UNCHAINED: premiere performance
UNCHAINED: documentary about the project
UNCHAINED (2018)
for solo percussion, broken bike parts, sinfonietta and tape
World Premiere
Colin Currie (perc)
Owen Gunnell (bike parts)
Children's Classic Concerts Essential Orchestra
Tom Harrold (cond)
City Halls, Glasgow
10th August 2018
Unchained is scored for solo percussion, solo bike parts, electronics, and sinfonietta, and lasts approximately five minutes. It was commissioned in 2017 by Children's Classic Concerts as the centrepiece of their Soundcycle project, which was funded by Glasgow 2018. The project involved running workshops at schools across Glasgow, and recording broken bike noises created by the workshop participants, and embedding these sound within the work.
This short, intense work sets the solo percussion and bike parts on a frantic journey to escape from the rest of the ensemble – they are continuously interrupted by the ensemble's angry, seething music, from which the soloists never quite seem to be able to escape. The electronics which punctuate the music throughout are created from sounds created exclusively from broken bike parts, further adding to the unsettled sound-world of the piece. There is something evil lurking within...
VOYAGE HOME (2013)
for 200 young and Special Educational Needs performers
World Premiere
The Lancashire Sinfonietta (leader: Sarah Brandwood-Spencer)
Lancashire Youth Brass Band
Preston Music Centre Guitar Ensemble
St John Primary Samba Band, Polton-le-Fylde
Burnley Music Centre String and Wind Orchestra
Peartree School Skoog Sextet and Soundbeam solo, Kirkham
Dynamic Brass, Leyland
Sir John Thursby iPad Ensemble, Burnley
Youth Orbit Jazz Ensemble, Lancaster
Tom Harrold (cond)
15th July 2013
Preston Guildhall
Voyage Home was commissioned by the Lancashire Sinfonietta in collaboration with the Lancashire Music Hub. This large-scale work depicts the voyage of a ship. The journey begins with the ship preparing to leave port with a bustling cacophony of sound from the entire orchestra. The vessel then sets sail, crashing through waves, encountering stormy seas, high winds and, in a few brief moments, calm waters and smooth sailing. The sailors dance to reels and folk tunes throughout, stamping their feet and shouting in celebration of the vessel's eventual safe return to port.
TICCATOCCATINA (2014)
for 32 hand at one piano
GUINNESS WORLD RECORD BREAKER
World Premiere
RNCM Pianists
23rd January 2014
CNRR, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Ticcatoccatina was commissioned by the Royal Northern College of Music in Autumn 2013 to raise the profile of their concert hall development project. Scored for 16 players (32 hands) playing exclusively on the 88 keys of a single piano, the work is designed to break the Guinness World Record for 'the most number of musicians to play the piano simultaneously.' The title Ticcatoccatina is a neologism, designed to emulate the mechanical, clock-like material that interlocks, overlaps and layers throughout the work. The piano is essentially treated as a single percussion instrument – with each of the 16 performers only having an average of 5.5 of the 88 notes each, I felt it prudent for the work to be less 'pianistic', more an exploration of the percussive and timbral qualities of the instrument. T.H.
SEETHE (2013)
for 200 saxophones
World Premiere
WAAPA Saxophone Ensemble & Friends | Rob Buckland | Matt Styles | Andy Scott
13th August 2013
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
European Premiere
RNCM Saxophone Ensemble & Friends | Rob Buckland | Matt Styles | Andy Scott
10th November 2013
RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester
Seethe: to be in a state of turmoil
Seethe is scored for 200+ massed saxophone orchestra and rhythm section, and was commissioned by the British saxophonist and composer Andy Scott, to whom it is dedicated.