composer & Performer
Composer and performer Anna Braithwaite's work is distinctly theatrical in nature, thought- provoking, humourous and unexpected.
“One of the many strengths of Anna’s work are the methods she uses to generate original compositions. In listening to each piece, her presence at each site and the time spent with members of the local community become clear. When the works are then performed in and/or by the local community, an interesting relationship between the composer and the community is created, one that not only allows insight into her working process but one that also builds and strengthens relationships within the community itself.”
To read more of Rebecca Collins’s article about Anna’s work go to the British Music Collection website.
NEWs
The intertidal choir
The Intertidal Choir’* is open to all voices (18+ absolutely no singing experience required!) it will happen in various riverside locations between Chatham and Borstal on outgoing and low evening tides before sunset on the following days:
Mondays:
6 – 7:30pm 28th August
6 – 7:30pm 4 September
5:30 – 7pm 18 September
Saturday:
5 – 6:30pm 30 September
All 4 sessions will be led by Jane Pitt with vocal coach Anna Braithwaite joining us to support participants to develop their vocal sounds. Together we’ll listen & respond to the riverside environment to create a unique vocal piece that reflects our experiences of being there. We will also notate our sounds to create draft graphic/phonetic scores that document our progress and inspiration.
Participation is free, capacity is limited so booking is essential via: janepittprojects@gmail.com
* this project is supported by the Rochester Riverside Community Fund *
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE MICRO-OPERA commission
On 8th March 2022 my newest opera ‘The Hardest Journey’ written in collaboration with librettist Kerry Priest ‘popped-up’ in St Pancras International Station. For more details scroll down.
CURRENT PROJECTS:
AUGMENT
For six months in 2019 I was artist-in-residence at Chatham Historic Dockyard. I am now researching how to create a VR interpretation of the performance captured in one of the films I made there called Rope Cycle. Using Unreal Engine I aim to create an immersive, playable sound world whilst artist (and regular collaborator) Matt Rowe recreates an avatar of me performing within a virtual recreation of the original location. I am investigating how ‘players’ might influence/recompose the music themselves as they move through triggers in the space and more generally how the performance will translate into the VR environment.
ROPE CYCLE
This work is being supported by: Hi3 Network [London South Bank University in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University, Creative Folkestone, Maidstone Studios and Screen South]
green Woman
Green Woman is Anna Braithwaite's first solo show. Devised with and directed by Emma Bernard. Commissioned by 1DegreeEast for their South by South East festival, the autobiographical music theatre work explores Anna's childhood growing up in a secluded village in Kent. Taking her influences from the 70s folk revival and 90s rave culture this humorous show offers music to sing and dance to. A short period of R&D was followed by a work-in-progress performance and a trial workshop as part of the festival at Gulbenkian, Canterbury on 17th May 2023.
Gallery images: mistereb.com
ReCENT PROJECTS:
The unbearable lightness of being
Loop Dance Company commissioned Anna to create the music for a new piece choreographed by Luke Birch based upon Milan Kundera’s ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’. It forms part of their UK ‘Encounters’ tour which kicked off at The Glassbox Theatre, Gillingham on July 5th 2023.
For details of the tour go to Loop website.
sirens of the deep
I am no stranger to performing on submarines; my first experience was an intimate show aboard the HMS Ocelot as part of my 2019 residency at Chatham Historic Dockyard (scroll down for more info). I know what tricky vessels they are to work in but also what fascinating and mysterious spaces they contain; so it is no surprise that when Electric Medway Festival asked me to create something for this year’s festival aboard a Cold War submarine moored in the River Medway, I jumped at the chance.
To bring an audience on board was a logistical nightmare so we decided to position them on the shore where there is a perfect vantage point in the garden of the Boat House pub. Isolated on the deck of the submarine, myself, co-creator Phil Self and trumpet/vocalist Samuel D. Loveless will send out signals to the onshore audience. We are transmitting from an imaginary post-digital future, where environmental destruction and dwindling resources have returned society to an analogue era.
The semi-improvised piece uses morse code rhythms, radio noise and sounds collected from the submarine to create a musical ritual designed to reconnect a fractured society.
The piece was performed twice at dusk on 24/08/22. It lasted approximately 25 minutes and incorporated live music, prerecorded film and live feeds projected onto the tower of the submarine. Venue: The Boat House, 8 Canal Road, Strood, Kent, ME2 4DR
Click HERE for more details.
Anna Braithwaite – composer/performer
Phil Self – composer/performer
Samuel D. Loveless – performer
Will Rose (Lightning Sound) – lighting, projection and sound design
Images: Tyler Austin and Rikard Österlund
SIRENS OF THE DEEP RISES AGAIN
Phil Self and I adapted 'Sirens of the Deep' for performance on 'dry land' at Free Range on Thursday 13th Oct. 2022. We played with collaborator Samuel D. Loveless against a backdrop of the original submarine performance to a capacity crowd.
Images: Matthew de Pulford
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE COMMISSION - ‘THE HARDEST JOURNEY’
SIÂN DICKER as ‘Natasha’
APRIL KOYEJO-AUDIGER as ‘Natasha’
“deftly witty writing”
Guardian (**** 4/5)
In December of 2021 librettist Kerry Priest and I interviewed neurodiverse women to understand their experience of train travel for a commission by the Royal Opera House and Casco Phil for Europlia Arts Festival ‘Trains and Tracks’. On 8th March 2022 micro-opera, 'The Hardest Journey' premiered at St Pancras International Station.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, The Royal Opera presented a series of pop-up performances created by women composer and librettist teams in an all-day event called ‘Lost and Found’.
“A marvellous day of opera at St Pancras that never once hit the buffas”
“Part of International Women’s Day, these site-specific performances of micro-operas by women were a triumph, with tremendously broad appeal”
Telegraph (**** 4/5)
These brand new opera commissions were sung by rising stars of the opera world and accompanied by musicians from Belgium’s Casco Phil chamber orchestra. Cast list can be found HERE.
Read about it in the Guardian or in my blog.
Produced by: Jette Parker Young Artists Programme
Supported by: St Pancras, Curated Place, Muziektheater Transparant
HULKED
This film is part of a pilot creative heritage project about the Thames sailing barges called 'Hulked'. The film is shot around and within the hulk of the Surrey barge which was left to rot on Glass Bottle Beach in Lower Halstow, Kent UK. The piece was conceived by Anna Braithwaite who also performed in the film and created the soundtrack, with additional ideas and instrumental performance by Dr. Jeremy Scott (University of Kent). 'Hulked' was filmed and edited by Matt Rowe, it was informed by the research Anna undertook with project partners Ed Gransden of Tiller & Wheel, Dr. Jeremy Scott (University of Kent) and Prof. Katharine Cockin (University of Essex).
Images by Matt Rowe
Anna was awarded a commission by University of Essex, University of Kent and Creative Estuary (Ideas Lab) for a pilot heritage/arts project about the Thames Bargemen called 'Hulked'. Work began with collaborators from both universities and Edward Gransden of Tiller and Wheel in summer 2022 and culminated with an event on the Thames barge 'Edith May' in Oct. 2022. The team have successfully raised funds for a larger scale version of the project which will include a geolocated immersive sound walk along the Saxon Shore Way near Sittingbourne. If you are interested in taking part or know anyone who might have stories to tell about the history of the bargemen do get in touch.
1927 bursary - Eastbrooke’s Adaptation
The 1927 Bursary will allow me to spend time developing my 2017 verbatim music theatre piece ‘Eastbrooke’s Adaptation’ with dramaturg Emma Bernard and to receive additional mentoring from 1927’s co-director Suzanne Andrade and producer Jo Crowley. I want to expand its potential reach by reworking the libretto to combine verbatim and fictional material, allowing it to connect with audiences on a more universal, metaphorical level. I will spend time composing new music for the extended libretto and workshopping it with experienced players. This period of development aims to deliver a 60-70 minute production ready piece which situates the protagonist in a richly-imagined alternate reality, accessed via the use of video projection.
Eastbrooke’s Adaptation was originally produced with support from Sound and Music’s ‘Composer/Curator' scheme, Arts Council England, Help Musicians, PRSF, Superbia and continues to be supported by Creative Folkestone.
Image: Rebecca Askew in the lead role of ‘Sharon Eastbrooke’ taken by Lee Baxter.
The people’s report
In response to the country’s shock at being thrust into lockdown, a member of community group Touchbase Care said:
“Well, now you know how it feels to be on your own”.
She spoke for many in our society who, like her, have long been isolated by disability.
’The People’s Report’, asks: how can we rise from the pandemic to become a more inclusive and less lonely society? Could we reinvent our failing high streets as centres from which to grow thriving, inclusive communities? In collaboration with Touchbase Care, I am developing a piece of theatre which tackles these questions and presents a vision of an alternative future for Folkestone’s town centre.
This piece will pay homage to the variety shows which used to sell out Folkestone’s Leas Pavilion and whose modern variants still entertain guests at the town’s infamous Grand Burstin Hotel. I want to create a riotous piece of cabaret-influenced theatre that takes the form of a ‘glitzy’ but subversive show, with a house band of professional musicians and Touchbase musicians, featuring ‘special guest’ performances from Touchbase members. Touchbase Care is a dynamic community group who take an innovative, holistic approach to supporting adults and young people with physical disabilities, learning difficulties, neurodiversity and sensory impairment.
Voluntary Arts awarded The People’s Report a ‘Get Creative' micro-commission to begin the project. Over six weeks we conducted research in the form of recorded interviews with Touchbase members on the subject of the town centre and loneliness. We used this research as inspiration for protest songs which we wrote and recorded using a blended approach, combining Zoom workshops, in person activities and Facebook interactions. This work will inform and provide material for a performance in July 2022.
There is a written report to accompany the songs which was presented to district councillor Laura Davison and architects firm We Made That for inclusion in their research for Folkestone’s Place Plan. To read and download your copy of the report click HERE.
‘Inside Out’ from The People’s Report with Touchbase Care.
MOONSEED Residency and Performances
In late July 2021, as part of the MOONSEED Collective, Anna took part in a three day residency at Central Theatre, Chatham. They tested the limits and possibilities of improvising over Zoom with dance artists Daisy Thompson and Olivia C Davies who were live streamed into the space from their homes in Canada. They developed new filmed material and new ways of working combining Luke Birch’s movement and spoken word, Anna Braithwaite’s improvised sound worlds and the live art and projected film works of Helen Lindon.
This material was exhibited at Electric Medway festival 21st-30th Aug. 2021 at Spur Battery, Fort Amherst, Chatham, UK and at Free Range, Canterbury UK on Oct. 21st 2021. To receive a private link to the exhibition films please email me.
Film made of MOONSEED by Helen Lindon
Provocation: An improvised dance film made by Olivia C. Davies. Response: an improvised soundtrack by Anna Braithwaite.
With the arrival of COVID 19 came the closing of borders and the restriction of movement between countries, families and friends. Undeterred, UK based collaborators Anna Braithwaite, Luke Birch and Helen Lindon partnered with two dance artists in Canada Daisy Thompson and Olivia C. Davies, to explore the new possibilities the pandemic offered performance artists. They repurposed communication technologies such as Zoom and Instagram alongside old technologies like letter-writing to make new improvised performance works together, simultaneously, thousands of miles apart.
The MOONSEED Collective draw upon a mixed cultural heritage: Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish, Welsh, English, Roma, Argentinian and Irish. To bring together these disparate influences, they have chosen the universal symbol of the moon, around whose cycles they are structuring creative rituals to fill the spaces left by the pandemic in their usual practice. During 2021 ‘Provocations’ were offered by each participant at significant times in the lunar cycle. They then documented their own improvised responses and performed live group improvisations online at each full moon. The provocations and improvised responses took the shape of sculpture, a filmed performance, audio files, a spoken dance score, a film of improvised movement, free writing, an article from a journal and an art film. The provocations and responses have contributed to a project archive housed on Instagram for access by a wider public. With themes of ritual, moon worship, natural cycles and growth, the group have begun a process of ‘rewilding’ the internet, swapping its algorithms for circadian rhythms.
Compilation of footage from an online group improvisation.
The MOONSEED Collective have received support from Canterbury, UK based organisation Free Range, O.Dela Arts (Canada) and the Canadian Arts Council.
SoMnambulist
This binaural piece was created for Fat Lady Opera and SparkedEcho by Anna Braithwaite using fragments of music from the opera ‘Persephone’s Dream’. Anna was lent a binaural microphone as part SparkedEcho’s Test + Develop programme. She explored her local environment during lockdown to create this immersive soundscape. ‘Somnambulist’ was included in the digital festival ‘Electric Medway’ and was broadcast as part of alt. radio festival ‘Radiophrenia’ at 1pm on 21st Nov. 2020.
Instructions: Listen through headphones to enjoy the binaural audio.
Opera conception by Tania Holland Williams, composition by Gavin Alexander, Anna Braithwaite and Kevin Grist. Cello played by Clare O’Connell. Improvised vocals by Anna Braithwaite.
Persephone’s Dream
Rehearsal footage of Persephone's Dream' shot by Kevin Grist at Glassworks, Folkestone.
In summer 2020 Fat Lady Opera commissioned composers Anna Braithwaite, Gavin Alexander and Kevin Grist to collaboratively write an opera about isolation called ‘Persephone’s Dream’ with a libretto by writer/director Tania Holland Williams. Working on Zoom they created a thirty minute opera for live cellist, singer and (Zoom) chorus which was performed at the Cockpit Theatre, London on 18th September 2020 as part of the Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival. Anna also sang the role of Persephone rehearsing via Zoom and at a social distance. Click HERE to read a review of an online viewing of “Persephone’s Dream’ one of the first operas to be created and performed during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Rehearsal Images: Kevin Grist Performance Images: Claire Shovelton, Sarah Booth.
Composer-in-residence at chatham historic dockyard
Still from ‘Rope Cycle’ made in collaboration with Matt Rowe
I was delighted to be selected for a 'Developing Your Creative Practice' grant by the Arts Council England. It allowed me to take on the role of composer-in-residence at Chatham Historic Dockyard, something I had wanted to do since my first visit there in 2017. In April 2019 I began researching new music and art works inspired by the amazing site and the people who worked there. I concentrated my research on the endless spaces and huge machinery of the Victorian Ropery, with particular focus on the widows who worked there. I recorded the sounds of the ropey machinery with Dr. Sean Williams of University of Kent which became the basis for much of the music I created in response to my research. The development of this research led to a collaborative film with artist Matt Rowe called ‘Rope Cycle’.
To receive a private link to the films please email me.
Still from ‘Subhuman’
A short documentary about the making of ‘Subhuman’. Shot by Jim Lockey with additional footage shot by Matt Rowe. Performer: Luke Birch
I also spent time on the HM Submarine Ocelot experiencing the confined spaces of the boat and studying the cold war communication systems within. I interviewed ex-submariners from around the country who had worked on the Ocelot and other Oberon class vessels. I wove their interviews and ‘found sounds’ from the sub into a piece called ‘Subhuman’. Working with Matt Rowe and choreographer Luke Birch, I created a film to compliment the music, shot inside the submarine.
To receive a private link to the films please email me.
Image of Phil Self, Aidan Shepherd and Anna Braithwaite performing on the HM Submarine ‘Ocelot’ taken by Matt Rowe.
Live Performance - Aidan Shepherd, Phil Self and I used recorded sounds of HMS Ocelot and live sounds (using contact mics to ‘play’ the interior of the submarine) in a series of improvised pieces which were performed to limited audience in rotation at the dockyard on Sept. 26th 2019. This interactive series of performances saw audience members punch holes in a music box card before they entered the submarine. This card was wound through a music box and the ‘music’ it created became the impetus for the ten minute improvisation. The audience then got to name the work at the end of the performance.
A short documentary about the filming of an improvised gig aboard the submarine HMS Ocelot. Shot by Jim Lockey with additional footage by Matt Rowe. Musicians: Aidan Shepherd, Phil Self and Anna Braithwaite.
Supported by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and the Master Ropemakers
In THE LOOP
In development at Rambert’s ‘Playground’ - image Helen Lindon
‘In The Loop’ is part of an ongoing, iterative project intended to continually metamorphose and develop in unexpected directions. It began in 2017 as a conceptual piece called ‘Chinese Whispers’, a collaborative work based on the game of the same name between the Montrose Composers’ Club (MCC), Myah Chun Grierson and Helen Lindon. The piece was performed at Free Range (Canterbury), Profound Sound (Folkestone) and Oscillate Festival (Turner Contemporary, Margate). Scroll down to see and hear ‘Chinese Whispers’.
The next stage of this collaborative project (called 'In The Loop’) saw Helen Lindon and Anna Braithwaite combining spontaneous fine art with improvised music. It was premiered at Profound Sound festival (Folkestone) in February 2018. The MCC created tape loop recordings of instruments playing E flat and B flat held notes which, when relayed via a bank of cassette players produced a warped, unpredictable ‘drone’. Helen used this soundscape as a source of inspiration for a work using ink and brush, created live on a rotating canvas. As Helen’s piece unfolded, it acted as a graphic score for Anna to interpret using her voice. Her vocals then fed back into Helen's artwork, making it unclear who was leading whom.
On June 1st ’18 Anna and Helen were invited to take the piece to the Rambert Studios to explore its potential with choreographer Luke Ahmet as part of the Rambert's 'Playground' scheme for professional artists.
This film shows excerpts from a forty minute live improvised performance in Quarterhouse, Folkestone at Profound Sound 2020. Footage: mistereb.com and Helen Lindon. Editing: Helen Lindon.
They continue to work on ‘In the Loop’ with Kent based dancer/choreographer Luke Birch and have developed the piece further to include a live dance element which spontaneously interprets the music and live art in real time. With the tape loops as a driving force, all three artists react to each other live, creating multiple feedback loops until the process becomes completely egalitarian. They start to take on each others roles as artist, dancer, musician, until the boundaries between each discipline become completely blurred. The piece explores how it feels to work in symbiosis with the people around us and simultaneously fear being left ‘out of the loop’.
They performed a forty minute version of the piece at Profound Sound 2020 with improvised lighting by designer Ellie Blunt. Thank you to Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse for the generous donation of rehearsal space.
Images created by Helen Lindon using footage shot by mistereb.com
FREE WOMEN
This track is a live recording of the newly formed female improvisation outfit 'Free Women' (Sylvia Hallett, Gemma Storr and Anna Braithwaite). This is the second set from their debut at the infamous experimental music night 'Free Range' in Canterbury, Kent, UK.
Anna Braithwaite, Gemma Storr and Sylvia Hallett
Free Women performing at Free Range 13/10/22. Images: Matthew de Pulford
In March 2018 I was asked to be a part of the 'Free Range Orchestra' for the Free Range winter season finale. It was a great experience to be part of a 20+ strong group of improvisors led by Sam Bailey, David Leahy and Kat Peddie. With the support of Free Range I am looking to recruit more women to the 'band' over the next year so that by the time the winter season finale '22 comes around there is a more even split of men and women.
Women are under represented in all aspects of the music industry. Like me, they often come late to composing having not had the encouragement or role models to make them look at careers in music other than teaching or performing. I am hoping to do my part to redress the balance by encouraging more women into improvisation and composition, starting in Kent.
Free Women is the name for my female improvisors ‘recruitment activities’ in Kent. It began with a performance at Free Range Canterbury in autumn 2019 where I improvised with performance legends Sylvia Hallett and Gemma Storr. Since then I have run an improvising workshop for beginners and hosted a Free Women, improv jam session as a part of the International Women’s Day festival in Folkestone 2020 called ‘Take Up Space’.
I use improvisation as the engine for creating my music and hope that women (and those who identify as women) musicians, music therapists, teachers, spoken word artists, movement artists, electronic artists and more, will join me for a series of workshops led by inspirational women improvisors to explore their own creativity. If you would like to be a ‘Free Woman’ please get in touch and I will let you know more. If you would consider helping me to find funding or donating to this project please also get in touch at annabraithwaite@me.com.
Image: Kamilla Lobuzinska
PAST PROJECTS - MCC vs sacconi
Images of MCC by andyaitchison.uk
SATURDAY 11TH MAY 2019
2pm - 4.30pm
Customs House, Folkestone Harbour Arm, Kent.
The Montrose Composers' Club collaborated with the Sacconi Quartet to present new works by the MCC alongside quartets by Haydn, Grieg and Korngold. I was delighted to have my small ensemble pieces ‘Washing Machine Head’ and ‘Deleric” performed by this internationally renown quartet, in the atmospheric surroundings of Customs House, ahead of their 12th annual Sacconi festival which took place across the town from the 17th-19th May.
"A beautiful blend of sound ... highly engaging" THE TIMES
"Great power and sweetness ... intimate closeness." SPECTATOR
MCCV
My first public performance on Accordion in Aidan Shepherd’s ‘Free Range’ (for synth and three accordions).
For the Montrose Composers’ Club’s latest concert, MCCV, MCC member Matt Brown suggested that we all write something new using wine glasses. I had carried out interviews for my theatre piece ‘Brainsong’ with people in recovery from addiction and felt that I had run out of time to really explore the text thoroughly in a musical context. I used this opportunity to go back to the material and wrote a very loose graphic score for the other three members of the MCC so they could accompany a mostly spoken text with tuned wine glasses. The sound produced by the wine glasses is circular in nature so I used a looper pedal with my vocals to match that quality. I like the way both of these sounds reflect the repetitive nature of addictive behavoirs and the language of the interviewee “the loop of thought that I get stuck on”. The text is the same for each performance but the delivery is improvised so it can keep a ‘natural’ quality.
PROFOUND SOUND 2019
For my fourth appearance at the annual experimental music festival ‘Profound Sound’ I performed a forty five minute set of free improvisation with Phil Self, Aidan Shepherd and Stuart Hughes. The event took place in the intimate surroundings of the Brewery Tap against the backdrop of Shred It! Collectives’ sound responsive light sculpture ‘Transpose’. For a taster, see a the short video below.
MCCIV
‘Autumn Showers’
Anna Braithwaite and the other members of the Montrose Composers Club each wrote a piece to be performed against the backdrop of 15 tape cassette players, all playing specially prepared tape loops for the groups' fourth concert 'MCCIV' at Profound Sound in Feb. '18.
As well as premiering 'In the Loop' (for details read 'current projects' above) Anna also presented extracts from her recent 'gig lecture' piece 'Fanfare For A Seaside Town' and a new collaboration with musician Craig Gell and MCC member Phil Self interpreting a specially created graphic score and soundscape by sound artist Liz Hayward called 'Autumn Showers'.
The MCC were also invited back to Canterbury's best experimental music night, Free Range, to perform pieces from MCCIV.
Thank you to our sponsors.
FANFARE FOR A SEASIDE TOWN
EVENT: Exhibition and 30 minute gig lecture (followed by an informal Q&A) entitled 'Fanfare for A Seaside Town'. Part of a series of events in Customs House: Urban Room Folkestone, curated by artists for Folkestone Triennial.
DATE: Friday 13th Oct. 6pm and Saturday 14th Oct. 11am, 2pm and 6pm.
VENUE: Customs House: Urban Room Folkestone on Folkestone Harbour Arm, CT20 1QH.
As part of a year long joint project, researcher Dr. Sophia Labadi, artist Andy Tuohy and composer/performer Anna Braithwaite invited Folkestone residents to make their voices heard on the subject of Folkestone’s future, focussing on the social impact of regeneration. This exhibition displayed artwork inspired by the themes which arose during a series of workshops and interviews with the local community and featured live music and analysis presented together in the form of an innovative ‘gig lecture’.
Kindly supported by:
CHINESE WHISPERS
Concept - Anna Braithwaite, Graphic score by Myah Chun Grierson, music created and performed by members of the Montrose Composers’ Club, 'action artist' Helen Lindon.
A collaborative project based on the game of the same name. Anna Braithwaite invited Myah Chun Grierson to create a graphic score inspired by a text/artwork/object of her choosing. She responded to Amanda Gefter’s article written for BBC Earth, ‘The Strange Fate of a Person Falling into a Black Hole’. Myah presented the MCC with her graphic score from which they improvised a musical reaction without knowing the source material. The ‘whisper’ was passed on again during performances at Free Range 02/02/17, Profound Sound 03/02/17 and Turner Contemporary 03/06/17 to fine artist, Helen Lindon, who reacted 'live' to the improvisation she heard.
"What surprised me was how little each 'whisper' changed from the original text, I think this is due to the sensitivity and responsiveness of the artists involved. There are discussions already happening about how this project can be expanded and explored further, please watch this space for news of how Chinese Whispers is developing." Anna Braithwaite
Images - Andrew Aitchison
Helen Lindon, Charcoal on Arches paper, 110cm x 110cm, 5 mins
MCCIII
Anna and the other members of the Montrose Composers' Club were busy at the start of this year preparing new works for their first concert at Free Range in Canterbury on Feb. 2nd 2017 and their return to the Profound Sound festival on 3rd Feb. 2017 at Folkestone's Brewery Tap. See the MCC website for details. Anna had two new works premiered, Chinese Whispers and The Wooden Knight.
THE WOODEN KNIGHT
As part of ongoing experiments with collaborative writing Anna recently finished composing her first piece with Aidan Shepherd of the Montrose Composers' Club. Aidan gave the piece it’s name, 'The Wooden Knight' and wrote the first eight bars but only passed on the last two bars to Anna. She then added the next eight bars but only revealed the last two to Aidan. The process continued with each composer adding to what they were sent without knowing what came before, creating a compositional game of 'head, body, legs'. They did not discuss the piece during this process which happened remotely with communication via email. How does this modern way of working influence the outcome? Does a lack of personal communication create a disjointed clash of ideas or is it possible to make something bigger than the sum of its parts? Both composers found it an interesting methodology and have had their eyes opened to new ways of working.
EASTBROOKE'S ADAPTATION
Anna was selected to be part of the Sound and Music Composer/Curator scheme 2015/16 which saw her and collaborator Michael Betteridge write and produce an evening of verbatim music theatre. The project, entitled 'In Their Own Words' (ITOW), had its premiere in Manchester on Aug. 24th 2016 and received further performances in Folkestone Quarterhouse and Hackney Showroom. For more details please go to the ITOW website.
To create her new work, 'Eastbrooke's Adaptation', Anna used text taken from interviews she conducted with a young woman living with early onset dementia and combined them with questions and tasks which form the Addenbrooke's cognitive examination.
"I liked the idea of juxtaposing my subject's exuberant conversational style with the bald and simple language used in the Addenbrooke's tests. The questions seem almost comically simple when held up against the complex real life experiences of the people it tries to assess."
The piece is written for vocalist Rebecca Askew, percussionist Molly Lopresti and clarinettist Kat Browning and has been staged by director Nick Blackburn. CLICK HERE to view a video if the whole piece.
QUARTERHOUSE RESIDENCY (BRAINSONG)
Graphic Design by Andy Tuohy, image of Anna by Andrew Aitchison
Images - Andrew Aitchison
'Brainsong' promo
In November 2015, Anna began her residency at Quarterhouse, Folkestone, with a 'Musicians’ Meet-up' for local instrumentalists, singers and composers. They workshopped some new material Anna had written, which she went on to develop during the rest of her residency. During spring 2016 Anna worked with director Emma Bernard and performers David Insua-Cao, Katy Rowe, Aidan Shepherd, Gemma Storr, Nicola Burnett Smith and Zoe Aldrich to create new material about neurodiversity through a process of improvisation and collaboration.
The project culminated in a 'scratch' performance of the work they had created entitled 'Brainsong' at the Quarterhouse 'Normal? Festival of the Brain' 2016 on Saturday 28th May.
This project was supported using public funding by Arts Council England and the Bliss Trust, Quarterhouse Folkestone and UCA.
The making of 'Brainsong'
CARERS CREATE
In October 2015, Anna started a commission for Music 4 Wellbeing to write a piece for three choirs of people living with dementia and their carers, as part of their project ‘Carers Create’. She ran sessions in Margate, Herne Bay and Canterbury at which she collected research and workshopped ideas with the singers. Choir members also enjoyed a song-writing workshop in which they helped Anna to create musical content for the commission. The choral piece with flute, guitar and accordion accompaniment entitled 'Tea and Symphony' received it's first performance by the carers create choirs and singers from Sandgate Primary School at: Quarterhouse Normal? Festival of the Brain on Friday 27th May 2016.
The performance was part of a practical presentation about work that is taking place in creativity and dementia with presentations by Bright Shadow, Edith Tankus (The Archivists), Living Words, Sidney de Haan Research Centre and local support group the Sunshiners.
Anna and the singers of the Carers Create project appeared on BBC1 on the 19th Sept. talking about their project together. You can catch the item on iplayer for 30 days by clicking HERE.
MONTROSE COMPOSERS' CLUB
DEBUT CONCERT 'MCCI'
Anna founded the Montrose Composers' Club in September 2015 with local composers Aidan Shepherd, Ian Fleming, Matthew Brown and Phil Self. The collective's debut concert 'MCCI' took place on the 12th February 2016 at The Brewery Tap gallery space, Folkestone, Kent. It contained premieres of seven new pieces and was part of the 'Profound Sound' festival, a weekend of new music and sound art (co-curated by Folkestone Quarterhouse and Folkestone Fringe).
For this debut concert Anna created a new work for piano, cello and tenor sax called 'Fait Accompli'. The music accompanies a single performer operating a hand wound conveyor belt along which a collection of glass ornaments travels slowly until they fall off the end of the belt and inevitably smash in the bucket below. This piece looks at mortality and the absurdity of human existence.
The MCC take part in the Fun Palace with their second concert MCCII
On October 2nd 2016 the members of the Montrose Composers' Club produced their secondconcert MCCII in The Waiting Room on Folkestone Harbour Arm. It saw the group write for a string quartet formed especially for the event, voice, hand bells and a host of other instruments. The informal performance was part of the Folkestone Fun Palace festival and included a chance for the audience to perform with the MCC and improvise some new music.
To find out more about what the MCC are up to please visit their website.
LOOK UP DONCASTER
Anna was selected to take part in the 2014/15 Adopt A Composer scheme which pairs amateur choirs, orchestras, and ensembles with a composer for one year. It is funded by the PRS for Music Foundation and run by Making Music and Sound and Music. She was paired with the Quirky Choir of Doncaster and wrote a fourteen minute piece which they premiered on 20th June 2015 in Doncaster's market and Mansion House. It was recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 3 (listen below).
"Anna has been a joy to work with. She has been sensitive to the unique nature of the choir and has written a piece that stretches them but also celebrates who they are. She has involved them in the writing from the start and has incorporated their ideas into the final piece. We are very excited about the performance and the prospect of hearing ourselves on national radio." Janet Wood, Leader of the Quirky Choir
To find out more about the project please read Anna's blog.
PENT HOUSE MUSIC
Anna was commissioned by Diane Dever and Jonathan Wright to 'animate' one of their 'Pent House' sculptures for their entrance into the Folkestone Artworks permanent collection on 21st June 2015. What she created was a ten minute performance, inside the water tower structure, of original music and words inspired by the sculpture and the Pent Stream from which the piece takes its name. Here is a video made by Dominic Pillai which combines footage of the live performance and a studio shoot.
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