Gŵyl Gerdd Bangor Music Festival 2014

gŵyl gerdd newydd bangor b a n g o r n e w m u s i c f e s t i va l Dymuna’r pwyllgor yr ŵyl ddiolch i’r canlynol am eu cefnogaeth barod: The festival committee would like to thank the following for their willing support: Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru / Arts Council of Wales Cyngor Ynys Môn / Isle of Anglesey Council Ehangu Cyfranogiad, Prifysgol Bangor / Widening Participation, Bangor University Tŷ Cerdd Ymddiriedolaeth Chapman Trust Ymddiriedolaeth Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust Ymestyn Ehangach, Partneriaeth Gogledd Cymru / Reaching Wider, North Wales Partnership Ysgol Cerddoriaeth, PB / School of Music, BU Clwb Rotari Bangor Rotary Club A’r holl noddwyr eraill / and all other sponsors Diolch hefyd i: Thanks also to: Madeleine Mitchell | Nigel Foster | Natasha Barrett | Andrew Lewis | Ed Wright | Alex Bailey Meinir Llwyd, Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias | Mari Pritchard, Gwasanaeth Ysgolion William Mathias Asaf Sirkis | Sylwia Bialas | Patrick Bettison | Frank Harrison | Victoria Stanners Aelodau ECNB / BNME members | Katherine Betteridge | Nel Gwynn | David Draper Francesca Reader | Canolfan Siopa Deiniol Shopping Centre | Robert Saxton David Curtis | Simon Desbruslais | Orchestra of the Swan | Tom Coult | Matthew Forbes Christine Swain | Xenia Pestova | Pascal Meyer | Jan Panis Gringo Design Pwyllgor yr Ŵyl / Fetival Committee: Geraint Davies | Hugh Gwynne | Marian Wyn Jones | Ann Marston | Rhiannon Mathias Guto Pryderi Puw | Clive Smart | Elis Llwyd Williams | Elina Hamilton | Kate Campbell Disgyblion ac Athrawon o/Pupils and Teachers from: Ysgol y Graig, Llangefni Ysgol Maesincla, Caernarfon & Ysgol Talysarn, Dyffryn Nantlle

Er cwrteisi, dylid diffodd pob oriawr electronig a ffonau symudol cyn dechrau pob cyngerdd!

To be courteous, all electronic watches and mobile phones should be switched off prior to each concert!

c r o e s o…

Estynnaf groeso twymgalon i chi i Ŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor lle unwaith eto y ceir gwledd o’r gerddoriaeth ddiweddaraf. Un o brif ffocws y gweithgareddau eleni yw dathlu 450 mlwyddiant un o brif feirdd a dramodydd Lloegr, sef William Shakespeare (1564–1616).

Addas yn wir yw medru gwahodd Orchestra of the Swan o dref enedigol y bardd, Stratfordupon-Avon, i ymuno gydag un o brif hyrwyrddywr cerddoriaeth newydd, y feiolinydd amryddawn Madeleine Mitchell i gymryd rhan flaenllaw yn yr arlwy gerddorol. Yn ogystal, pleser fydd medru gwrando ar ymateb creadigol cyfansoddwyr amrywiol i’w eiriau, gan gynnwys gwaith gan Robert Saxton, cyfansoddwr gwadd yr Ŵyl ynghyd a chomisiynau newydd gan Tom Coult (fel rhan o Wobr Gyfansoddi William Mathias 2013), David Draper, Nel Gwynn a Francesca Reader, ymysg eraill.

Bydd cyngerdd agoriadol yr ŵyl yn ein tywys ar daith o’r goleuni i’r tywyllwch, a gaiff ei gloriannu’n ddychmygus gan Ned Rorem a nifer o gyfansoddwyr eraill, gan gynnwys comisiwn newydd gan y gyfansoddrwaig ifanc Mared Emlyn (mewn cydweithrediad â Tŷ Cerdd). Yn ogystal, yn hwyrach y nos Iau cawn noswath o jas hwyr gyda Phedwarad Asaf Sirkis yn nhafarn y Greeks.

Pleser yw medru profi arbennigedd dechnolegol greadigol cyfansoddwraig gwadd arall yr Ŵyl, Natasha Barrett, lle clywir detholiad o’i gweithiau mewn protread synhwyrus dan arweiniad Electroacwstig CYMRU. Ac yn benllanw i’r gweithgareddau, rhennir y llwyfan gyda Chynhadledd INTER/actions i glywed dehongliad unigryw y ddeuawd biano Pestova a Meyer o ddarn eiconig Stockhausen, Mantra.

Estynaf fy ngwerthfawrogiad cynhesaf i holl noddwyr yr Ŵyl, hebddynt ni fuasai modd cynnal y gweithgareddau hyn. Yn ogystal, mae ein dyled yn fawr i’r trefnwyr a’n gwirfoddolwyr sydd bod amser yn gweithio’n ddiflino yn y cefndir. Mwynhewch y wledd gerddorol!  Guto Pryderi Puw (Cadeirydd a Chyfarwyddwr Artistig, GGNB)

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w e lco m e …

The warmest of welcome to the Bangor New Music Festival, where an eclectic mix of the latest music will be on offer yet again! One of the main focuses this year is the 450th anniversary of one of the most famous English poets and playwrights, William Shakespeare (1564–1616). It is therefore fitting to invite the Orchestra of the Swan from his town of birth, Stratford-upon-Avon, to join forces with one of the most respected exponents of contemporary music, violinist Madeleine Mitchell to take a central role in the celebrations.

In addition, it is most interesting to hear how various composers creatively respond to his words and text, with the inclusion of a work by one of the festival featured composers, Robert Saxton, together with new commissions by Tom Coult (winner of the William Mathias Composition Prize 2013), David Draper, Nel Gwynn and Francesca Reader, amongst others.

The opening Wednesday concert will take us on a journey from light to darkness, imaginatively captured by Ned Rorem and other composers, including the new commission by young talent, Mared Emlyn (in collabortion with Tŷ Cerdd). In addition, later on Thursday our nocturnal enjoyment will be further enhanced by some late night jazz with the Asaf Sirkis Quartet at the Greeks.

We are fortunate to be able to experience the creative technological expertise of our second featured composer, Natasha Barrett, with a protrait concert that includes some of her best known works, under the direction of Electracoustic WALES. And to close the festival, the stage is shared with the INTER/actions Conference to hear the unique interpretation of the Pestova and Meyer piano duo of Stockhausen’s iconic piece, Mantra.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to all the festival sponsors, without their support these exciting and colourfull events would not be possible. In addition, our sincerest appreciation goes to the organisers and volunteers for their usual dedication and hard work.

Enjoy the musical celebrations!  Guto Pryderi Puw (Chairman and Artistic Director, BNMF)

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DYDD M e r c h e r 12 M aw r t h 2014 19:30, Neuadd Powis, Prifysgol Bangor

Nos a Dydd

Madeleine Mitchell (ffidil) Nigel Foster (piano) Anthony Powers: In Sunlight 8.5’ Wendy Hiscocks: Dry White Fire 5’ Ned Rorem: Day Music - Billet Doux 1’, Pearls 2’ Mared Emlyn: Tua’r Gogledd 11’ (premiere, comisiwn Tŷ Cerdd) 1. Aurora 2. Haul y Nos 3. Tywyll Ddydd Hillary Tann: Seven Poems of Stillness (extract) VI ‘the possibility of your presence’, Cerdd: The Other VII ‘nights that are so still ‘ 5’ -------- EGWYL -------Rhian Samuel: One Charming Night 7’ Michael Berkeley: Veilleuse (Night Watch) 10’ John Woolrich: …that is night 6’ Ned Rorem: Night Music - Gnats, The Lighthouse, Two Moths, Saying Goodbye Driving Off 8’ Anthony Powers: In Sunlight [9’00”] - Yn y darn byr yma ‘rwyf wedi ceisio awgrymu disgleirdeb tanbaid a thynerwch tesog yr haul, a’r tueddiad sydd ganddo i finiogi neu i feddalu pob manylyn. Fel rhan o’r strwythur ceir set fer o amrywiadau dwbl, gyda’r ddwy thema yn dilyn cyflwyniad byr. Mae’r naill yn flodeuog, rhethregol a’r llall yn dyner, delynegol. Mae’r cyntaf yn datblygu’n rhythmig, drwy daccota i ddawns fywiog, gyda’r ail yn datblygu’n fwyfwy blodeuog nes bod y llinell bron yn gwbl aneglur, ond yn ymddangos ar y diwedd yn ei ffurf fwyaf syml a chlir. Yna, mewn coda, mae pob cymeriad cerddorol yn diflannu i dawelwch. Ysgrifennwyd In Sunlight ym mis Mai 1993 fel ymateb i gomisiwn gan Madeleine Mitchell, a diolchaf iddi am ei chyngor technegol ynglŷn â’r darn i’r feiolin. Hi gyflwynodd y darn am y tro cyntaf, gyda John Lenehan (piano), yn Ystafell Purcell, Llundain ar y 5ed o Orffennaf 1993. © Anthony Powers Wendy Hiscocks: White Dry Fire - Cafodd Dry White Fire ei gomisiynu ar gyfer y Riverina Conservatorium Composers’ Forum yn Awstralia a’i chwarae am y tro cyntaf gan y cyfansoddwr a’r ffidlwr Lauren Davies ar Awst 27, 2010. Er nad yw’r gerddoriaeth yn dilyn trywydd pendant y geiriau, mae’r delweddau clir sy’n ffurfio o ganlyniad y gerdd An Aboriginal Simile gan Mary Gilmore yn dylanwadu’n gryf ar y gerddoriaeth. Wedi’r premiere, roedd y cyfansoddwr wrth ei bodd o gael clywed gan aelod o’r gynulleidfa bod gan Gilmore cysylltiad cryf â’r ardal Riverina yn New South Wales, a bod ei henw, yn y gorffennol, wedi eu hysgrifennu ar byrth y Conservatorium.

There was no stir among the trees, No pulse in the earth, No movement in the void; 4

W e d n e s d ay 12 M a r c h 2014 19:30, Powis Hall, Bangor University

Night and Day

Madeleine Mitchell (violin) Nigel Foster (piano) Anthony Powers: In Sunlight 8.5’ Wendy Hiscocks: Dry White Fire 5’ Ned Rorem: Day Music - Billet Doux 1’, Pearls 2’ Mared Emlyn: Towards the North c11’ (premiere, commissioned by Ty Cerdd) 1. Aurora 2. Midnight Sun 3. Polar Night Hillary Tann: Seven Poems of Stillness (extract) VI ‘the possibility of your presence’, Poem: The Other VII ‘nights that are so still ‘ 5’ -------- interval -------Rhian Samuel: One Charming Night 7’ Michael Berkeley: Veilleuse (Night Watch) 10’ John Woolrich: …that is night 6’ Ned Rorem: Night Music - Gnats, The Lighthouse, Two Moths, Saying Goodbye Driving Off 8’ Anthony Powers: In Sunlight [9’00”] - In this short piece I have tried to suggest both the dazzling brightness and the hazy languor of sunlight, its tendency to exaggerate details harshly or, equally, to dissolve it in shimmering blur. The structure is a short set of double variations, the two themes following a short introduction. One is flamboyant and rhetorical, the other gentle and lyrical. The first develops rhythmically, through a toccata to a vigorous dance, the second becomes increasingly decorated so that the line is almost dissolved, but finally emerges in its clearest, simplest form. In a coda each musical character disappears into silence. In Sunlight was written in May 1993 to a commission from Madeleine Mitchell, and I am grateful to her for technical advice about the violin part. She gave the first performance, with John Lenehan (piano), in the Purcell Room, London on 5 July 1993. © Anthony Powers Wendy Hiscocks: White Dry Fire - Dry White Fire was commissioned for a Riverina Conservatorium Composers’ Forum in Australia and was premiered by the composer and the violinist Lauren Davis on August 27, 2010. The rich imagery in Mary Gilmore’s poem An Aboriginal Simile (reproduced below) was the catalyst for these sounds but the music is not programmatic and does not follow the text in any order. After the premiere, the composer was delighted to learn from a member of the audience of Gilmore’s own connection with the Riverina area of New South Wales and how her name had once featured on the Conservatorium gates.

There was no stir among the trees, No pulse in the earth, No movement in the void; 5

The grass was a dry white fire.

Then in the distance rose a cloud, and a swift rain came: like a woman running, the wind in her hair.

Mary Gilmore © Wendy Hiscocks Ned Rorem: Day Music [3’00”] & Night Music [9’00”] - Cyfansoddwyd Night Music rhwng mis Chwefror a mis Mai 1972 fel dilyniant i Day Music, a ysgrifennwyd y flwyddyn flaenorol.

Er i’r darnau yma o waith ar gyfer y piano a’r feiolin gael eu llunio’n wreiddiol fel dau ddarn annibynnol, mae’r cyfansoddwr yn ddigon bodlon iddynt gael eu perfformio yn ôl y gofyn, naill ai’n unigol neu fel unrhyw gyfuniad o’r 16 darn sydd yn y grŵp. Perfformiwyd premiere byd Night Music ar Ionawr 12, 1973 gan y feiolinydd Earl Carlyss a’r pianydd Ann Schein, yn Awditoriwm Coolidge, Llyfrgell y Gyngres, Washington, D.C. Y bore wedyn recordiwyd y darn yn yr un neuadd gan yr un artistiaid ar gyfer Desto. © Boosey & Hawkes Mared Emlyn: Tua’r Gogledd [11’00”] 1. Aurora 2. Haul y Nos 3. Tywyll Ddydd Comisiynwyd y gwaith gan Tŷ Cerdd ar gyfer Gŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor 2014 Ysbrydolwyd y gwaith hwn gan ehangder a llonyddwch y rhew a’r eira yn y Gogledd oer, a’r goleuni amrywiol sydd i’w weld ar adegau gwahanol o’r flwyddyn. Un o’r golygfeydd rhyfeddol a welir yw’r ‘aurora borealis’ gyda’i liwiau llachar yn dawnsio ar draws yr awyr gan adlewyrchu yn yr eira gwyn islaw. Gellir meddwl am y symudiad cyntaf fel y rhyfeddod uchod neu efallai’n fwy priodol, fel y wawr (aurora yn Lladin). Ar ôl agoriad tawel a llonydd, cyflwynir alaw syml gan y ffidil. Clywir cordiau oeraidd eu naws gan y piano cyn i’r gerddoriaeth gynyddu o ran tempo a gwead nes cyrraedd uchafbwynt ac ymdawelu eto.

Mewn mannau sydd yn uwch na chylch yr arctig, ni fydd yr haul yn machlud am gyfnod yn ystod yr haf. Adlewyrchir hyn yn yr ail symudiad Haul y Nos, sy’n sionc a chromatig. Er fod yr haul yn disgleirio am 24ain awr, nid yw’r tywyllwch wedi gollwng gafael ar y tirwedd yn llwyr.

Mae dwy thema yma, y gyntaf yn ysgafn a’r ail yn fwy tyner. Ceir cydweithio chwareus rhwng y ffidil a’r piano. Mae’r symudiad olaf yn fwy cythryblus i gyfleu y natur wrthgyferbyniol sydd yng ngeiriad y teitl, Tywyll Ddydd. Yn groes i’r hyn sy’n cael ei gyfleu yn yr ail symudiad, ceir cyfnod yn ystod y flwyddyn pan na fydd yr haul yn codi yn uwch na’r gorwel. Nid bod hynny’n golygu tywyllwch llwyr am 24ain awr, ond ceir rhyw wawr las oer dros y tirlun. Mae patrwm ailadroddus y piano yn ogystal ag alaw ddirdynnol y ffidil yn cyfleu’r awyrgylch stormus. Mae’r ail alaw, mewn wythfedi cryf gan y piano, yn cael ei datblygu gan y ffidil gan ddefnyddio nodweddion rhythmig yr alaw gyntaf. Pan ddychwel yr alaw gyntaf yn ei ffurf wreiddiol, mae’r cyfeiliant wedi ymdawelu, a chlywir adlais o ddeunydd cerddorol y symudiad cyntaf sy’n rhoi gobaith y daw’r wawr. © Mared Emlyn 6

The grass was a dry white fire.

Then in the distance rose a cloud, and a swift rain came: like a woman running, the wind in her hair.

Mary Gilmore © Wendy Hiscocks Ned Rorem: Day Music [3’00”] & Night Music [9’00”] - Night Music, composed between February and May of 1972, is a sequel to Day Music which was written one year earlier.

Although these two sets of studies for piano and violin were conceived as independent works, the composer finds no objection to the performance of individual pieces, or to the grouping of any combination of the sixteen pieces according to the needs at hand. The world premiere of Night Music, performed by violinist Earl Carlyss and pianist Ann Schein, took place on January 12, 1973, in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The piece was recorded for Desto by these artists the following morning in the same auditorium. © Boosey & Hawkes Mared Emlyn: Towards the North (Tua’r Gogledd) [11’00”] 1. Aurora 2. Haul y Nos (Midnight Sun) 3. Tywyll Ddydd (Polar Night) The work was commissioned by Tŷ Cerdd for the 2014 Bangor New Music Festival This work was inspired by the vastness and tranquillity of the ice and snow of the cold North, and the various lighting seen at different times of the year. One of the phenomenal scenes seen is the ‘aurora borealis’ with its dazzling colours dancing across the sky and reflecting in the white snow below. The first movement can be thought of as the phenomenon above or perhaps more appropriately as the dawn (aurora in Latin). After a calm and tranquil opening, a simple melody is introduced by the violin. The piano plays chords that sound eery and cold before the music increases in tempo and texture, reaching a climax before becoming calm again.

Above the arctic circle the sun does not set for a period during the summer. This is reflected in the lively and chromatic second movement, Haul y Nos (Midnight Sun). Even though the sun shines for 24 hours, the darkness has not let go of the landscape completely. There are two themes here, the first is animated and the second being more tender. There is a playful interaction between the violin and piano. The last movement is more tumultuous, conveying the contrasting nature of a day full of darkness. Contrary to what is conveyed in the second movement, there is a period in the year when the sun does not rise above the horizon. That is not to say that there is complete darkness for 24 hours, but a cold blue hue over the landscape.

The repeating pattern in the piano as well as the violin’s intense melody, convey the stormy atmosphere. The second melody, in strong octaves by the piano, is developed by the violin by using the first melody’s rhythmic features. When the first melody returns in its original form, the accompaniment is calmer, and an echo of Aurora’s musical material can be heard which gives hope that dawn will break. © Mared Emlyn 7

Hillary Tann: Seven Poems of Stillness (extract) [5’00] 1. VI ‘the possibility of your presence’ 2. Cerdd: The Other 3. VII ‘nights that are so still Cyfansoddwyd Seven Poems of Stillness ar gyfer y violoncello, gyda cherddi gan R. S. Thomas, fel ymateb i gais gan Dr. Rhian Davies, Cyfarwyddwr Artistig Gŵyl Gregynog. Mae’r gwaith hefyd wedi ei gyflwyno iddi. Ysgrifennwyd y gwaith i’w chwarae am y tro cyntaf yng Nghapel Manafon, lle bu R. S. Thomas yn Rheithor, gan nodi 100 mlynedd ei enedigaeth.

Yn y cylch di-dor hwn, mae pob un o’r saith cerdd yn cyflwyno gwahanol agweddau o berthynas y bardd â Duw. © Hilary Tann ----------------------------Rhian Samuel: One Charming Night [7’00] - Yn 1998, fe’i comisiynwyd gan y feiolinydd Joji Hattori, i gyfrannu at raglen fyddai’n canolbwyntio ar ddull ‘Kreisler’, ac fe’i hanogwyd i ystyried ansawdd ‘swynol’ cerddoriaeth Kreisler. Daeth ‘One Charming Night’ gan Purcell i’r meddwl, gyda’r geiriau awgrymog (‘One charming night / is more delight / than a hundred lucky days. // Night and I improve the taste, / make the pleasure longer last / a thousand several ways’) wedi eu gosod i felismata a chrychleisiau chwareus, yn ogystal ag i rhythm dreiddiol y ‘Scotch Snap’. Defnyddiwyd y nodweddion hyn fel sail i’r darn presennol, sydd hefyd yn cynnwys darnau y gellir eu hadnabod o’r gân ei hun. A’r canlyniad? Myfyrdod mympwyol ar y gwreiddiol. © Rhian Samuel Michael Berkeley: Veilleuse (Night Watchman) [10’00”] - Yn 1997 gofynnwyd i mi ysgrifennu darn i’r ffidil a’r piano ar gyfer Gŵyl Belgrade. Heb amser i ysgrifennu o’r newydd, gwelais gyfle i ail-weithio darn o sonata gynnar yr oedd ef wedi ei hysgrifennu yn 1979 ar gyfer y ffidil, darn yr oedd yn dal yn hoff ohono. Yn ei hanfod, hwn yw symudiad araf ei Sonata i’r Ffidil, ond erbyn hyn yn cynnwys rhai o themâu cerddorol y symudiad olaf. Mae’r deunydd gwreiddiol a gadwyd hefyd yn cynnwys adleisiau melodig o’r sgôr cynharaf i mi ei chyhoeddi erioed, Meditations ar gyfer cerddorfa linynnol, sy’n defnyddio’r un math o synau tonaidd, harmonig. Ystyr Veilleuse yw ‘Gwylfa Nos’ neu ‘Lusern Nos’, ac mae awyrgylch leddf a chythryblus i’r gerddoriaeth, sy’n ffrwydro’n achlysurol cyn dychwelyd at gerddoriaeth dawel, ryfeddol yr agoriad. © Faber Music Ltd John Woolrich: ...that is night [6’00”] - Meddai’r cyfansoddwr: Gofynnodd Madeleine Mitchell i mi gyfansoddi darn nosluniol, a chofiais am gerdd Emily Dickinson: “Some say goodnight - at night I say goodnight by day Goodbye - the Going utter me Goodnight, I still reply For parting, that is night...”

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Hillary Tann: Seven Poems of Stillness (extract) [5’00] 1. VI ‘the possibility of your presence’ 2. Poem: The Other 3. VII ‘nights that are so still Seven Poems of Stillness for violoncello solo with poems by R. S. Thomas was composed in response to a request from Dr. Rhian Davies, Artistic Director of the Gŵyl Gregynog Festival, to whom the work is dedicated. The work was written to be premiered at Manafon Church, where poet R. S. Thomas was Rector, on the occasion of the centennial of his birth. In this continuous cycle, each of the seven poems presents an aspect of the poet’s relationship to God. © Hilary Tann ----------------------------Rhian Samuel: One Charming Night [7’00] - For a commission in 1998 from violinist Joji Hattori for a ‘mostly-Kreisler’ programme, she was urged to think of the ‘charming’ quality of Kreisler’s music. This brought to mind Purcell’s song, ‘One Charming Night’, whose suggestive text (‘One charming night / is more delight / than a hundred lucky days. // Night and I improve the taste, / make the pleasure longer last / a thousand several ways’) is set to playful melismas, trills and the pervasive ‘Scotch snap’ rhythm. These features became basic materials for the present piece, which also includes recognisable fragments of the song itself.

Thus it becomes a whimsical contemplation of its model. © Rhian Samuel Michael Berkeley: Veilleuse (Night Watchman) [10’00”] - In 1997 I was asked to write a piece for violin and piano for the Belgrade Festival. Not having enough time to embark on anything new, I seized the opportunity to extract the one part of an early violin sonata that I still liked, and reworked it. Essentially this is the slow movement of his 1979 Violin Sonata, but now incorporating some thematically related music from the last movement. The original material that has been retained also includes a melodic idea from my earliest published score, Meditations for string orchestra, which embraces the same, largely tonal, harmonic landscape. Veilleuse means ‘Night Watch’ or ‘Night Lantern’, and the music has a slightly melancholy, restless atmosphere, which momentarily erupts in a passionate outburst before settling back to the quietly ticking, veiled lines of the opening. © Faber Music Ltd John Woolrich: ...that is night [6’00”] - The composer writes: Madeleine Mitchell asked for a nocturnal piece and I remembered Emily Dickinson’s poem: “Some say goodnight - at night I say goodnight by day Goodbye - the Going utter me Goodnight, I still reply For parting, that is night...”

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DYDD I au 13 M aw r t h 2014 10.00-12.00, Hen Goleg, Ysgol Cerddoriaeth Prifysgol Bangor Dosbarthiadau Meistr gyda Madeleine Mitchell (ffidil) a Matthew Forbes (cello) a Christine Swain (obo) o Orchestra of the Swan 12.15-13.45, Yr Hen Lyfrgell, Ysgol Cerddoriaeth Prifysgol Bangor Gweithdy Jas gyda Asaf Sirkis 16.00, Neuadd Powis, Prifysgol Bangor Darlith yr Wŷl gan y gyfansoddwraig electroacwstig Natasha Barrett 19.30 Neuadd Powis, Prifysgol Bangor Portread o Natasha Barrett Electroacwstig CYMRU Rhaglen: - Kernel Expansion - Untitled Two (Premiere y DU) - Gentle Sediment - Mobilis in Mobili (Premiere y DU) - Fetters (The Fetters of a Dream) (Premiere y DU) - Hidden Values (Premiere y DU)

Rhan 1: The Umbrella

Rhan 2: Optical Tubes

Rhan 3: The Lock

Kernel Expansion (2009) [14’26] - Mae Kernel Expansion yn cynnwys tair adran rynggysylltiol sy’n archwilio lluosogrwydd a hanfodion rhai synau; o’r tu allan, o’r tu mewn, o’r byd real, breuddwydion a’r dychmygol. Comisiynwyd Kernel Expansion gan ZKM gyda chefnogaeth ychwanegol gan Gyngor Celfyddydol Norwy. Perfformiwyd y gwaith gyntaf drwy system gyngerdd Klangdone o 43 o uchelseinyddion gan ZKM. Mae’r fformat gwreiddiol wedi ei ofodi o fewn ‘ambisonics.’

Untitled Two (2010) [7’43] - Adeiladwyd Untitled Two gyda montage o recordiadau dibroses ambisonics. Mae’r ymdriniaeth hwn ychydig yn wahanol i’m arferion cyfansoddi arferol. Y canlyniad yw bod y rhan fwyaf o’r golygfeydd sonig yn amlwg, i’m clust i beth bynnag. Heb ddatgelu rhagor am y naratif, bathwyd y teitl fel yr ail mewn cyfres o ddarnau di-enw. Er hynny mae gan Untitled Two is-deitl, Flight of the Bumble Bee ac fe’i lleolir ar ynys dywodlyd oddi ar arfordir ddeheuol Norwy.

Gentle Sediment (2008) [10’00] - Gentle Sediment yw’r trydydd gwaith yng nghyfres Barely.

‘Prosiect cynllun’ yw Barely sy’n cynnwys cyfansoddi, celf sonig ac amlgyfrwng sy’n mynd i’r afael â fframweithiau canfyddiadol a chymdeithasol a ymddangosa ar ‘drothwy profiad’, 10

T h u r s d ay 13 M a r c h 2014 10.00-12.00, Old College, School of Music Bangor University Masterclasses with violinist Madeleine Mitchell and cellist Matthew Forbes and oboist Christine Swain of Orchestra of the Swan 12.15-13.45, The Old Library, School of Music Bangor University Jazz Workshop with Asaf Sirkis 16.00, Powis Hall, Bangor University Festival Lecture by electroacoustic composer Natasha Barrett 19.30 Powis Hall, Bangor University Portrait of Natasha Barrett Electroacoustic WALES Programme: - Kernel Expansion - Untitled Two (UK Premiere) - Gentle Sediment - Mobilis in Mobili (UK Premiere) - Fetters (The Fetters of a Dream) (UK Premiere) - Hidden Values (UK Premiere)

Part 1: The Umbrella

Part 2: Optical Tubes

Part 3: The Lock Pupils from Ysgol y Graig: new work – premiere Kernel Expansion (2009) 14’26 - Kernel Expansion contains three interconnected sections exploring multiplicity and the essence of some sounds; from outdoors, from inside, from realities, dreams and imaginations. Kernel Expansion was commission by ZKM with additional support from the Norwegian Cultural Council. The work was premiered over ZKM’s 43-loudspeaker Klangdome concert system. The original format is spatialised in ambisonics.

Untitled Two (2010) 7’43 - Untitled Two is built from a montage of unprocessed ambisonics recordings. This approach is somewhat different from my normal acousmatic compositional practice. The result is that most of the sound-scenes are, at least to my ears, obvious.

Without wanting to reveal more about the narrative, the title stuck as the second in a series of three ‘Untitled’ works. Untitled Two does however have a subtitle, Flight of the Bumble Bee and is set on a sandy island off the south east coast of Norway.

Gentle Sediment (2008) 10’00 - Gentle Sediment is the third work in the Barely series. Barely is a ‘paradigm project’ consisting of composition, sound-art and multi-media addressing perceptual and social frameworks that emerge at the ‘experienced threshold’, and how these 11

a sut mae’r fframweithiau hyn yn dylanwadu ar strwythur gynhenid y gwaith. ‘Trothwy profiad’ yw’r pwynt lle rydym yn weithredol ddeall ystyr yn hytrach na derbyn gwybodaeth yn oddefol. Yn nhermau sain fe’i cysylltir yn uniongyrchol gyda gwybodaeth na ellid ond prin ei glywed ond eto’n hynod fanwl. Cynlluniwyd Gentle Sediment fel bod y manylion mewn cryfder, amledd, gofod, adnabyddiaeth sain, strwythur a graddfa dymhorol yn medru cael eu perffomrio ar drothwy profiad o dan wahanol sefyllfaoedd cyngerdd. Ymchwilwyd a chyfansoddwyd prosiect Barely drwy grant gan Gyngor Celfyddydol Norwy, 2006-2008.

Mobilis in Mobili (2006) [8’08] - Bu natur ffisegol, dirgelwch, drama, mytholeg a chysyniad y cefnfor yn ysbrydoliaeth i’r celfyddydau drwy’r oesoedd a thrwy’r byd. Mae Mobilis in Mobili yn echelin ganol i’r gwaith electroacwstig mwy, Trade Winds (52’00, 2004-2006) – a ysbrydolwyd gan ysblander eang y môr. Benthycir y teitl, Mobilis in Mobili o bennod o’r llyfr ‘20000 Leagues Under the Seas’ gan Jules Verne. Gwelir y stori fel a ganlyn: ‘Several times, during various lulls of wind and sea, I thought I heard indistinct sounds, a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords... A few moments later, eight strapping fellows appeared ... and dragged us down into their fearsome machine. ... we were suddenly plunged into darkness, utter darkness. The ceiling lights went out so quickly, my eyes literally ached. ... a sliding sound became audible. You could tell that some panels were shifting over the Nautilus’s sides... Suddenly, through two oblong openings, daylight appeared on both sides of the lounge.

What a sight! What pen could describe it? Who could portray the effects of this light through these translucent sheets of water, the subtlety of its progressive shadings into the ocean’s upper and lower strata?’. Diolch i Gôr Storm Weather Shanty (dyfyniad o’r sianti) a Jon Varhus (capten y long hwylio gant oed Anne Christina). Comisiynwyd y gwaith gwreiddiol Trade Winds gan NoTAM gyda chymorth ariannol gan Gronfa Cyfansoddwyr Norwyaidd.

Disgyblion Ysgol y Graig & Ed Wright: gwaith newydd (premiere) -------- EGWYL -------Fetters (The fetters of a dream) (2002) [14’45] - Gwaith dramatic mewn dwy haen yw Fetters: archwilia un haen yr ystad o gael eich llyfetheirio, yr haen arall yw cyfatebiaeth i Reol Boyle sy’n disgrifio gweithgaredd moleciwlau o fewn amgaead. Caiff y ddwy haen eu canfod o fewn y rheol: canlyniad mewnbwn fwy egnïol yw gweithgaredd ffyrnicach, hyd nes y torra’r amgaead o dan y pwysau cynyddol. Yn ddramatig, diffygiol yw’r syniad o’r amgaead yn torri: tu hwnt i un amgaead ceir amgaeadau eraill. Diolch arbennig i Magnus Rindal a ddarllenodd ddyfyniadau o’r Edda Farddonol yn yr Hen Norwyeg a’r soprano Kritin Norderval. Benthycir y teitl o’r gerdd Laodamia gan Wordsworth. Comisiynwyd The fetters of a dream gan Radio Norwy. Derbyniodd wobr gyntaf yn y Rostrwm Rhyngwladol i Gerddoriaeth Electroacwstig yn 2002 yn y prif gategori a’r category i gyfansoddwyr ifanc ill dau, ac fei’i dyfarnwyd yn ddiweddarach gyda Gwobr Gerdd y Cyngor Norwyeg yn 2006.

Hidden Values (2012) [22’00] Rhan 1: The Umbrella [4’22] Rhan II: Optical Tubes [6’44] Rhan III: The Lock [8’48]

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frameworks influence the work’s intrinsic structure. The ‘experienced threshold’ is the point at which we actively perceive meaning rather than passively receive information. In terms of sound it is directly connected to barely audible, yet highly detailed information. Gentle Sediment is designed such that details in volume, frequency, space, sound identity, structure and temporal scales can be performed at the experienced threshold under different concert situations. The Barely project was researched and composed under a grant from the Norwegian Cultural Council, 2006-2008.

Mobilis in Mobili (2006) 8’08 - The ocean’s physical nature, mystery, drama, mythology and concept have inspired art and culture throughout history and throughout the world. Mobilis in Mobili is the 8-minute central axis of the larger electroacoustic work Trade Winds (52’00, 2004-2006) - inspired by this vast expanse of sea. The title, ‘Mobilis in Mobili’ is borrowed from a chapter in the book ‘20000 Leagues Under the Seas’ by Jules Verne. The story goes: ‘Several times, during various lulls of wind and sea, I thought I heard indistinct sounds, a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords... A few moments later, eight strapping fellows appeared ... and dragged us down into their fearsome machine. ... we were suddenly plunged into darkness, utter darkness. The ceiling lights went out so quickly, my eyes literally ached. ... a sliding sound became audible. You could tell that some panels were shifting over the Nautilus’s sides... Suddenly, through two oblong openings, daylight appeared on both sides of the lounge. What a sight! What pen could describe it? Who could portray the effects of this light through these translucent sheets of water, the subtlety of its progressive shadings into the ocean’s upper and lower strata?’. Thanks to Storm Weather Shanty Choir (sea shanty extract) and Jon Varhus (captain of the 100-year old sailing ship Anne Christina).

The original work Trade Winds was commissioned by NoTAM with funds from the Norwegian Composers’ Fund.

Pupils from Ysgol y Graig & Ed Wright: new work (premiere) -------- INTERVAL -------Fetters (The fetters of a dream) (2002) 14’45 - Fetters is a double-layered dramatic work: one layer explores the psychological state of being fettered, the other is an analogy to Boyle’s Law describing the activity of molecules within an enclosure. Both layers find place within this law: a higher energy input results in a faster and more violent activity, until the enclosure breaks under the increased pressure. Dramatically, the idea of the enclosure breaking is flawed: beyond one enclosure there is a second and a third. Special thanks to Magnus Rindal reading extracts from The Poetic Edda in original Old Norse and soprano Kristin Norderval. The title is borrowed from Wordsworth’s poem Laodamia. The fetters of a dream was commissioned by Norwegian Radio. The work received first prize in the International Rostrum for Electroacoustic Music 2002 in both the main category and in the category for young composers, and was later awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2006.

Hidden Values (2012) 22’00 Part 1: The Umbrella (4’22) Part II: Optical Tubes (6’44) Part III: The Lock (8’48)

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Yn flynyddol gwthia dyfeisiadau newydd ffiniau gwyddoniaeth a chyfoethogi ein dealltwriaeth o’r byd naturiol. Yn ogystal siapiwyd ein cymdeithasau gyda mân ddyfeisiadau hynafol a effeithiodd ar ein bywyd bob dydd mewn amryw o ffyrdd. Gall gwrthrych unigol ei gysylltu gyda hanes y byd, er hynny yn aml anwybyddir buddion y dyfeisiadau syml hyn.

Archwilia Hidden Values dri o’r dyfeisiadau hyn: yr ambarel, y clo (ag allwedd) a chywiriad golwg. Cyfansoddwyd y gwaith yn IRCAM yn ystod preswyliad ymchwil cerdd ar dechnegau gofodiad mewn cyfansoddi. Diolch arbennig i’r soprano Evdokija Danajloska a’r offerynnwr taro Gilles Durot am eu cydweithrediad gyda’r deunydd sain a ddefnyddiwyd i gyfansoddi’r gwaith hwn. Arianwyd y preswyliad gan IRCAM, Grant Celfyddydol Dinas Oslo ar gyfer cydweithio rhyngwladol, a Chyngor Celfyddydol Norwy. Cyfansoddwyd Hidden Values yn IRCAM gyda chymorth o Gronfa’r Cyfansoddwyr Norwyaidd. Cyfansoddwyd y gwaith gwreididol mewn ‘7th order 3D ambisonics’ a ‘Wave Field Synthesis.’

Rhan I: The Umbrella - Mae’r ambarel yn amddiffyn rhag yr amgylchedd – yn amddifyn rhag glaw, eira, haul ac i raddau rhag y gwynt. Fel trosiad mae’n amddiffyn ac achub, diogelu a dargyfeirio, gorchuddio a chuddwisgo, neu hwyrach ei fod ond yn bac ddianghenrhaid.

Archwilia The Umbrella ambarel go iawn ynghyd ag awyrgylch gwirioneddol, ond hefyd mae’n drosiad a geir o fewn y gerdd fer Instantes gan Jorge Luis Borges, “I was one of those who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, without a hot-water bottle, and without an umbrella and without a parachute. If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends.”

Rhan II: Optical Tubes - O’i ddyfeisio gan Descartes mae’n debyg, y Tiwb Gweledol oedd tiwbiau gwydr oedd yn cyffwrdd y llygaid tebyg i lenys cyswllt, ond gyda’r sgil effeithiau anffodus o fethu blincio! Mae edrych ar y byd mewn ffocws neu darth yn rhywbeth y medrwn ni ei ddewis. Yn Optical Tubes, mae dychmygu sut yr oedd hi ar wrthrychau i ymddangos mewn ffocws fel y symudir unai tuag atynt neu oddi wrthynt yn syniad cerddorol ganolog i’r gwaith.

Rhan III: The Lock - Gellir olrhain yr clo fel dyfais yn ôl 4000 o flynyddoedd. Defnyddiwyd thema’r clo, yr allwedd a’u trosiadau o fewn llenyddiaeth a dramâu ar hyd y blynddoedd.

Caiff drysau cloëdig ddarparu diogelwch mewn byd modern. Cuddia clo gyfrinachau oddi wrth lygaid busneslyd, mae’n cloi pobl i mewn, cloi pobl allan, yn cynrychioli pŵer a meddiant. Chwaraea The Lock ddrama rhwng dau rym: cynrychiolir un gan lais y soprano a’r llall gan yr offerynwr taro.

Nodyn Cyffredinol Roedd nifer o’r cyfansoddiadau uchod mewn fformat ambisonics. Ar gyfer y cyngerdd heno ailfformatiwyd y gweithiau hyn ar gyfer cyfuniad o drylediad sain aml-sianel a pherfformiad.

Mae Natasha Barrett ar flaen y gâd yn ei defnydd creadigol o dechnoleg mewn amryw o genres: electronig byw, gosodiadau sain, aml-gyfrwng a cherddoriaeth fyr fyfyr gyfrifiadurol.

Canolbwyntia’r cyngerdd hwn ar ei cherddoriaeth acwsmatig, gan gynnwys nifer o bremieres y DU. © Natasha Barrett

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Every year, new inventions push the boundaries of science and enrich our understanding of the natural world. Ancient and seemingly minor inventions have also shaped our societies and affect our everyday in a multitude of ways. A single object can connect to the history of the world, yet the utility of these simple devices go unnoticed. Hidden Values explores three of these inventions: the umbrella, the lock (and key) and sight correction. The work was composed at IRCAM during a music research residency on advanced sound spatialisation techniques in composition. Special thanks to soprano Evdokija Danajloska and percussionist Gilles Durot for their collaboration in the sound materials used in the composition of this work. The residency was funded by IRCAM, The Oslo City Cultural Grant for International collaboration, and the Norwegian Cultural Council. Hidden Values was composed at IRCAM with support from the Norwegian Composers’ Fund. The original work was composed in 7th order 3D ambisonics and Wave Field Synthesis.

Part I: The Umbrella - An umbrella protects from the environment - protects from the rain, snow, sun and to some extent the wind. As a metaphor it protects and saves, defends and deflects, covers and disguises, but maybe it’s just unnecessary baggage. The Umbrella explores a real umbrella and a real environment, but also the metaphor found in a short poem by Jorge Luis Borges’ Instantes, “I was one of those who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, without a hot-water bottle, and without an umbrella and without a parachute. If I could live again, I would travel lighter. If I could live again, I would begin to walk barefoot from the beginning of spring and I would continue barefoot until autumn ends.”

Part II: Optical Tubes - Optical Tubes, apparently invented by Descartes, were glass tubes that touched the eyeball like contact lenses, but with the unfortunate side effect that you could not blink! Seeing the world in focus or through a haze is something we can choose to do. In Optical Tubes, imagining how it would have been for objects to only appear in focus as you moved towards or away from them is a central musical idea.

Part III: The Lock - The invention of the lock and key can be traced back over 4000 years. The themes of the lock, the key and their metaphors, have been used throughout literary and dramatic history. Locked doors provide safety in a modern world. A lock hides secrets from prying eyes, locks people in, locks people out, represents power and ownership. The Lock plays out a drama between two forces: one represented by the female voice, the other by percussion instruments.

General note Many of the above compositions were originally in an ambisonics format. For tonight’s concert these works have been reformatted for a combination of multi-channel and performed sound diffusion. Natasha Barrett is at the forefront of the creative use of technology in many genres: live electronics, sound installations, multi-media and computer music improvisation. This concert focuses on her acousmatic music, including a number of UK premieres. © Natasha Barrett

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22.00, Greek Taverna, Bangor Pedwarawd Asaf Sirkis Asaf Sirkis (drymiau/cyfansoddiadau) Sylwia Bialas (llais/cyfansoddiadau) Patrick Bettison (bas/harmonica) Frank Harrison (piano/allweddellau) Mwynhewch ac ymlaciwch i gyfansoddiadau a threfniannau jas yr offerynnwr talentog hwn, sy’n ymuno i chwarae gyda rhai o’r cerddorion jas gorau o gyfandir Ewrop. Mae prosiect Sirkis/Bialas yn gyfuniad newydd rhwng y drymiwr/offerynnwr taro o Israel Asaf Sirkis, yn enwog am ei waith â’r triawd Lighthouse & Gilad Atzmon yn ogystal a’i driawd ei hun, a’r gantores Pwylaidd Sylwia Bialas (Yr Almaen). Yn ymuno â nhw y mae’r chwaraewr bâs ac Harmonica o’r UDA Patrick Bettsion a’r pianydd Frank Harrison. Byddwch yn barod am felodïau dwys, synau atmosfferig a jas llawn lliw o ganlyniad y defnydd o offerynau llai cyffredin. Mae’r pedwarawd ar hyn o bryd ar daith ac yn paratoi i recordio’i halbwm cyntaf.

“Sirkis is not only an inventive drummer but also a composer of rigour, wit and surprising delicacy.” (MOJO, 2008) © Asaf Sirkis

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22.00, Greek Taverna, Bangor Asaf Sirkis Quartet Asaf Sirkis (drums/compositions) Sylwia Bialas (voice/compositions) Patrick Bettison (bass/harmonica) Frank Harrison (piano/keyboards) Enjoy and relax to the compositions and arrangements of this talented instrumentalist, who will be joined by some of the finest jazz musicians across Europe. The Sirkis/Bialas project is a fresh new collaboration between Israeli-UK-resident drummer/percussionist Asaf Sirkis, known for his work with the Lighthouse trio & Gilad Atzmon as well as his own trio, and Polish vocalist extraordinaire Sylwia Bialas (Germany). The quartet features USA bassist and Harmonica player Patrick Bettison and Pianist Frank Harrison on piano and keyboards.

Expect soulful melodies, aerospheric sounds, a full of colour kind of jazz with an ethnic touch and some un-commonly used instruments.

The quartet is currently on tour and preparing for their debut album recording.

“Sirkis is not only an inventive drummer but also a composer of rigour, wit and surprising delicacy.” (MOJO, 2008) © Asaf Sirkis

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DYDD G w e n e r 14 M aw r t h 2014 13.15, Canolfan Siopa Deiniol, Bangor

‘Os taw cerddoriaeth yw bwyd cariad...’

Ensemble Cerddoriaeth Newydd Bangor Huw Ynyr Evans (tenor), Josephine Wilkin (ffliwt), Simon Armstrong (clarinét), Kateřina Marešova (ffidil), Katherine Betteridge (ffidil, cyd gyfarwyddwr), Ed Wright (feiola), Catherine Linney (cello) Francesca Reader: The Sword Fight (premiere byd) David Draper: An Order in any other piece… (premiere byd) Nel Gwynn: Ymson y Brawd Lorens (premiere byd) The Sword Fight – Ysbrydolwyd y darn hwn gan destun o’r olygfa ymladdfa gleddyfau yn Romeo a Juliet gan Shakespeare. Mae’r darn mewn adrannau gan symud drwy wahanol gyfnodau’r ymladdfa fel mae’n datblygu, gan ddiweddu gyda llofruddiaeth Mercutio. Mae pob un o’r offerynnau yn cynrychioli pob un o’r prif gymeriadau, Benvolio, Tybalt, Mercutio a Romeo.

An Order in any other piece… – Wedi ei seilio ar Romeo a Juliet gan Shakespeare, defnyddia’r darn hwn gyfuniad ac addasiad o gyfuniad o sawl techneg gyfansoddi sy’n ymwneud â dodecaffoni. Drwy’r gwaith gosodir dwy gyfres wrthgyferbyniol mewn ôl redidad gyda’u perthynas cyfatebol yn cael eu harchwilio gan eu prosesu’n ddiweddarach drwy algorythm. Dewisir y rhan fwyaf o ran y tenor ync ar hap o Act 2 Golygfa 2 o Rome and Juliet.

Ymson y Brawd Lorens - Dyma’r ymson bwysig yn Act 2, Gol. 3 Romeo a Juliet, pan mae’r Brawd Lorens yn canfod plahigyn ac yn ystyried ei nodweddion gan synnu at allu’r blodyn i ladd yn ogystal ag i iacháu. Yna mae’n priodoli’r ddeuoliaeth i bobl gan weld y da a’r drwg yn cydfodoli ynom i gyd. Ar ddiwedd yr ymson mae’n ein rhybuddio mai angau ddaw pan fo’r drwg yn trechu’r da. Mae’r darn yn agor mewn arddull syml, yn atgofus o blaengan.

Yna mae’n bywiogi i gyfleu tyfiant planhigyn a meddyliau crwydrol y Brawd Lorens. Tua’r diwedd mae’n dychwelyd i’r arddull wreiddiol ac yn cloi gyda phatrwm ailadroddus gan y soddgrwth a’r clarinét sy’n gwneud i ni ofni tynged Romeo a Juliet.

16.00, Prif Theatr Ddarlithio, Prifysgol Bangor Darlith yr Wŷl gan Robert Saxton: Magic Wood to Magic Island 18.30, Prif Theatr Ddarlithio, Prifysgol Bangor Sgwrs/perfformiad cyn y cyngerdd gyda Madeleine Mitchell, David Curtis, Tom Coult a Guto Puw

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F r i d ay 1 4 M a r c h 2014 13.15, Deiniol Shopping Centre, Bangor

‘If music be the food of love, play on’

Bangor New Music Ensemble Huw Ynyr Evans (Tenor), Josephine Wilkin (flute), Simon Armstrong (clarinet), Kateřina Marešova (violin), Katherine Betteridge (violin, co-director), Ed Wright (viola), Catherine Linney (cello) Francesca Reader: The Sword Fight (world premiere) David Draper: An Order in any other piece... (world premiere) Nel Gwynn: Ymson y Brawd Lorens (world premiere) The Sword Fight - Quartet of Swords is inspired by text taken from the sword fight scene in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The piece is in sections moving through the different stages of the sword fight as it progresses, finally ending with the death of Mercutio. The instruments are representative of each of the main characters involved, Benvolio, Tybalt, Mercutio and Romeo.

An Order in any other piece... – Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this piece uses an amalgamation and adaptation of several compositional techniques pertaining to, though no limited to dodecaphony. Throughout the work, two contrasting tone rows are set in retrograde and their corresponding relationships explored later to be subject to an algorhythm pocess. The majority of the tenor’s lyrics are chosen by chance from Rome and Juliet Act 2 scene 2.

Ymson y Brawd Lorens - This is the important soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet, when Friar Laurence beholds a plant and considers its properties. He is amazed by the flower’s ability to kill as well as to heal. He then applies this duality to people and sees good and evil coexisting in us all. At the end of the soliloquy he warns us that death is the outcome when evil overpowers good. The piece begins in a simple style, reminiscent of a plainchant. Then it becomes livelier to depict a growing plant and Friar Laurence’s wandering thoughts. Towards the end the music returns to the original style and finishes as the cello and clarinet play a repetitive pattern, which instils in us a fear for Romeo and Juliet’s fate.

16.00, School of Music Hall, Bangor University Festival Lecture by Robert Saxton: Magic Wood to Magic Island 18.30, Main Lecture Theatre, Bangor University Pre-concert talk/performance with Madeleine Mitchell, David Curtis, Tom Coult, and Guto Puw

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20.00, Neuadd Prichard-Jones, Prifysgol Bangor Madeleine Mitchell (ffidil) Simon Desbruslais (trwmped) Orchestra of the Swan David Curtis (arweinydd) Huw Watkins: Little Symphony i linynnau Tom Coult: Antic Rounds (premiere, comisiwn Gŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor) Robert Saxton: Shakespeare Scenes i unawd trwmped a llinynnau ------ EGWYL -------Michael Nyman: Full Fathom Five ar gyfer ffidil unawdol a cherddorfa linynnol Tansy Davies: Residuum i gerddorfa linynnol Guto Pryderi Puw: Concerto Ffidil - Llonyddwch Tyner (premiere, comisiwn Tŷ Cerdd) Little Symphony - Gwaith un symudiad ar gyfer llinynau yw My Little Symphony wedi ei rannu yn bedwar rhan ac yn para tua chwarter awr. Mae rhan un a thri (tra’n datblygu’r un deunydd) yn symud yn gyflym a rhan dau a phedwar yn araf ac yn delynegol. Y deunydd ar brydiau yn afieithus, dro arall yn atgofus ac wedi ei drefnu, gobeithio, mewn modd sy’n tanlinellu’r cyffelybiaethau a’r gwahaniaethau. © Schott Music Antic Rounds - Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites, And show the best of our delights: I’ll charm the air to give a sound, While you perform your antic round: That this great king may kindly say, Our duties did his welcome pay

– Gwrach Gyntaf, Macbeth, Act IV Golygfa 1 Yn ôl Albert Branmuuller, mae’r ‘Antic Rounds’ sy’n cael i grybwyll gan y wrach yn Macbeth, Shakespeare, yn cyfeirio at ‘fersiwn erchyll o adloniant Llys Jacobeaidd’. Er fod y tri symudiad yn fy ‘Antic Rounds’ yn ymgorffori yr un math o naws mewn mannau, daeth y teitl i fodolaeth oherwydd fod llawer o’r gerddoriaeth yn deillio o ganonau. Mae’r canonau weithiau’n gymhleth, weithiau’n syml, weithiau i’w clywed yn glir, dro arall yn guddiedig, weithiau’n gyfliniad byrhoedlog a thro arall yn ffurfio asgwrn cefn adrannau cyfan. © Tom Coult Shakespeare Scenes - Cafodd Shakespeare Scenes ei gomisiynu gan Simon Debruslais, diolch i nawdd gan Sefydliad Britten-Pears ac Ymddiriedolaeth RVW. Fe’i perfformiwyd a’i recordio am y tro cyntaf, gan Orchestra of the Swan dan arweiniad David Curtis. Mae yna 5 o ddarnau/adrannau, a’u canolbwynt cyweiredd yn olrhain llythrennau cerddorol enw Shakespeare. Cyfeiria’r ‘goedwig hud ’ at ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’; Falstaff yn dynodi Falstaff yn deffro, Gad’s Hill (gyda chleddyfau’n atseinio) yn dynodi gwrthdaro a marwolaeth Falstaff. Mae’r ‘Storm on the Heath’ yn castio‘r trwmped fel y gorffwyll Frenin LLyr, a’r unawd ffidil fel ei ffŵl/cellweiriwr. Yn ‘Masque’, mae’r trwmped yn chwarae Pavane a Galliard i 20

20.00, Prichard-Jones Hall, Bangor University Madeleine Mitchell (violin) Simon Desbruslais (trumpet) Orchestra of the Swan David Curtis (conductor) Huw Watkins: Little Symphony for Strings Tom Coult: Antic Rounds (premiere, Bangor New Music Festival commission) Robert Saxton: Shakespeare Scenes for solo trumpet and strings ------ INTERVAL -------Michael Nyman: Full Fathom Five for solo violin and string orchestra Tansy Davies: Residuum for string orchestra Guto Pryderi Puw: Violin Concerto - Soft Stillness (premiere, Tŷ Cerdd commission) Little Symphony - My Little Symphony for Strings is a single movement work lasting around fifteen minutes that is clearly divided into four closely linked sections. The first and third sections (which develop the same material) are fast-moving while the second and fourth are slow and lyrical. The material, sometimes exuberant, sometimes nostalgic, I hope is organised in such a way that the contrasts and similarities are crystal clear. © Schott Music Antic Rounds - Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites, And show the best of our delights: I’ll charm the air to give a sound, While you perform your antic round: That this great king may kindly say, Our duties did his welcome pay

– First Witch, Macbeth, Act IV Scene 1 According to Albert Braunmuller, the ‘antic round’ that the witch mentions in Shakespeare’s Macbeth refers to ‘a macabre version of a Jacobean courtly entertainment’. Although the three movements of my ‘Antic Rounds’ may share some of this spirit in places, the title came about because much of the music was constructed from canons or ‘rounds’. These rounds are sometimes complex, sometimes simple; sometimes audible, sometimes heavily concealed; sometimes a momentary alignment, sometimes forming the backbone of whole sections of music. © Tom Coult Shakespeare Scenes - Shakespeare Scenes, (2012-13, 15’) was commissioned by Simon Desbruslais with funding from the Britten-Pears Foundation and RVW Trust, and premiered and recorded by The Orchestra of the Swan conducted by David Curtis. There are five pieces/movements whose tonal centres outline the musical letters of Shakespeare’s name.

The Magic Wood refers to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Falstaff depicts Falstaff waking, Gad’s Hill (with clashing swords) and Falstaff’s death. The Storm on the Heath casts the trumpet as mad King Lear, with solo violin as his Fool/Jester. In Masque the trumpet plays a Pavane 21

ddilyn, adlais o gerddoriaeth Elisabethaidd. Yn ‘Magic Island’ (y Tempest), clywn Prospero, (trwmped), a ddaeth dan y lach, yn cymodi gyda’r diniweityn Caliban (unawd fiola). © Robert Saxton ------ EGWYL -------Michael Nyman: Full Fathom Five from On the Fiddle –­ mae’r darn hwn yn ffurfio symudiad olaf set o ddarnau yn dwyn y teitl On the Fiddle a ddygwyd o’r sgorau cerdd a ysgrifenodd Nyman ar gyfer nifer o ffilmiau Peter Greenaway. Mae’r fersiwn hwn o Full Fathom Five yn drefniant ar gyfer ffidil unawdol a llinynnau o gân Shakespeare a wnaeth i ‘Prospero’s Books’ (1990). © Chester Music Residuum - ‘Roeddwn am wneud argraffiad o ‘Galliard to Lachrymae’ gan Dowland. Mae Residuum yn ymgorffori ‘dawnsfeydd canoloesol’ o’m heiddo, sydd wedi eu saernio gan ddeunydd o’r Dowland a’u haddasu’n rhythmig a’u gosod i wrthbwynt yn cynnwys tempi amrywiol. Mewn gwrthgyferbyniad llwyr i’r dawnsfeydd byrlymus, mae yna rannau araf sy’n hofran fel ysbryd uwchlaw’r gwaith. O’u clywed ochr yn ochr, mae cysylltiad clir rhyngddynt ag elfennau nefolaidd. Bydd helwyr ysbrydion yn sôn am weddillion egni mewn hen adeiladau; digwyddiadau’r gorffennol yn cael eu hailchwarae yn y presennol oherwydd yr egni sydd ar ôl. Mae Residuum yn ailadrodd yr hyn sy’n weddill o egni Dowland, atsain o hen hen gerddoriaeth mewn oes fodern. © Faber Music Concerto i’r Ffidil – Llonyddwch Tyner 1. ‘in such a night’ (Cadenza – Allegro moderato) 2. ‘Soft stillness…sweet harmony’ (Lento) Yn ei ffurf bresennol mae’r concerto hwn mewn dau symudiad, pob un wedi ei ysbrydoli gan linellau o’r ddrama Masnachwr Fenis gan Shakespeare. Chwaraea’r symudiad cyntaf cyflym ar ddelwedd gref o awel ysgafn yn chwipo drwy’r coed, ond eto nid ydynt yn symud.

Yn yr un modd mae’r gerddorfa yn gwrthdaro gyda rhan y ffidil unawdol yn hytrach na ‘chyd-chwarae’, gyda nodau cyflym cyson y cyfeiliant yn atgyfnerthu’r ansicrwydd hwn. “…in such a night as this.

When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees And they did make no noise” Daw nodweddion telynegol y ffidil (ac yn benodol nodweddion chwarae mynegiannol Madeleine ei hun) i’r amlwg yn yr ail symudiad lle mae’r harmoniau yn ddigyffro a statig cyn yn raddol adeiladu at uchafbwynt ar gord tonyddol ‘melys.’ “…soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony.”

Yn gomisiwn gan Tŷ Cerdd, fe gyflwynir y gwaith i Madeleine Mitchell ac Orchestra of the Swan gan lwyr werthfawrogi’r cydweithio a’u hamynedd.

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followed by a Galliard, making reference to Elisabethan music. In The Magic Island (The Tempest), we hear chastened Prospero (trumpet) and the now-tamed Caliban (solo viola) reconciled. © Robert Saxton ------ INTERVAL -------Michael Nyman: Full Fathom Five from On the Fiddle –­ this piece forms the final movement in a set of pieces titled On the Fiddle taken from the music scores Nyman has written for a number of Peter Greenaway films. This version of Full Fathom Five is an arrangement for solo violin and strings of the Shakespeare song setting he made for ‘Prospero’s Books’ (1990). © Chester Music Residuum - I wanted to make an imprint of Dowland’s Galliard to Lachrymae. Residuum is made up of my own ‘medieval dances’ constructed of material from the Dowland, which are altered rhythmically and set into counterpoint, involving different tempi. These bright dances are countered by slow-moving passages, which hover over the piece like a ghost.

Heard in juxtaposition, the energies are linked by ethereal fragments. Ghost hunters talk of residual energy in old buildings; past events replayed in the present because of retained energy. Residuum is a replay of Dowland’s residual energy; an echo of ancient music in modern time. © Faber Music Violin Concerto - Soft Stillness 1. ‘in such a night’ (Cadenza – Allegro moderato) 2. ‘Soft stillness…sweet harmony’ (Lento) In its present form this concerto is in two movements, each being inspired by lines from Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. The first movement plays with the idea of a breeze through the trees, although the leaves do not move. Likewise the orchestra is more in conflict with the solo violin part rather than reacting to the melodic lines. “…in such a night as this.

When the sweet wind did gently kiss the trees And they did make no noise” The lyrical qualities of the violin (and especially the expressive playing of Madeleine) comes to the fore in the second movement, where the harmonies at the beginning stays still before gradually building towards a climax on a ‘sweet’ tonal chord. “…soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony.”

Commissioned by Tŷ Cerdd for the BNMF, the work is dedicated to Madeleine Mitchell and Orchestra of the Swan with gratitude for the collaboration and patience.

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DYDD S a d w r n 15 M aw r t h 2014 20.00, Neuadd Powis, Prifysgol Bangor Cynhadledd INTER/actions Deuawd Piano Pestova/Meyer Stockhausen: Mantra Xenia Pestova & Pascal Meyer Mewn cydweithrediad gyda chynhadledd INTER/actions dan arweiniad Xenia Pestova Fel teyrnged i un o arloeswyr cerddorol pwysicaf yr Ugeinfed Ganrif, ceir gan y ddeuawd piano Pestova/Meyer berfformiad prin o gampwaith Karlheinz Stockhausen MANTRA (1970) ar gyfer dau biano a phrosesydd electronig byw. Mae MANTRA yn waith cyffrous, meistrolgar sy’n galw am arddull anghonfensiynol o chwarae’r piano. Mae gofyn i’r pianyddion chwarae symbalau hynafol a blociau pren yn ogystal â defnyddio’u lleisiau.

Prosesir y ddau biano grand yn electronig ar y pryd i greu dau ‘arch-offeryn’ gyda synnau hyfryd sy’n ymdebygu i’r math o sain sy’n nodweddu gwaith John Cage. Synnau dirgel Côd Morse a llurguniad egniol o gitar drydan. Mae cyflwyniad Pestova/Meyer yn un gwreiddiol oherwydd eu bod yn defnyddio technoleg ddigidol ar gyfer y prosesu electroneg. Fel canlyniad, dyma ddehongliad cyfoes newydd o ddarn clasurol o’r ansawdd sain gorau, yn defnyddio technoleg sydd ar ddarfod.

S at u r d ay 15 M a r c h 2014 20.00, Powis Hall, Bangor University IINTER/actions Conference Pestova/Meyer Piano Duo Stockhausen: Mantra Xenia Pestova & Pascal Meyer In collaboration with INTER/actions conference led by Xenia Pestova As a tribute to one of the most important musical innovators of the Twentieth Century, the Pestova/Meyer piano duo present Karlheinz Stockhausen’s rarely performed masterpiece MANTRA (1970) for two pianists and live electronics. Pestova/Meyer’s approach to this piece is original due to the fact that they are using digital technology for the electronic processing, resulting in a contemporary reinterpretation of a classic piece on the verge of technological obsolescence with a simple set-up and superior sound quality.

By w g r a f f i a d au Madeleine Mitchell - Mae Madeleine Mitchell wedi cael gyrfa adnabyddus fel unawdydd ar y ffidil, cerddor siambr, athro a chyfarwyddwr artistig. Mae wedi perfformio mewn dros 40 gwlad wahanol ac wedi darlledu a recordio sawl gwaith. Mae Mitchell wedi perfformio concertau â cherddorfeydd megis Philarmonic St Petersburg, Radio Pwyl a Symffoni Radio Tsiec, Siambr Munich a Wurttemberg, Philarmonic Brenhinol a cherddorfeydd arall Llundain, radio a theledu yn Kiev, Cerddorfa Bahia ym Mrasil a’r BBC. Yn gyson yn perfformio’r repertoire safonol, mae Mitchell hefyd wedi perfformio nifer o ddarnau sydd wedi cael eu hysgrifennu iddi gan gyfansoddwyr nodweddiadol. Mae wedi perfformio mewn neuaddau megis Canolfan Lincoln (yn ogystal â chynrychioli Prydain yn yr wŷl UKinNY), Tŷ Opera Sydney, Canolfan Celfyddydau Seoul, gan gynnwys nifer o wŷliau yn cynnwys Proms y BBC. Bu iddi ymddangos yng Ngŵyl Rhyngwladol Caerfaddon fel rhan o raglen y ‘Great Brits’, dathliad jiwbilî ddiamwnt y Frenhines, gan chwarae ‘The Lark Ascending’ gan Vaughan Williams. Yn 2013, hi oedd artist preswyl Gŵyl Gerddoriaeth Ryngwladol Canberra.

Nigel Foster - Mae wedi chwarae â chantorion megis Philip Langridge, Yvonne Kenny, Roderick Williams, Louise Winter, Stephen Varcoe, Jeremy Huw Williams ac offerynwyr megis Madeleine Mitchell. Nigel yw sefydlwr, cyfarwyddwr a phianydd y London Song Festival, digwyddiad blynyddol sydd yn hyrwyddo repertoire y gân. Roedd gŵyl 2011 yn canolbwyntio ar y Gân Saesnig, a bu perfformiadau gan Roderick Williams, Louise Winter a Marcus Farnsworth (enillydd y 2009 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition a’r 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Song Prize). Astudiodd Nigel yn y Royal Academy of Music a’r Guildhall School of Music and Drama lle enillodd pob gwobr bosib ar gyfer cyfeiliant piano. Mae Nigel yn perfformio’n aml mewn neuaddau mawr megis Neuadd Wigmore, Canolfan y South Bank, St John Smith Square, y Royal Opera House yn Covent Garden a Neuadd Dewi Sant yng Nghaerdydd.

Anthony Powers - g. 1953 yn Llundain. Astudiodd yn Rhydychen, ym Mharis gyda Nadia Boulanger ac yn Efrog gyda David Blake and Bernard Rands. Perfformir ei weithiau offerynnol yn gyson gan artisitaid ac ensemblau ym Mhrydain a thramor. Mae’r comisiynau’n ei gyrraedd yn rheolaidd, yn aml gan y BBC, fel gyda’r darnau Stone, Water, Stars (1987) a Terrain (1993), a’r cantata A Picture of the World (2001). Mae ei gynnrych diweddar yn cynnwys y Pedwarawd Llinynnol Rhif 5 ar gyfer y Carducci Quartet a’r Triawd Piano ar gyfer y Lawson Trio. Daw’r ysbrydoliaeth ar gyfer cerddoriaeth Powers yn aml o’r tensiynau rhwng megis nodweddion ffisegol, tirluniau, tymhorau neu emosiynau.

Mared Emlyn - Graddiodd Mared yn 2009 ym Mhrifysgol Bangor ac enillodd ysgoloriaeth KESS mewn cydweithrediad â Chwmni Cyhoeddi Gwynn, i barhau gyda’i hastudiaethau. Mae hi newydd gwblhau ei chwrs doethuriaeth gyda Prof Pwyll ap Siôn a’r delyn gydad Elinor Bennett. Mae ei phortffolio ar gyfer y doethuriaeth yn cynnwys cerddoriaeth unawdol, siambr, cerddorfaol, cerddoriaeth acwsmatic a cherddoriaeth ar gyfer delweddau symudol. Enillodd fedal y Prif Gyfansoddwr yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd yn 2011 am ei gwaith Perlau yn y Glaw ar gyfer y delyn. Yn ogystal â’r comisiwn ar gyfer Gŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor, cafodd ei chomisiynu i gyfansoddi a pherfformio gwaith ar gyfer y delyn, yng Ngŵyl Delynau Ryngwladol Cymru eleni.

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Biographies Madeleine Mitchell - Madeleine Mitchell has a distinguished career as violin soloist, chamber musician, teacher and artistic director. She has performed in over 40 countries and made many recordings and broadcasts. Mitchell has performed concertos with orchestras such as the St Petersburg Philharmonic, Polish Radio and Czech Radio Symphony, Munich and Wurttemberg Chamber, Royal Philharmonic and other London orchestras, Kiev Radio/TV, Bahia Orchestra Brazil and for the BBC. She is a frequent recitalist of all the standard repertoire as well as works written for her by well known composers. Her recitals have included Lincoln Center (including representing Britain at the festival UKinNY), Sydney Opera House, Seoul Center for the Arts, and many festivals including the BBC Proms. She was featured in the Bath International Festival ‘Great Brits’ programme celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in Vaughan Williams ‘The Lark Ascending’ and in 2013 she was Artist-in-Residence at the Canberra International Music Festival.

Nigel Foster - Nigel has played for singers including the late Philip Langridge, Yvonne Kenny, Roderick Williams, Louise Winter, Stephen Varcoe, Jeremy Huw Williams and instrumentalists including Madeleine Mitchell. Nigel is the founder, director and pianist of the London Song Festival, an annual event promoting the song repertoire. The 2011 Festival, taking place in November, is devoted to English Song and includes recitals by Roderick Williams, Louise Winter and Marcus Farnsworth (winner of the 2009 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Song Prize). Nigel studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he won every prize and award available for piano accompaniment. Nigel performs regularly at major venues including the Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, St John Smith Square and Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and St David’s Hall in Cardiff.

Anthony Powers - Born in London in 1953, Anthony Powers studied at Oxford, in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and at York with David Blake and Bernard Rands. His instrumental works are widely performed in the UK and overseas by leading artists and ensembles and he is commissioned regularly, notably by the BBC for the orchestral pieces Stone, Water, Stars (1987) and Terrain (1993), and the cantata A Picture of the World (2001). Recent works include String Quartet No. 5 for the Carducci Quartet and a Piano Trio for the Lawson Trio. Powers’ music often takes its inspiration from the tension between different states, be they physical properties, landscapes, seasons or emotions.

Mared Emlyn - Mared graduated at Bangor University in 2009, and was awarded a KESS scholarship in association with Gwynn Publishing Company, to further her studies. She has recently successfully completed her doctorate in performance on the harp and composition. She studied composition with Professor Pwyll ap Siôn and harp with Elinor Bennett. Her portfolio for the doctorate includes solo, chamber and orchestral works, acousmatic music and music for moving image. She won the Urdd’s Chief Composition medal in 2011 for her work Perlau yn y Glaw for solo harp. As well as the commission for the Bangor New Music Festival, she has been commissioned to compose and perform a work for harp for the Wales International Harp Festival this year.

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Ned Rorem - Ag yntau ond yn ddwy ar bymtheg oed, ymunodd â’r Music School of Northwestern University, cyn ennill ysgoloriaeth a mynd i’r Curtis Institute yn Philadelphia ddwy flynedd yn ddiweddarach. Astudiodd cyfansoddi gyda Bernard Wagenaar yn y Juilliard lle enillodd ei radd a’i radd Meistr. Mae plethiad y gair a’r gerddoriaeth yn hollbwysig i Ned Rorem. Disgrifiwyd ef gan gylchgrawn Time fel “cyfansoddwr caneuon celf gorau’r byd”, ond mae ei ymdrechion cerddorol a llenyddol yn ymestyn yn bellach na’r maes cyfyng yma. Yn enillydd gwobrau Pulitzer a Grammy, mae Rorem wedi cyfansoddi tair symffoni, pedwar consierto i’r piano, nifer sylweddol o weithiau cerddorfaol; cyfansoddiadau ar gyfer cyfuniadau helaeth o offerynnau siambr; deg opera; gweithiau corawl di-ri; gweithiau ar gfyer y theatr a balé; a channoedd yn llythrennol o ganeuon a chylchoedd o ganeuon. Mae’n awdur un llyfr ar bymtheg, gan gynnwys pum cyfrol o ddyddiaduron a chasgliadau o ddarlithoedd a beirniadaethau.

Wendy Hiscocks - g. 1963 yn Wollongong. Astudiodd y pianydd-gyfansoddwraig Wendy Hiscocks ym Mhrifysgol Sydney â’r cyfansoddwr adnabyddus o Awstralia Peter Sculthrope. Symudodd i Lundain yn 1988 ac mae wedi derbyn comisiynau, premieres a pherfformiadau o’i gwaith gan unawdwyr, ensemblau, corau a gŵyliau enwog ar draws y byd. Madeleine Mitchell (ffidil), Piers Lane a Roy Howat (piano), Gŵyl Amadeus (Geneva), Gŵyl Gerddoriaeth Siambr Awstralia, BBC Radio 3 a Sefydliad Ffilm Brydeinig yw rhai o’r enwau adnabyddus sydd wedi rhoi sylw iddi. Mae ei dawn fel cyfansoddwr/pianydd yn golygu bod galw mawr iddi fel cyfeilydd i ffilmiau mud, ac mae wedi chwarae yn y BFI yn y South Bank, y Barbican ac âg Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru.

Hillary Tann - Yn enedigol o Gymru, mae Hilary Tann yn byw wrth droed mynyddoedd yr Adirondack, talaith Efrog Newydd, lle’i hapwyntiwyd hi’n Athro Cerdd John Howard Payne yn Union College, Schenectady. mae’n eiddo ar raddau mewn cyfansoddi gan Brifysgol Cymru, Caerdydd a gan Brifysgol Princeton. Roedd hi’n gyfansoddwraig preswyl gwadd yng Ngŵyl Cerdd ‘Women in Music’ yr Eastman School of Music yn 2011 ac yn y ‘Women Composers Festival of Hartford’ yn 2013. Yn derbyn canmoliaeth cyson am natur telynegol ac am gydbwysedd ffurf yn ei cherddoriaeth, mae ei chynnyrch yn arddangos dylanwad cryf byd natur. Mae ganddi ddiddordeb mawr yng ngherddoriaeth draddodiadol Japan, mae wedi gwneud astudiaeth o’r ffliwt traddodiadol y shakuhachi, ac wedi ymweld â Japan, Korea a China yn ogystal. Perfformiwyd a recordiwyd ei chyfansoddiadau yn helaeth, gan megis yr European Women’s Orchestra, Tenebrae, Lontano, Meininger Trio, Thai Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC CCC, a’r KBS Philharmonic yn Seoul, Korea. Gwefan: http://hilarytann.com/ Rhian Samuel - g.1944 yn Aberdâr, bu’n byw am sawl blwyddyn yn yr U.D.A. cyn dychwelyd i Brydain yn 1984. Bellach yn Athro Emeritws ym Mhrifysgol City, Llundain, mae’n addysgu cyfansoddi yng Ngholeg Magdalen, Rhydychen. Mae ei cherddoriaeth cerddorfaol yn ymestyn o’r Elegy-Symphony (1980, Cerddorfa St Louis, arw. Leonard Slatkin) i Tirluniau / Landscapes (2000 Proms y BBC, BBC CCC, arw. Tadaaki Otaka). Ymysg ei gweithiau siambr mae’r Pedwarawd Piano, Light and Water (2003) a berfformiwyd gyntaf gan y Fidelio Quartet, y Phantasy Trio (2010), y Pedwarawd Llinynnol, Threaded Light (2012) a gomisiynwyd gan y Mavron Quartet, a Blythswood (1996) ar gyfer fiola a phiano a recordiwyd gan Su Zhen a Simon Lepper ac a ryddhawyd yn ddiweddar ar y CDd British Rhapsodies (Stone Records).

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Ned Rorem - At age seventeen, Rorem entered the Music School of Northwestern University, and two years later receiving a scholarship to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He studied composition under Bernard Wagenaar at Juilliard, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Words and music are inextricably linked for Ned Rorem. Time magazine has called him “the world’s best composer of art songs,” yet his musical and literary ventures extend far beyond this specialised field. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy, Rorem has composed three symphonies, four piano concertos, and an array of other orchestral works; music for numerous combinations of chamber forces; ten operas; choral works of every description; ballets and other music for the theatre; and literally hundreds of songs and cycles. He is the author of sixteen books, including five volumes of diaries and collections of lectures and criticism.

Wendy Hiscocks - Born in Wollongong in 1963, composer-pianist Wendy Hiscocks studied composition with the celebrated Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe at the University of Sydney. In 1988 she moved to London and has received commissions, premières and broadcasts from distinguished soloists, ensembles, choirs and festivals from around the world. These have included Piers Lane and Roy Howat (piano), Madeleine Mitchell (violin), Michael Collins (clarinet), Sydney Chamber Choir, Jesus College Choir (Cambridge), Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Amadeus Festival (Geneva), BBC Radio 3 and the British Film Institute. She has recently completed a doctorate on the music of Arthur Benjamin. Her skills as composer-pianist are in demand for silent film accompaniment with appearances at the BFI South Bank, the Barbican and Welsh National Opera.

Hillary Tann - Welsh-born composer, Hilary Tann, lives in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York where she is the John Howard Payne Professor of Music at Union College, Schenectady. She holds degrees in composition from the University of Wales at Cardiff and from Princeton University. She was guest Composer-in-Residence at the 2011 Eastman School of Music Women in Music Festival and 2013 Women Composers Festival of Hartford. Praised for its lyricism and formal balance, her music is influenced by a strong identification with the natural world. A deep interest in the traditional music of Japan has led to private study of the shakuhachi and guest visits to Japan, Korea, and China. Her compositions have been widely performed and recorded by ensembles such as the European Women’s Orchestra, Tenebrae, Lontano, Meininger Trio, Thai Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBCNOW, and KBS Philharmonic in Seoul, Korea. Website: hilarytann.com.

Rhian Samuel - Rhian Samuel, b. 1944 in Aberdare, Wales, lived for many years in the United States, returning to the UK in 1984. Now Professor Emeritus at City University, London, she teaches composition at Magdalen College, Oxford. Her orchestral music ranges from Elegy-Symphony (1980, St Louis SO, cond. Leonard Slatkin) to Tirluniau/ Landscapes (2000 BBC Proms, BBC NOW, cond. Tadaaki Otaka). Chamber works include the piano quartet, Light and Water (2003), premiered by the Fidelio Quartet, the Phantasy Trio (2010), the string quartet, Threaded Light (2012), commissioned by the Mavron Quartet, and Blythswood (1996) for viola and piano, recently issued on the CD, British Rhapsodies (Stone Records), played by Su Zhen and Simon Lepper.

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Michael Berkeley - Cafodd Michael Berkeley ei eni yn 1948, mab hynaf Sir Lennox Berkeley a mab bedydd Benjamin Britten. Roedd yn fachgen côr yng Nghadeirlan San Steffan, a bu’n astudio yn yr Academi Gerddoriaeth Frenhinol ac yn hwyrach o dan adain Richard Rodney Bennett. Yn ddiweddar, cyfansoddodd sgôr balê ar gyfer Wayne McGregor a’r Balê Brenhinol, wedi ei seilio ar The Art of Fugue, ac anthem ar gyfer achlysur gorseddu Justin Welby fel Archesgob newydd Caergaint. Yn ogystal a’r cyfansoddi, mae Berkeley yn cyflwyno ‘Private Passions’ ar BBC Radio 3. Derbyniodd CBE am ei wasanaeth i gerddoriaeth yn 2012 ac yn ddiweddar cafodd ei benodi yn Arglwydd annibynol yn Nhŷ’r Arglwyddi.

John Woolrich - Dull ymarferol o gyfansoddi sydd gan John Woolrich - sefydlodd grŵp (the Composers Ensemble) a gŵyl (Hoxton New Music Days) tra’n byw fel cyfansoddwr â chysylltiadau â Orchestra of St Johns’ a’r Britten Sinfonia. Yn dilyn cyfnod o gydweithio llwyddiannus gyda Grŵp Cerddoriaeth Cyfoes Birmingham cafodd ei benodi’n Artistmewn-Cyswllt yn 2002. Bu’n Gyfarwyddwr Artistig gwâdd i Wŷl Aldeburgh yn 2004 ac yn Gyfarwyddwr Artistig Cyswllt yr Wŷl o 2005 i 2010. o 2010 i 2013 roedd Woolrich yn Gyfarwyddwr Artistig ar Ysgol Hâf Ryngwladol Dartington yn ogystal ac Athro mewn Cerddoriaeth ym Mhrifysgol Brunel.

Natasha Barrett - yn gyfansoddwraig llawrydd, perfformwraig ac ymchwilydd, yn arbenigo mewn cyfansoddi cerddoriaeth electroacwstig ac ymwybyddiaeth o sain 3D. Ers derbyn ei Doethuriaeth yn 1998 (Prifysgol City, Llundain) mae hi wedi byw yn Norwy, yn creu darnau cyngerdd, theatr a gosodwaith, gan gydweithio gyda gwyddonwyr, cynllunwyr a phenseiri. Mae’n derbyn comisiynau led led y byd a chaiff ei chyfansoddiadau eu perfformio’n eang. Enillodd ei darnau cyngherddol wobrau lu, gan gynnwys Gwobr y Nordic Council Music (Norden 2006), y Giga-Hertz Award (Almaen 2008), yr Edvard Prize (Norwy 2004), y Noroit-Leonce Petitot (Ffrainc 2002 a 1998), y Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (Ffrainc 2008, 2006, 2001, 1998 a 1995), y Musica Nova (Prague 2001), CIMESP (Brazil 2001), y Concours Scrime, (Ffrainc 2000), yr International Electroacoustic Creation Competition of Ciberart (Eidal 2000), y Concours Luigi Russolo (Eidal 1995 a 1998), y Prix Ars Electronica (Awstria 1998), a’r nawfed International Rostrum for Electroacoustic Music (2002). Gwefan: www.natashabarrett.org Ed Wright - Ganwyd Ed Wright (www.virtual440.com) yn Swydd Buckingham, Lloegr, ym 1980. Gorffennodd ei PhD mewn cerddoriaeth gydag Andrew Lewis ym Mhrifysgol Bangor yng Ngorffennaf 2010. Mae ei waith yn canolbwyntio’n bennaf ar ben electronig y sbectrwm cerddorol, er ei fod hefyd yn chwarae offerynnau gwirioneddol ac yn ysgrifennu ar eu cyfer. Mae uchafbwyntiau diweddar yn cynnwys ‘canomoliaeth’ yn Prix Bourges am ei ddarn ‘Con-chords’, nifer o gomisiynau yn cynnwys darn sain-osod yng nghell dywyll carchar Rhuthun lle cedwid carcharorion ar eu pennau eu hunain, amser chwarae as BBC Radio 1 a theledu S4C, a gig mewn hen ffatri bowdr gwn. www. blipfonica.com.

Asaf Sirkis - g.1969 yn Petah-Tikva, Israel, ond symudodd i dre Rehovot lle dreuliodd ei lencyndod a blynyddoedd ei ugeiniau cynnar. Profodd y symud i Rehovot yn ddylanwadol o ran Asaf, gan iddo ddechrau dangos ei ddiddordeb mewn cerdd a rhythm bryd hynny, yng nghanol y bwrlwm diwylliannol o’i gwmpas. Yn Rehovot roedd ymhlith 30

Michael Berkeley - Michael Berkeley was born in 1948, the eldest son of Sir Lennox Berkeley and a godson of Benjamin Britten. He was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, and then studied at the Royal Academy of Music and later with Richard Rodney Bennett.

Recent commissions include a ballet score for Wayne McGregor and the Royal Ballet, based on The Art of Fugue, and an anthem for the Enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. In addition to composing, Berkeley presents BBC Radio 3’s ‘Private Passions’. He was appointed a CBE for services to music in 2012 and has recently been made an independent peer in the House of Lords.

John Woolrich - John Woolrich has a practical approach to music making—he founded a group (the Composers Ensemble), a festival (Hoxton New Music Days) and has been composer in association with both the Orchestra of St Johns’ and the Britten Sinfonia. His successful collaborations with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group led to his appointment in 2002 as Artist-in-Association. He was guest Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival in 2004 and Associate Artistic Director of the festival from 2005 to 2010. From 2010 to 2013 Woolrich was both Artistic Director of Dartington International Summer School and Professor of Music at Brunel University.

Natasha Barrett - Natasha Barrett is a freelance composer, performer and researcher specialising in electroacoustic composition and the perception and practical investigation of 3D sound. Since receiving her PhD in 1998 (City University, London) she has lived in Norway creating concert, theatre and installation works, and collaborating with scientists, designers and architects. Barrett’s works are performed and commissioned throughout the world. Her concert music has receiving numerous prizes, including the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize (Norden 2006), along with the GigaHertz Award (Germany 2008), Edvard Prize (Norway 2004), Noroit-Leonce Petitot (France 2002 & 1998), Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (France 2008, 2006, 2001, 1998 & 1995), Musica Nova (Prague 2001), CIMESP (Brazil 2001), Concours Scrime, (France 2000), International Electroacoustic Creation Competition of Ciberart (Italy 2000), Concours Luigi Russolo (Italy 1995 & 1998), Prix Ars Electronica (Austria 1998), 9th International Rostrum for electoacoustic music (2002). More info: www.natashabarrett. org Ed Wright - Ed Wright (www.virtual440.com) was born in Buckinghamshire, England in 1980. He finished his PhD in music with Andrew Lewis at Bangor University in July 2010.

His work is mainly focused toward the electro-acoustic end of the musical spectrum, although he writes for and plays real instruments as well. Recent highlights include a ‘mention’ in the Prix Bourges for his piece Con-chords, a number of commissions including a 3 day sound installation piece in the dark solitary confinement cell of Rhuthin jail, airplay on BBC Radio 1 and S4C television, and a gig in an old gunpowder factory. www.blipfonica.com.

Asaf Sirkis - Born in 1969 in Petah-Tikva, Israel, Asaf later moved to the town of Rehovot, where he spent his teens and early twenties. This was an influential move for Asaf, as it was here amongst the diverse cultural influences he found in Rehovot that Asaf began to show an interest in music and rhythm. In Rehovot he lived amongst people from North Africa, east and central Europe, and the Middle East. Living in Shaarayim, the Yemenite 31

pobloedd Gogledd Affrica, gwledydd dwyrain a chanol Ewrop a’r Dwyrain Canol a thra’n byw yng nghymdogaeth Shaarayim yn Rehovot, cafodd ei ddylanwadu’n fawr gan ddiwylliant, cerdd a rhythmau’r bobl Yemenite oedd wedi ymgartrefu yno. Ffurfiodd Asaf ei driawd - yr Asaf Sirkis Trio yn 2007, gyda’r gitarydd Groegaidd Tassos Spiliotopoulos a’r Israeliad Yaron Stavi ar y bas. Cyhoeddwyd albwm cyntaf y triawd ‘The Monk’ ym mis Medi, 2008. Mae Asaf yn teithio’n helaeth gyda’i Bedwarawd ar hyn o bryd ac hefyd gyda’i fand ‘Inner Noise’ ac mae ei boblogrwydd a’i enw da fel cyfansoddwr ac arweinydd band ar gynnydd.

Ensemble Cerddoriaeth Newydd Bangor - Sefydlwyd Ensemble Cerddoriaeth Newydd Bangor yn 2011 gyda’r bwriad o hyrwyddo cerddoriaeth cyfansoddwr o’r 20fed Ganrif a chyfansoddwyr byw, gan gydweithio’n glos gyda Gŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor. Fel cydchwaraewyr hyblyg, mae’n cynnwys offeryniaeth amrywiol o wahanol offerynnwyr gan gael ei redeg ar y cyd gan staff a myfyrwyr yr Ysgol Gerddoriaeth. Cafwyd perfformiadau llwyddiannus o gyfres o ddarnau graffeg yn ystod GGNB 2013 a ragflaenwyd gan gyngerdd Cage a’r Fluxus yn ystod 2012.

Francesca Reader – Wedi cwblhau ei gradd yn 2013 ar hyn o bryd mae Francesca yn parhau ym Mhrifysgol Bangor, gan astudio cyfansoddi gyda Guto Pryderi Puw ac Andrew Lewis. Caiff ei hariannu gan gynllun Mynediad i Feistr, mewn cydweithrediad â Chronfa Gymdeithasol Ewropeiaidd a Gŵyl Gerdd Newydd Bangor. O’r blaen bu’n astudio gyda Patricia Alessandrini a mynychodd gwrs gyda Stefano Gervasoni. Peformiwyd ei darn ‘To Play or Not to Play..?’ am y tro cyntaf yn ystod yr ŵyl yn 2013.

Nel Povey - Merch o Lanfrothen, ger Penrhyndeudraeth yng Ngwynedd yw Nel. Mae’n gorffen ei gradd Cerdd ym Mhrifysgol Bangor eleni a’i phrif brojectau yw cyfansoddi a chanu. Mae’n mwynhau perfformio ers ei phlentyndod a dechreuodd gymryd diddordeb mewn cyfansoddi yn ei harddegau hwyr. Mae’n ystyried gwneud MA ym Mangor y flwyddyn nesaf, gyda’r bwriad o weithio ym myd theatr a cherddoriaeth yn y pen draw.

Simon Desbruslais - Mae Simon Desbruslais yn unawdydd sydd wedi ennill cryn dipyn o glod am fod yn unawdydd trwmped o fri, ac ef oedd y cyntaf erioed i recordio Trydydd Consierto Trwmped Hertel tra’n chwarae’r trwmped naturiol. Astudiodd yng Ngholeg Brenhinol Llundain ac yn y Royal College of Music, gan ennill nifer o wobrau ac ysgoloriaethau. Mi roedd hefyd yn fyfyriwr preifat i Eric Aubier yn y Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Rueil-Malmaison. Gan ei fod yn frwdfrydig i barhau ei astudiaethau cerddoleg yn ogystal a pherfformio, mae Desbruslais ar fîn cwblhau ei ddoethuriaeth ar elfennau cerddoriaeth Hindemith yng Ngholeg Crist yn Rhydychen.

Mae hefyd yn darlithio’n ryngwladol ac yn cynnal dosbarthiadau meistr yn gyson, yn ogystal a bod yn ddarlithydd cyflogedig mewn cerddoriaeth yng ngholegau Iesu a Lincoln, Rhydychen.

David Curtis - David Curtis yw Cyfarwyddwr Artistig Orchestra of the Swan. Ar gyfer ei wŷl gerddoriaeth newydd ‘Spring Sounds’, mae wedi rhaglennu nifer o premieres, gwahodd nifer o gyfansoddwyr o’r UDA a chomisiynnu darnau ar y cyd â Cherddorfa Cyfansoddwyr America. Mae wedi bod yn unawdydd ac arweinydd yn y Ffindir â Cherddorfa Dinas Mikkeli, Siambr Roveniemi, Cerddorfa Symffoni Yvaskyla a Symffoni Gogledd Hwngari a Chôr yr Wŷl ar gyfer Gŵyl Olomouc Dvorak a Gŵyl Policka Martinu.

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neighbourhood in Rehovot, Asaf was particularly drawn to Yemenite culture, music, and rhythms. While developing his own compositions, Asaf formed the Asaf Sirkis Trio in 2007 which features Greek guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos and Israeli bassist Yaron Stavi. This trio released their first album ‘The Monk’ in September, 2008. Asaf is currently touring extensively with his Quartet and with his ‘Inner Noise’ band, and is gaining in reputation as a composer and band leader.

Bangor New Music Ensemble - The Bangor New Music Ensemble was formed in 2011 with the mandate to promote music by 20th century and living composers while working closely with the Bangor New Music Festival. As a flexible collective, it consists of varying instrumentation, and is run jointly by staff and students at the School of Music.

Successful performances were given of a series of graphic scores at the BNMF 2013, being succeeded by the Cage and Fluxus concert in 2012.

Francesca Reader - After completing her undergraduate degree in 2013, Francesca is now continuing at Bangor university, studying composition under Guto Pryderi Puw and Andrew Lewis. She is being funded by the Access to Master Scheme, in conjunction with the European Social Fund and the Bangor New Music Festival. She has previously studied with Patricia Alessandrini and attended a course with Stefano Gervasoni. Her piece ‘To Play or Not to Play..?’ was premiered in the 2013 festival.

Nel Povey - Nel is from Llanfrothen, near Penrhyndeudraeth in Gwynedd. She’s in the final year of her Music degree at Bangor University and her main projects are composition and singing. She’s enjoyed performing since an early age and started to take an interest in composing in her late teens. She’s considering doing an MA at Bangor next year, with the intention of working in the field of theatre and music later on.

Simon Desbruslais - Simon Desbruslais is a British trumpet soloist whose performances have been critically acclaimed as ‘steel-lipped’, ‘musically compelling’ and possessing ‘supreme confidence and flair’. He came to international prominence with the first ever recording of Hertel’s Third Trumpet Concerto on the natural trumpet. Simon was educated at King’s College London and the Royal College of Music, winning numerous prizes and scholarships. He was also a private student of Eric Aubier in the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Rueil-Malmaison. Keen to expand on the relationship between performance and musicology, Simon will soon complete his doctorate at Christ Church, Oxford, on the music theory of Hindemith. He also gives regular international lectures and master classes, and is stipendiary lecturer in music at Jesus and Lincoln Colleges, Oxford.

David Curtis - David Curtis is Artistic Director of Orchestra of the Swan, and his ‘Spring Sounds’ new music festival has included numerous world premieres, 2 recordings premieres, visiting composers from the USA and a joint commission with the American Composers Orchestra. He appears as soloist and conductor in Finland with the Mikkeli City Orchestra, the Roveniemi Chamber and Yvaskyla Symphony Orchestra and has conducted the North Hungarian Symphony and Festival Chorus in the prestigious annual Olomouc Dvorak’s Festival and the Policka Martinu Festival. David champions new work and has premiered least 50 works by British, Bulgarian, Chinese, Nordic and American 33

Mae David wedi perfformio o leiaf 50 o ddarnau am y tro cyntaf gan gyfansoddwyr o Brydain, Tseina,y Gwledydd Nordig a’r UDA gan gynnwys Oscar i Bosch, Douglas Cuomo, Tansy Davies, Paul Patterson, Joe Phibbs, Param Vir, Shu Wang a John Woolrich.

Mae wedi arwain cyfansoddiadau gan Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, Lars-Petter Hagen a Thuridur Jónsdottir ar gyfer Radio Gwlad yr Iâ a darnau gan Marie Samuelsson a Sampo Haapamäki â Cherddorfa Dinas Mikkeli yng ngwŷl Nordic Music Days.

Huw Watkins - Cafodd Huw Watkins ei eni yng Nghymru yn 1976 ac astudiodd y piano â Peter Lawson yn Ysgol Cerddoriaeth Chetham’s a chyfansoddi â Robin Holloway, Alexander Goher a Julian Anderson yng Nghaergrawnt ac yn y Royal College of Music.

Mae Watkins yn Athro Cyfansoddi yn y Royal Academy of Music a cyfansoddwr preswyl y Royal Philharmonic Society â’r Orchestra of the Swan o 2012-2014. Ennillodd glod mawr am ei waith siambr â’r NMC. Cafodd ei waith newydd, Consierto i’r Ffliwt ar gyfer Adam Walker a’r LSO, ei chwarae am y tro cyntaf ar 23 Chwefror 2014. Ar hyn o bryd, mae Watkins yn gweithio ar brosiect newydd i Stile Antico, cylch o ganeuon i Mark Padmore ar gyfer Gŵyl Cheltenham 2014 a gwaith cerddorfaol newydd ar gyfer yr Hallé yn 2016.

Tom Coult - Mae Coult, 25, yn frodor o Lundain sydd wedi ysgrifennu ar gyfer nifer o ensemblau pwysicaf y wlad, yn cynnwys Cerddorfa Symffoni’r BBC, Cerddorfa’r Philarmonia, Camerata Manceinion a Psappha. Astudiodd ym Mhrifysgol Manceinion gyda Camden Reeves a Philip Grange, ac mae yn awr yn cwblhau ei ddoctoret yng Ngholeg Brenhinol Llundain â George Benjamin. Mae Coult wedi ennill gwobr y Royal Philharmonic Society, gwobr y Christopher Brooks Memorial a Gwobr Gyfansoddi William Matthias. Ef oedd cyfansoddwr preswyl ifanc y Lancashire Sinfonietta yn ystod 2011-2012 ac mae’n gyfarwyddwr cerddorol o’r cwmni opera cydweithiol Opera Viscera. Ar hyn o bryd, mae’n ysgrifennu darn newydd ar gyfer y Britten Sinfonia, a chylch o ganeuon ar gyfer y soprano Claire Booth a Cherddorfa Siambr Mahler.

Robert Saxton - g.1953. Astudiodd gyda Elisabeth Lutyens, Robin Holloway, Robert Sherlaw Johnson a Luciano Berio, yn dilyn derbyn arweiniad gan Benjamin Britten. Cyfansoddodd weithiau sylweddol ar gyfer y BBC (Teledu, Proms a Radio), yr LSO a’r London Sinfonietta; gwyliau gan gynnwys gŵyl Huddersfield, y ‘Three Choirs’ a Cheltenham; unawdwyr yn cynnwys Teresa Cahill, Steven Isserlis a Mstislav Rostropovich. Recordiwyd ei gynnyrch gan Sony Classical, Hyperion, Metier, EMI, NMC a Divine Art. Mae’n Athro Cyfansoddi a Chymrawd Tiwtorial mewn Cerdd yng Ngholeg Worcester, Rhydychen ar hyn o bryd. Ymysg y comisiynau a dderbyniodd yn 2013 mae cylch o ganeuon ar gyfer y baritôn Roderick Williams (Oxford Lieder Festival) a chylch o weithiau piano ar gyfer Clare Hammond (City of London Festival).

Tansy Davies - Cafodd ei geni ym Mryste yn 1973 ac astudiodd yn y Guidhall School of Music & Drama a Coleg Brenhinol Holloway. Yn ei gwaith diweddar, mae ei steil wedi bod rhwng avant-garde a roc arbrofol, rhwng - medd un critig - Xenakis a Prince. Mae hi wedi cael ei chomisiynu gan nifer o gerddorfeydd ac ensemblau gorau’r byd, megis Sinfonietta Llundain, Sinfonia’r Gogledd a Cherddorfa Symffoni y BBC. Yn ogystal â pherfformiadau ledled Prydain ag Ewrop, mae ei gwaith yn cael ei chlywed yn aml mewn gwledydd megis Israel, Japan ac Awstralia. Mae wedi rhyddau dau albwm ar 34

composers including Oscar i Bosch, Douglas Cuomo, Tansy Davies, Paul Patterson, Joe Phibbs, Param Vir, Shu Wang and John Woolrich. For Icelandic Radio he conducted premieres by Snorri Sigfús Birgisson, Lars-Petter Hagen, Thuridur Jónsdottir and Marie Samuelsson in the Nordic Music Days Festival and gave the world premiere of a new work by Sampo Haapamäki with the Mikkeli City Orchestra.

Huw Watkins - Huw Watkins was born in Wales in 1976 and studied piano with Peter Lawson at Chetham’s School of Music and composition with Robin Holloway, Alexander Goehr and Julian Anderson at Cambridge and the Royal College of Music. In 2001 he was awarded the Constant and Kit Lambert Junior Fellowship at the Royal College of Music. Watkins is Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Philharmonic Society’s Composer in the House with Orchestra of the Swan 2012-2014.

His 2013 disc of chamber music with NMC has been highly praised. His new Flute Concerto for Adam Walker and the LSO will be premiered in on 23 February 2014.

Upcoming projects include a new work for Stile Antico, a song cycle for Mark Padmore for the 2014 Cheltenham and an orchestra work for the Hallé in 2016.

Tom Coult - Tom Coult, 25, is a London-born composer whose work has been performed by ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Lancashire Sinfonietta, Psappha, Fidelio Trio, Gemini & Hebrides Ensemble. Tom studied at the University of Manchester with Camden Reeves and Philip Grange, and is now studying for a PhD at King’s College London under George Benjamin, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Awards and prizes include the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize, the Christopher Brooks Memorial Prize, the Philip Bates Prize, the William Mathias Composition Prize, the Third Angle Ensemble New Ideas in Music competition, China’s Sun River Composition Prize (2nd prize) the Alvarez Chamber Orchestra Competition (3rd prize), and he was a finalist in the Niccolò Castiglioni Prize in Milan. He held the post of Young Composer-in-Residence with Lancashire Sinfonietta for their 2011/12 season, and is music director of collaborative opera company Opera Viscera. Upcoming pieces include a new work for the Britten Sinfonia, and a song cycle for soprano Claire Booth and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Robert Saxton - Robert Saxton (b.1953) studied with Elisabeth Lutyens, Robin Holloway, Robert Sherlaw Johnson and Luciano Berio following guidance from Benjamin Britten.

He has written major works for the BBC (TV, Proms and Radio), LSO and London Sinfonietta; festivals including Huddersfield, Three Choirs and Cheltenham; and soloists including Teresa Cahill, Steven Isserlis and Mstislav Rostropovich. Recordings have appeared on Sony Classical, Hyperion, Metier, EMI, NMC and Divine Art. He is currently Professor of Composition and Tutorial Fellow in Music at Worcester College at the University of Oxford. Commissions in 2013 included a song cycle for baritone Roderick Williams at the Oxford Lieder Festival and a piano cycle for pianist Clare Hammond at the City of London Festival.

Tansy Davies - Tansy Davies was born in Bristol in 1973 and studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Royal Holloway College. In her recent work, Davies has found an accommodation between the worlds of the avant-garde and experimental rock, between - in the words of one critic - Xenakis and Prince. She has been commissioned 35

y labeli Nonclassical a NMC, gan dderbyn clod uchel. Ar hyn o bryd, mae Davies yn gweithio ar opera i Opera Cenedlaethol Lloegr, â’r premiere yn Ebrill 2015.

Guto Pryderi Puw - Astudiodd Guto Pryderi Puw gerddoriaeth ym Mhrifysgol Bangor, lle derbyniodd MMus yn 1996 a Doethuriaeth yn 2002 drwy Ysgoloriaeth Parry Williams.

Yn 2006 fe’i penodwyd yn Ddarlithydd Cerdd yn y Brifysgol yn ogystal a’i benodi yn Gyfansoddwr Preswyl gyda Cherddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC. Yn ddiweddarach enillodd y Concerto ar gyfer Obo ‘Wobr y Gwrandawyr’ yng Ngwobrau Cyfansoddwr Prydeinig tra pherfformiwyd ‘…onyt agoraf y drws…’ yn ystod y Proms. Yn 2009 derbyniodd wobr Cymru Greadigol gan Gyngor Celfyddydau Cymru er mwyn datblygu ei ysgrifennu operatig ac fe ryddheir recordiadau o’i gyfansoddiadau cerddorfaol ar label Signum yn Ebrill 2014.

Orchestra of the Swan - daw’r gerddorfa o dre Shakesperaidd Stratford-upon-Avon ac mae’n gerddorfa ‘Associate’ yn Neuadd Tre Birmingham hefyd. Trefnwyd cyfres o gynherddau ganddynt yn Bedworth a Pershore yn 2013. Yn 2011 ymunodd ‘OOTS’ yn llwyddiannus iawn gyda’r band Indie ‘James’, gan berfformio mewn neuaddau dan eu sang, megis yn Neuadd Dewi Sant, Caerdydd, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall a’r Royal Albert Hall. Perfformiodd ‘OOTS’ hefyd gyda ‘Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel’ in Symphony Hall Birmingham ym mis Tachwedd 2012. Sefydlwyd y gerddorfa yn 1995 i berfformio yn y Stratford Music Festival. Rhwng 2006 a 2011 comisiynodd ‘OOTS’ dros 50 o ddarnau gwreiddiol. Ymhlith y recoriadau lu o’r gerddorfa mae cyfres - gyda rhai o’r darnau’n berfformiadau cyntaf oll - o waith y cyfansoddwr Awstriaidd Hans Gál (1890-1987); cyfansoddwr sy’n haeddu llawer mwy o sylw ac enwogrwydd.

Xenia Pestova - Mae Xenia Pestova yn bianydd cyngerdd gyda phroffil lliwgar ac anarferol. Fel yn sy’n ymroddedig i hyrwyddo cerddoriaeth gan gyfansoddwyr cyfoes byw, mae wedi comisiynu, perfformio, recordio a darlledu nifer fawr o weithiau newydd , ac y mae’n hoff o gydweithio ar greu prosiectau rhyng-ddisgyblaethol gyda thechnolegau newydd. Hi hefyd yw Pennaeth Perfformio Ysgol Gerdd Prifysgol Bangor.

Daeth i’r brig yng Nghystadleuaeth Bianol Rhyngwladol Xavier Montsalvatge yn Girona, Sbaen, ac enillodd amrywiol wobrau yng Nghystadleuaeth Ryngwladol Messiaen ym Mharis, cystadleuaeth Biano KeriKeri yn Seland Newydd yn ogystal â gwobrau a chymorthdaliadau prosiect i’r celfyddydau gan sefydliadau megis Cyngor Celfyddydau Seland Newydd,a Chyngor Celfyddydau Canada. Yn ychwanegol i’w chariad tuag at y piano, mae wrth ei bodd yn chwarae allweddellau eraill,yn cynnwys ei chasgliad cynyddol o bianos tegan. Mae’n Artist Cyngerdd Piano Tegan Schoenhut.

Pascal Meyer - Astudiodd Pascal Meyer yn y Conservatoire yn Luxemburg gyda Jean Hilger; yn Ysgol Gerdd Rimsky-Korsakov, St.Petersburg, ag yn Ysgol Gerdd Amsterdam gyda Jan Marisse Huizing, Håkon Austbø a Jan Wijn. Fe enillodd Wobr Cystadleuaeth Genedlaethol ar gyfer Unawdwyr Ifanc yn 1997 a 1999, bob tro yn cipio’r fedal Aur. Fe enillodd Wobr Fonds Stelmes Jeunesses Musicales yn 2004 a’r Prix Arts et Lettres o Sefydliad Grand-Ducal yn Luxembourg yn 2010. Ochr yn och â’i weithgareddau fel unawdydd, fe ffurfiodd ddeuawd piano gyda Xenia Pestova. Mae’eu recordiad o gampwaith Karlheinz Stockhausen, MANTRA wedi eu ryddhau ar label NAXOS yn 36

by numerous world class ensembles and orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Britten Sinfonia, BCMG, City of London Sinfonia, CBSO Youth Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and the choir of King’s College Cambridge. As well as performances across the UK and Europe, Davies’ music has been heard as far afield as the USA, Canada, Israel, Japan, Chile and Australia. Two critically-acclaimed albums of her music have been released on the Nonclassical and NMC labels respectively. Davies is currently working on an opera to be premiered by English National Opera in April 2015.

Guto Pryderi Puw – Guto Pryderi Puw read Music at Bangor University where he gained his MMus degree in 1996 and later his PhD in Composition in 2002 after winning the Parry Williams Scholarship. In 2006 he was appointed as a Music Lecturer at the University and was also appointed as Resident Composer with the BBC NOW. Later in the year his Concerto for Oboe won the Listeners’ Award category at the British Composer Awards in 2007 while ‘…ony agoraf y drws…’ (‘unless I open the door’) was premiered at the Proms. In 2009 he received a Creative Wales Award from the Arts Council of Wales to develop his operatic writing and recordings of his orchestral works will be released on the Signum label later in April 2014.

Orchestra of the Swan - Orchestra of the Swan is from Shakespeare’s Stratford-uponAvon and is Associate Orchestra at Town Hall Birmingham and for 2013 have concert series in Bedworth and Pershore. In 2011 OOTS joined Indie band ‘James’ for a sell-out tour performing in St David’s Hall Cardiff, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Bridgewater Hall, The Sage, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Royal Albert Hall and performed with ‘Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel’ in Symphony Hall Birmingham in November 2012. It was founded in 1995 to perform at the Stratford Music Festival.

Between 2006 and 2011 it commissioned over 50 new works. Among the orchestra’s recordings are a series, some of them premiere recordings, of the music of the longneglected Austrian composer Hans Gál (1890-1987).

Xenia Pestova - Xenia Pestova is a concert pianist with an unusual and colourful profile. As a dedicated promoter of music by living composers, she has commissioned, premiered, recorded and broadcast numerous new works, and is a frequent collaborator on the creation of interdisciplinary projects with new technologies. She is also currently the Head of Performance at the Bangor University School of Music. Her awards include the unanimous First Prize at the Xavier Montsalvatge International Piano Competition in Girona, Spain, and prizes at the Messiaen International Piano Competition in Paris and the KeriKeri Piano Competition in New Zealand, as well as prizes and project support grants from organisations such as the New Zealand Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts. In addition to her love for the piano, she enjoys performing on other keyboard instruments and interfaces, including her growing collection of toy pianos. She is a Schoenhut Toy Piano Concert Artist.

Pascal Meyer - Pascal Meyer studied at the Conservatory of Luxemburg with Jean Hilger, at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory of St.Petersburg, and the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Jan Marisse Huizing, Håkon Austbø and Jan Wijn. He was prizewinner of the Luxemburgish National Competition For Young Soloists in 1997 and 1999, each time winning the gold medal. He was rewarded with the Fonds Stelmes Prize of the Jeunesses 37

September 2010 a chafodd dderbyniad gwresog a gwobrau lu , yn cynnwys Diapason d’Or. Yn fwy diweddar, fe ryddhawyd ganddynt dair CD o gerddoriaeth ar gyfer dau biano gan John Cage. Mae Pascal Meyer heyd yn aelod o driawd Piano ALEA, yr ensemble cerddoriaeth gyfoes yn Luxemburg,Lucilin, a’r chwechawd newydd Looptail yn Amsterdam.

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Musicales in 2004 and the Prix Arts et Lettres of the Institut Grand-Ducal in Luxembourg in 2010. Next to his activities as a soloist, he forms a piano duo with Xenia Pestova.

Their recording of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s masterpiece MANTRA, released on NAXOS in September 2010, received rave reviews as well as prizes including a Diapason d’Or. Recent releases include three CDs with music for two pianos by John Cage. Furthermore Pascal Meyer is part of the ALEA Piano Trio, the Luxemburg-based modern music ensemble Lucilin and the new sextet Looptail in Amsterdam.

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