What's On New Music at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

CONTEMPORARY AND NEW MUSIC

FRI 22 JUN JENNIFER WALSHE

Credit Blackie Bouffant

M AY - JUN 2018

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

@BirmCons

Supported by:

Birmingham City University

Catalogue d’Emojis

MON 18 JUN

Jennifer Walshe

BCMG: NEW WORK

MOOG SOUND LAB

7.30pm The Lab

FREE ADMISSION

Programme to include pieces by; Susannah Self, Oliver Farrow, Hannah Liu, Rob Roberts, Soul Zisso and Georgia Denham

As part of this year’s Supersonic Festival, The Moog Sound Lab will be hosted by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. This unique resource is a physical manifestation of the intersection between music, art and technology, providing opportunities for students, staff and artists to engage. Programme to include:

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

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is one of the world’s foremost new music ensembles. Over three decades, the ensemble has commissioned over 170 pieces of music from the world’s finest composers and emerging international talent. BCMG also supports the next generation of exceptional young composers.

In this special composers’ platform, the group performs the latest work from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s renowned composition department.

CATALOGUE D’EMOJIS

Moor Mother, the viscerally charged output of Philadelphia based interdisciplinary artist, Camae Ayewa. Her music is often harsh and strange, projecting both the cathartic anger of punk and the expansive improvisatory spirit of Sun Ra. Using a variety of machines, field recordings, and analog noisemakers, Ayewa constructs fractured, cacophonous waves for her words of punishing pertinence to ride.

8pm The Lab

“

£12 (£10) Yu-Tzu Kung

Created by Michael Wolters and Paul Norman Cobalt (Kate Halsall and Fumiko Miyachi) Paul Norman and Michael Wolters

In this event you will and , , and , following Messiaen’s example of cataloguing , and turn emojis into an evening of , and all sorts of other .

THALLEIN ENSEMBLE + JENNIFER WALSHE

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

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

6.30pm Recital Hall

THU 21 JUN

£12 (£10)

YU-TZU KUNG (PERCUSSION)

Conductor Daniele Rosina Thallein Ensemble

6pm Recital Hall

COMMUTER CONCERT

£5 (£2.50) Yu-Tzu Kung percussion Also featuring: Anton Clarke-Butler clarinet Begum Bensu Ünsal violin Gloria Yehilevsky percussion

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

Credit Blackie Bouffant

FRI 22 JUN

I usually travel by I want to see a I need to go to a I have always wanted to go to a I have booked a I came across a Tonight I’m leaving by I got lost in a The whole experience was very We just wanted to watch the

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

The Lab

£10 (£8)

SAT 26 MAY

FRI 22 – SUN 24 JUN

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

Dave Maric Trilogy Kevin Puts And Legions will Rise Alyssa Weinberg Table talk Gershwin arr. Locke/Keezer Summertime This eclectic programme includes solo percussion with electronics, a percussion duo piece, a trio for violin, clarinet and marimba and a special focus on jazz music.

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

Jennifer Walshe is without a doubt, one of the most original compositional voices to emerge in the last 20 years.

In 2000 Jennifer won the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt, and since then, her work has been performed and broadcast all over the world by every leading ensemble and orchestra.

Since 2007 Walshe has developed Grúpat, a project in which she has assumed twelve different alter egos, whilst her most recent project, Historical Documents of the Irish Avant-Garde, involved the creation of a fictional history of the musical avant-garde in Ireland. This history spans 187 years, and is housed at aisteach.org.

Thallein are delighted to present work spanning the whole of Jennifer’s career alongside the work of composition students Hugo Bell and Yfat Soul Zisso.

MOOR MOTHER MIGHT BE THE MOST RADICAL – EVEN THE MOST USEFUL – AFROFUTURIST ARTIST TO EMERGE FOR YEARS. THE WIRE

” Nik Void, an experimental electronic artist and producer, best known as one half of DFA signings Factory Floor, and as one third of Carter Tutti Void.

Void’s interests lie in the development of unconventional encounters with her tool of choice - be it voice, guitar or modular synthesizer. Her execution of sound, united with her ‘demystification’ approach unleashes a pragmatic imbalance allowing the creation of space for ‘mistakes’ paired with aleatoric composition. As a result she blurs the lines of techno, ambient, avant-garde and noise into a new form.

Supersonic Festival has been named as the UK’s best experimental music festival by The Guardian, bringing together live performances by some of the world’s most extraordinary artists.

See www.supersonicfestival.com www.moogmusic.com/sight-and-sound/sound_lab for more information.

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

HARD FAIRY

MON 25 JUN

FITKINWALL

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

8pm Recital Hall

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

Acclaimed composer-pianist, Graham Fitkin joins the sublime and multifaceted harpist, Ruth Wall for an exhilarating day of Graham’s music. Using two harps, moog voyager, autoharp and synthesizers, FitkinWall will perform extracts from Lost, in addition to Steve Reich’s groundbreaking masterpieces, Sextet and Harp Phase.

£10 (£8)

Ruth has performed with musicians such as Goldfrapp, John Lunn, Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, BBC Orchestras, Kathryn Tickell, Nolwenn Leroy whilst featuring on music for films such as Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers and BBC’s The White Queen. Graham has composed for Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, New York City Ballet, BBC Proms, ROH, Yo-Yo Ma and many others.

Programme to include: Graham Fitkin Stub Graham Fitkin Hard Fairy Graham Fitkin Gate Graham Fitkin Jim and Pam and Pam and Jim Graham Fitkin Spill

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Saxophone Department Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Harp Department Ruth Wall harp Eleanor Turner harp

Barry Wordsworth

FRI 29 JUN

BARRY WORDSWORTH WITH THE ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 7pm Concert Hall £15 (£10) Conductor Barry Wordsworth Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra Programme to include: Michael Wolters There are more of them than us - a Queer Concerto for Nine Saxophones and Orchestra Stravinsky Firebird

NIGHT OF THE UNEXPECTED

PARTIALLY SCREAMING

10.30pm Eastside Jazz Club

12.10pm Recital Hall

FREE ADMISSION

FREE ADMISSION

Are you ready for a night that’s truly unexpected? Join us as we launch into our CODA festival, with happenings never seen or heard before, where the only thing you can expect is that you’ll be amazed.

Millennial Percussion Graham Fitkin piano/synthesizer Ruth Wall piano/synthesizer Graham Fitkin Partially Screaming (English première) Graham Fitkin (arr. Phil James) Flak Steve Reich Sextet

We are delighted to welcome back Barry Wordsworth to conduct our end-of-year concert, following his thrilling performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the closing concert of our previous hall two years ago.

The programme tonight will start with a new piece

by Deputy Head of Composition, Michael Wolters, a Queer Concerto for Nine Saxophones and Orchestra, plus ballet repertoire including music from Stravinsky’s thrilling Firebird.

FitkinWall

FITKINWALL 6pm Recital Hall £5 (£2.50) Graham Fitkin Moog synthesizer and electronics Ruth Wall harps Graham Fitkin Lost (extracts) Steve Reich Harp Phase FURTHER PROGRAMME DETAILS AVAILABLE AT WWW.BCU.AC.UK/CONCERTS

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

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

‘kəʊdə/ noun

CODA Festival

the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure.

TUE 26 JUN

3pm Recital Hall Soprano Yfat Soul Zisso presents three brand new pieces for voice, written by Maya Verlaak, Rytis Mažulis and herself, each treating the voice in exciting new ways – accompanied, unaccompanied or with electronics.

CODA Festival

NEW BEGINNINGS 11am The Lab

SUSANNAH SELF: VIVID STREAM

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire presents their first year composers and performers showcasing their diverse range of new music.

ROB ROBERTS: LIFT MUSIC

5pm The Lab Vivid Stream is an immersive installation of soundscapes, video, ‘live’ dancing, voice and rippling guitars in the subterranean depths of The Lab.

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE

12.10-12.30pm; 2.10-2.30pm; 4.10-4.30pm Lift New music in a New Lift in a New Building. Three multiinstrumentalists take on the challenge of performing new commissions in this unique space.

5pm Foyer The Creative Ensemble play compositions from members of the ensemble.

COMPOSERS’ PLATFORM

SIMON PATON: HUH?

1pm The Lab

7pm Eastside Jazz Club

Music of the now. Music of the future. Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Composition Department presents their latest compositions, all being world premières.

This will be the debut performance of improvising large ensemble, Huh? Led by Simon Paton, this group features euphoric walls of sound and plenty of joyful shambles.

4V – ARRANGE THE CHAIRS IN YOUR SPACE

PAUL NORMAN: NON-STANDARD 3pm The Lab Paul Norman presents Non-Standard. Forget the old tradition.

Forget the new tradition. Agree to disagree. Celebrate your differences. Establish a new Non-Standard.

YFAT SOUL ZISSO: NEW MUSIC FOR SOLO UNACCOMPANIED VOICE

9pm The Lab Fashioning the concert environments of the future, 4v – Luke Deane and Richard Stenton – present an interactive multimedia installation from their 2017 Summer Show in Amsterdam.

CODA Festival

GEORGIA DENHAM: [STAIRS] 11pm Foyer Late night soundings of voices and strings, echoing through Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, in a newly premièred work

by Georgia Denham. Prepare to bathe in delicious harmony and unheimlich song.

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

WED 27 JUN

VIA NOVA

PLAYER PIANO UTOPIA

11am Recital Hall

7pm Eastside Jazz Club

Contemporary vocal ensemble Via Nova launch an exciting project based around a musical setting of the Vespers, including works by two Royal Birmingham Conservatoire student composers and alumnus Chris Cresswell.

The Player Piano is an instrument that allows the playing of music without the restriction of a player, but with other more delicate restrictions.

ROB ROBERTS: LIFT MUSIC 12.10-12.30pm; 2.10-2.30pm; 4.10-4.30pm Lift New music in a New Lift in a New Building. Three multiinstrumentalists take on the challenge of performing new commissions in this unique space.

DANIEL BLANCO & FRIENDS TRUMPET RECITAL #3 1pm Recital Hall Already a classic you mustn’t miss! (…of course #3 means this is the third edition, why didn’t you come before?)

JAIME WOLFE/LACO: PRAYER 8pm Foyer/Stairs The artists are praying – will you pray with them?

KALEIDOSCOPE 9pm The Lab After their successful debut in January, this dynamic ensemble comes back to The Lab to liven it up with their exciting and varied programme of folk-inspired new compositions with elements of improvisation.

Hear the results of collaboration between the musicians and composers.

SEÁN CLANCY: DRONE/NOISE GIG IN BIRMINGHAM 11pm The Lab There will be drone…and maybe a little noise.

It will be nice…

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

SUPPORTERS & EVENT FUNDERS Britten-Pears Foundation Hinrichsen Foundation PRS Foundation for New Music RVW Trust 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 (B&M Bargains) 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.

ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVAT OIRE IS PROUD TO PRESENT 15 MON T HS OF INCREDIBLE CONCERTS AND EVENTS. Featuring artists such as Nigel Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Roderick Williams, Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson, Laura van der Heijden and many more; the festival brings world-class artists to Birmingham to celebrate the opening of the Conservatoire’s new state-of-the-art home.

WWW.BCU.AC.UK/OPENING-FESTIVAL

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