The first lab of the year features a visit from composer-performer Laura Bowler, who will talk about extremes and autobiography in her work. In the second half of the lab, Alex Mah and Harry Matthews report back from the KLANGRAUM and CAMP summer schools that they attended this year, and will present some recent work.
12-2pm | CM.107 | Laura Bowler: From Music of Cruelty through to an Emoticon Call to Arms
I will be talking about my exploration and application of different theatre practices ranging from Stanislavski to Grotowski in my work alongside the necessity of the extreme in my creative process as both a performer and composer. The session will also include some practical work. I will also be talking about the creative process of a project in development- Laura Sings an autobiographical work co-created by myself, Philip Venables and Patrick Eakin Young.
A part of this session will include reference to rape and sexual violence.
Laura Bowler is a composer, vocalist and the Artistic Director of Size Zero Opera. She has been commissioned by ensembles and orchestras worldwide including BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Quatuor Bozzini, Ensemble Lydenskab, Linea Ensemble, Den Jyske Opera, The Opera Group, ROH2 amongst many others. Laura is currently Composer-in-Residence with Manchester Camerata, for whom she has written several works including a music theatre quadruple concerto premiered in 2015 at the Bridgewater Hall. As a vocalist, Laura has premiered many composers’ works including Arne Gieshoff, Jennifer Walshe, Darren Bloom, Diana Soh and Michael Cutting and performed in Austria, France, Singapore and Canada. Laura was also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lands End Ensemble in Canada from 2012-2014.
Laura is currently working on a new chamber opera with British playwright, Edward Bond, commissioned by the Arcola Theatre. Aside from being a Professor at the Guildhall School, Laura is also a Lecturer in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Laura completed her BMus at the RNCM and Sibelius Academy studying with Adam Gorb and Tapio Tuomela, followed by her MMus and PhD at the Royal Academy of Music with Gary Carpenter, David Sawer and Sir Harrison Birtwistle. Laura also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts on their MA in Theatre Directing.
2-4pm | CM.107 | Harry Matthews / Alex Mah
Harry Matthews will talk about his time at CAMP, an arts and music residency, studying with Apartment House in the French Pyrenees. He will discuss his experiences, provide recordings of the workshops, and invite a collaborative performance of Jackson Mac Low.
Alex Mah will discuss his participation in KLANGRAUM, an interdisciplinary arts festival in Düsseldorf, Germany. During the session, he will be talking about the work he premiered there. This will include a demonstration of observing-recording-reliving, a participatory piece involving perception as a creative act and the transmission of ideas through scoring and bodies. Alex is a composer, musician, and dance artist from Canada. His scores and research explore the possibilities of verbal scores and the body in performance and non-performance.
Wednesday 3 April, 12-4, CM107 Join us and go back to nature in Lab 23. Composer and sound artist Paul Whitty will talk about his recent site-specific work, field recording (literally), and football. In the afternoon session Matthew Sergeant will show his current work on materiality with a new piece for gravel and instruments. Paul Whitty: I […]
We’re really pleased to announce that Amnon Wolman will be a Visiting Research Fellow in the lab from January-April 2018. Amnon will be developing his work on scores that investigate memory and imaginary sound during his residency. He says ‘In the last fifteen years my research-based music composition focused the use of text to initiate […]
Wednesday 2 November, 12-4pm [12-2pm, CM131 / 2-4pm CM225] The second Lab focuses on vocality and verbal communication, featuring a visit from Canadian composer Cassandra Miller. Cassandra’s Duet for Cello and Orchestra was performed at last year’s Tectonics festival in Glasgow, and she will speak about transcription and vocal quality. The Lab will also include new […]
