written material with improvised passages, liberal use of guitar effects pedals and audio processing to create sound beds for soaring trumpet and guitar lines over hypnotic grooves.

Presented in association with:

SUN 11 MAR

Joe Cutler Elsewhereness (world première) Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 Ciurlionis In the Forest (UK première) with visuals Ravel Suite No.2 from Daphnis and Chloe

8pm Organ Studio

Join us for a landmark event in reggae culture and sound system research. Highlighting the music’s subgenres, crossovers, mashups, intersections and innovations, and featuring international academic guests and musicians, this two-day conference runs alongside the Let’s Play Vinyl touring exhibition hosted at Birmingham City University’s Parkside building (21 Mar – 5 Apr).

For booking information contact: reggae.innovation@bcu.ac.uk For exhibition information contact: letsgoyorks@yahoo.com

The CBSO’s charismatic Music Director, Mirga Gražinyté-Tyla, conducts our fabulous Symphony Orchestra in a concert christening our incredible new Concert Hall. The concert kicks off our Opening Festival and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Hear the fruits resulting from a series of workshops as three of this country’s finest chamber musicians première seven new works by composition students from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Featuring new works by James Abel, Luke Harrison, Millicent James, Henryk Golden, Ka Kwok, Oliver Mack and Kailan Barton-Porter.

THU 12 APR Composers’ Platform

EMERGING DIRECTORS: SONGWRITERS’ CIRCLE 7pm The Lab

This exciting and original programme includes Joe Cutler’s new work, Elsewhereness, which has been specially commissioned for this momentous occasion.

The piece was composed with the support of an award from The Composers’ Fund, supported by the PRS Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

£2 Hear original songs from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students in a relaxed gig in the Lab. Enjoy a mixture of popular music styles, with full band line ups contrasting with intimate acoustic songs.

MON 9 APR R O YA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E

I n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h G r e a te r B i r m i n g h a m C h a m b e r s o f C o m m e r c e

COMPOSERS’ PLATFORM 7pm The Lab £2 Frontiers presents a concert of new works by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire composers. This concert will feature a wide range of styles and utilise the layout of the Lab to its maximum.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

EMERGING DIRECTORS

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

WED 18 APR

FRI 20 APR

DUOPHONICS 12.10pm Foyer, Level 0, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

OPENING FESTIVAL: ORCHESTRA OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Free admission

7pm Concert Hall

Director Oliver Farrow

£10 (£8)

Oliver Farrow synth/electronics Daniel Kemshell guitar Daniel Cippico bass Chithrinie Nirupama sitar Anna Olsson violin Millicent James cello Gwilym Jones drums

Conductor Daniele Rosina

Explore the musical tastes of individual players with a background of noise, ambience and drone.

M A G N I F I C E N T LY ECLECTIC TIME OUT

Programme to include: Works by Martijn Padding, Tom Allan, Rosie Tunley, Emily Abdy, Georgia Denham, Thomas Earl, Cam Athanasiades, Anna Olsson, Fang Fang and composition tutors from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Join Oliver Farrow and six performers as they present a unique collection of duets, exhibiting the latest point in a process involving improvisation assisted with sonic piano scores and quasi-notated scores.

“

Orchestra of the 21st Century is a unique project in which our own Thallein Ensemble join forces with Orkest de Ereprijs from Holland, to create a radical re-imagining of the orchestra. Our composers have been working closely with the performers, and this evening you can hear the extraordinary results.

SAT 21 APR

”

FLATPACK FILM FESTIVAL

Full programme to be announced soon via www.bcu.ac.uk/concerts

Flatpack Film Festival takes over venues across Birmingham every spring, and this year it’s coming to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. With a mixture of films, performances, contraptions and surprises, Flatpack aims to show people things they might not have otherwise seen.

R O YA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E

I n co n j u n c t i o n w i t h G r e a t e r B i r m i n g h a m C h a m b e r s o f Co m m e r c e

Orchestra of the 21st Century has been made possible with the kind support of The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in London.

THU 19 APR

Infinite Opera Company

Morton Feldman

THU 26 – FRI 27 APR

OPENING FESTIVAL: THE INFINITE OPERA COMPANY PRESENT ENTANGLEMENT! AN ENTROPIC TALE 7pm The Lab

EMERGING DIRECTORS

£10 (£8)

ORKEST DE EREPRIJS

R O YA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E

Librettist Roxanne Korda Composer Daniel Blanco Albert Conductor Rita Mikhailova Producers Roxanne Korda and Daniel Blanco Albert Director Aleksandar Dundjerovic and Infinite Opera

I n co n j u n c t i o n w i t h G r e a t e r B i r m i n g h a m C h a m b e r s o f Co m m e r c e

9pm The Lab £10 (£8)

Orkest de Ereprijs

Marije van den Berg bass flute Willem Breuker De Verdubbelaar (The Duplicator) Raphaël Languillat Studie super Flagellationem Mary Finsterer Red Green Blue Martijn Padding Slow landscape with thunder (Bass Flute Concerto)

MON 23 APR

Orkest de Ereprijs are one of the most dynamic and renowned new music ensembles in Holland. Functioning very much as a collective, their line-up includes wind, brass, electric guitars and percussion. This concert features a tantalising mix of music from composers with which they have a close association, such as Martijn Padding, featured composer at last year’s No Frontiers Festival.

Orkest de Ereprijs gratefully acknowledges the support of The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in London.

MORTON FELDMAN’S CRIPPLED SYMMETRY 7pm Recital Hall £10 (£8) Richard Craig flute Damien Harron percussion Philip Thomas piano Morton Feldman’s late extended work, Crippled Symmetry, is an unusual combination of flutes, percussion and piano/ celeste. The performance offers a rare opportunity to hear the sustained exploration of patterns, repetition and variation live.

A special amalgamation of musicians will take you on a journey as the music quietly unfolds, becoming richly and deceptively complex.

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

Roxanne Korda soprano Gina Baker soprano Lucy Morton mezzo-soprano Shiyu Zhang soprano Miles Taylor bass Boglárka György violin Edwin Podolski viola Tom Pickles cello Arjun Jethwa flute Kaethe Uken clarinet Daniel Blanco Albert trumpet Stefanos Politsakis piano/repétiteur

R O YA L B I R M I N G H A M C O N S E R VAT O I R E

I n co n j u n c t i o n w i t h G r e a t e r B i r m i n g h a m C h a m b e r s o f Co m m e r c e

Entanglement! An Entropic Tale is a divulgation opera, describing the mysteries of our universe with a distinctive sense of humour only a nihilist character like Entropy can have.

At the same time, the impossible love story of an electron and a positron stuck in a quantum quandary arises during the unstoppable, chaotic destruction of our known universe…

FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

Andrew Hamilton by Peter Campbell

MON 30 APR

ANDREW HAMILTON NMC PORTRAIT DISC LAUNCH CONCERT 7pm Organ Studio £10 (£8) Juliet Fraser soprano Maxime Echardour percussion Eliza McCarthy piano Andrew Hamilton violin/voice To celebrate the launch of Andrew Hamilton’s first portrait disc being released on NMC, internationally renowned musicians Juliet Fraser, Maxime Echardour and Eliza McCarthy perform the song cycle To The People and epic piano work O.A.I.R., whilst the composer himself will perform a.

SUPPORTERS & EVENT FUNDERS Composers’ Fund Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Hinrichsen Foundation Holst Foundation NMC PRS Foundation for New Music RVW Trust The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Please note all listings correct at time of going to press.

HOW TO FIND US Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is situated at 200 Jennens Road, Birmingham B4 7XR, opposite Aston University and behind Millennium Point.

PARKING

There is a multi-storey car park owned and managed by Birmingham City Council situated adjacent to Millennium Point.

The car park entrance is on Howe Street off Jennens Road.

If you are using a sat nav please use the postcode B4 7AP.

BUS ROUTES

The 14, 55, 66 and 94 all go from Priory Queensway (Argos) and stop on Jennens Road. There is a stop almost opposite Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with a pedestrian crossing nearby.

ACCESSIBILITY

Wheelchair users are entitled to concessionary priced tickets with a complimentary companion seat. Guide Dogs are welcome at all Royal Birmingham Conservatoire venues. If you wish to bring a Guide Dog or wheelchair, please let the Events Office know by calling 0121 331 5909.

BOOK NOW AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS