The NMSW Young Composers’ Prize SUNDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2014ST. GEORGE’S, BRISTOL.

Articles on Camille Saint-Saëns and Carnival of the Animals by Aurora De Santis

“Background Design by J.D.S.” “Animal Silhouettes by Lukasiniho”.

For further reading on Camille Saint-Saëns:

Sabina Teller Ratner, et al. "Saint-Saëns, Camille." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.Oxford University Press, accessed August 22, 2014,http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/24335.

Rees, B, 2012. Camille Saint-Saëns: A Life. 1st ed. London: Faber & Faber.

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Carnival of the Animals Camille Saint-Saëns

Introduction and Lion's Royal March Introduction and Lion's Royal March Manos Charalabopoulos

Hens and Cocks Poules et coqs Sam Pradalie

Wild Asses Wild Asses Andy Keenan

Tortoise Tortoise Julian Leeks

Elephant Elephant Anna Meredith

Kangaroos Kangaroos (2) Jean Hasse

Aquarium Aquarium: A Penguin in Istanbul Michael Ellison

Persons with Long Ears Myisi Litha Efthymiou

The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods The Wood Pigeon: presiding over the entire garden Sara Garrard

Aviary Volière Emily Potter

Fossils Fossils 2: Jurassic Tango Geoff Poole

Pianists (After) Pianists Jean-Paul Metzger

The Swan The Swan Jolyon Laycock

Finale Finale: Dance of the Animals John Pickard

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The Music

Carnival of the Animals Camille Saint-Saëns

Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals was written in 1886 during the composer’s retreat from his busy life to a small town in Austria; he later claimed that the lightheartedness of working on Carnival gave him some relief. The humorous 14-movement work is comprised of satirical renditions of animal sounds and characters as performed by a variety of classical orchestral instruments; it was written for two pianos, two violins, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, harmonium, xylophone and celeste imitating lions, hens and roosters, wild asses, tortoises, elephants, kangaroos, fish, birds, and even [a] pianist[s]. Fearing that his reputation as a serious musician and composer would be ruined by the humorous nature of the piece, Saint-Saëns refused to allow Carnival to be published during his lifetime. He did, however, make an exception for the thirteenth movement, The Swan, which was published in 1887 arranged for cello and solo piano. The work was finally published in full after the composer’s death and has now become one of his most famous works. Performances of Carnival were, however, organized before Saint-Saëns’s death; at the first performance, he took it upon himself to play one of the piano parts. Lebouc, the elderly cellist to whom Saint-Saëns intended to offer the work, performed ‘The Swan’ with what is said to have been an ‘emotional display of homage’ to the composer. Later, an additional hearing was arranged for Franz Liszt, who had asked to hear the work. Performances Carnival after Saint-Saëns’s death eventually spread throughout the world, evidently to places like England, which the composer had visited often and in which he remained one of the most notable French composers of his time.

A Modern Menagerie:

Introduction and Lion's Royal March Manos Charalabopoulos

In response to Saint-Saëns' stately opening to the Carnival of the Animals, I propose a piece, which both mirrors and opposes certain elements of the original. While the introduction reflects a similar gesture, a waking up of nature as it may be heard, the part dedicated to the lion concentrates much less on the mighty and regal features it is attributed by Saint-Saëns. Lions lead a vulnerable existence today, largely as a consequence of their violent nature - it is this relation of causality between brutality and fragility that I have wished to explore in this short piece. Our observations, however, as much of animals as of anything else often have more to tell about ourselves, which raises the unsettling question: If violence led the lions to fragility, what of our own unrivalled human violence? MC

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Poules et coqs Sam PradalieMy intention for this piece was to the show the movement and character of the birds. The opening bars represent the chicken’s movements by the use of random accidentals and a slightly disjointed melody. In the middle section I aimed to create a different atmosphere representing the more stately movement of the cockerel. Another aim of my composition was to incorporate chromaticism into the main theme and to write the piece outside of any particular key whilst avoiding complete atonality. SP

Wild Asses Andy Keenan

As much as it is a response to the original music, this piece is also a depiction of how I heard the Eeyore and the kicking/ frenetic movement of the asses. AK

Tortoise Julian Leeks

My response to Tortues imagines a lively personality, trapped within the hulking, ponderous frame of a giant tortoise.

We begin with our tortoise slowly waking, hesitantly peeking out from under her huge, burdensome carapace. She gazes in awe at the vibrant world around her, marvelling at the grace and speed of the birds and beasts that she sees. Gradually, and with considerable effort, she breaks into a lumbering galumph. But the strain of trying to keep pace with her more energetic neighbours becomes too much and she is forced to rest.

Soon it is midday and the tortoise toils slowly under the wearying heat of the sun. Eventually, she rallies and we hear one last, heroic attempt at activity, before finally she collapses in an exhausted, inelegant heap.

As did Saint-Saëns in the original Tortues, I have included a reference to a well-known existing work as a kind of musical joke. In my piece the quotation has a rather more discreet presence. I will be interested to see who can spot it! JL

Elephant Anna Meredith

I think my elephant is a bit more sprightly than Saint-Saëns’ elephant! - I had in my mind a sort of lumbering run with some occasional lapses in concentration! AM

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Kangaroos (2) Jean Hasse

As a ‘response’ to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Kangaroo movement from his Carnival of the Animals suite, in this short piece I'm attempting another interpretation of kangaroos hopping, with one piano representing a momma kangaroo and the other piano her energetic baby. Momma's hops (and landings) are played on the white keys, middle to low register, and the baby's hopping is on the black keys, upper register. They're two independent creatures, but at times both are bothered by biting insects, when they stop and scratch. JH

Aquarium: A Penguin in Istanbul Michael Ellison This ‘double’ for Camille Saint-Saëns’ Aquarium (subtitled A Penguin in Istanbul) simply takes a few of the ideas from the movement and brings them closer to my own compositional tendencies. The principal means used for this is by making Saint-Saëns’ already flexible piano figures even more so, and by turning his basic pitch collections represented by the A minor and B4/2 chords into a Nikriz (Turkish makam) melody à la Tanburi Cemil Bey–an early 20th century Istanbul counterpart to the French composer, who loved using these and other similar modes in composing dance melodies. This melody (in E Nikriz, in contrast to Saint-Saëns’ A Nikriz, whose original tonality is however included in the introductory arpeggios) is then treated in an indulgently soupy, neo-Romantic way, and developed with highly chromatic late 19th century harmony. As such, the piece hardly brings any new material: it mainly develops what is already there. ME

Myisi Litha EfthymiouThis short piece was written in response to Personages with Long Ears from Carnival of the Animals. In contrast to Saint-Saens’ piece, which comprises a simple, repetitive, slow refrain, I decided to compose an energetic work that maintains some sense of the composer’s chromatic language and use of extreme registers. The piece can be described as representing a battle between two people, which is never fully resolved – not unlike the fraught relationship between musician and critic. Indeed, it is speculated that the composer was not just alluding to braying donkeys in his depiction of people with long ears, but comparing these donkeys to music critics. The chromatic clusters, physical movement and contrasting vocal sounds, all contribute towards this antagonistic effect. LE

The Wood Pigeon: presiding over the entire garden Sara GarrardJust before I began composing this piece, we had been talking about birds and transcribed birdsong in music.  I thought that if I was going to reference a bird in music it would have to be the endearingly pompous woodpigeon I hear everywhere.  I love Saint-Saens’ chord texture in Le Coucou, and the significant silences.  In my piece I’ve kept the pianos and the clarinet in their separate roles, but the clarinet, having just emerged from playing their two beautiful notes backstage, now leads with a solo, and the woodpigeon’s song (always ending with a single note as if about to start again) is taken by the pianos. SG

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Volière Emily PotterMy composition is based upon the interaction and conversation that takes place, not only between birds of the same species, but also among different species. There are ten motifs, each representing a bird, and these are repeated and interlinked multiple times throughout the piece. The overall effect of the sounds of the birds is reflected in the emphasis on higher registers. EP

(After) Pianists Jean-Paul MetzgerI chose to approach Saint-Saëns’s movement from an abstract point of view and draw solely on its gestural and structural features, as detached from their semantic charge: upward and downward scales are distilled into registral rises and falls, harmonic function is recast in the light of a resolutely atonal context. On the surface, my take on ‘Pianists’ both contrasts with and echoes its source: although the pianos persistently avoid harmonic or rhythmic synchrony, other noticeable elements such as formal repetition or the jabbing gestures of the string ensemble remain. J-PM

Fossils: Jurassic Tango Geoff Poole My cottage walls were quarried from the fossil-rich strata of the Cotswold hill where they stand, so my approach differs from Seans-Saëns skeleton dance. My piece starts by hacking bones out of the rock, and then imagining their living forms. Jurassic aquatics swim, dinosaurs stride, primitive birds scatter.

Insofar as they can, in a teeny Tango. GP

The Swan Jolyon Laycock There have been several famous swans in classical music. The earliest I know of is Orlando Gibbon’s madrigal of 1612, The Silver Swan. Gibbons perpetuates the myth that the swan is mute until the moment of her death but there is a satirical sting in her tail: “More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise.” In Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake (1877) the heroine Odette is a princess transformed into a swan by evil

enchantment. Rivalry for the love of the handsome prince Siegfried between Odette as the white swan and her alter ego, Odile as the black swan, symbolises the conflict between good and evil, leading to the lover’s suicide. The swan is almost always associated with death. Sibelius’ tone-poem The Swan of Tuonela is based on a Suomi legend from the Finnish epic, the Kalevala. It tells of the Finnish hero Lemminkainen and his quest to slay the mystical swan which swims round Tuonela, the island of the dead. Sibelius’s celebrated cor anglais solo is expressive of infinite sadness. Saint-Saëns’ The Swan too has become associated with death ever since the choreographer Fokine created the role of the dying swan for Anna Pavlova in the 1905 production of the Carnival of the Animals in St. Petersburg.

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. My swan starts out with an almost exact imitation of the first few notes of Saint-Saëns’ famous cello melody. By a happy coincidence one of the 6-note fractal sets I have been using in my music for several years follows very closely the contours of Saint-Saëns’ theme . The texture of the 2-piano accompaniment, too, is closely modelled on Saint-Saëns. But my swan develops in an entirely different direction. As you listen imagine the swan rising majestically from the surface of the lake and taking to the air on its powerful pinions.

Finale: Dance of the Animals John Pickard After closing time at the zoo, the animals have a party. This is the music they dance to. JP

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The first public performance of “Carnival of the Animals”

Although Carnival of the Animals was composed in 1886 and performed for the first time at a private concert on 9th March that year, it remained unpublished (with the exception of The Swan) and did not receive its first public performance for another 35 years. Following the composer’s death in December 1921, his will was found to contain an instruction forbidding the publication of any of his unpublished works except the Carnival of the Animals.

It was subsequently published the following spring and performed in public for the first time on 25th February 1922. The following is a translation of a review of that performance. It first appeared in the french music journal Le ménestrel.

For the first time, at least in a public performance, we heard the Carnival of the Animals, a zoological fantasy by the late Saint-Saëns. It is in the best parodic taste and wildly entertaining. With minimal means: two pianos and a few instruments, the master has achieved the most piquant and unexpected descriptive effects. A special article would be necessary to analyse as befits the fourteen numbers of this fantasy, but I have limited space and can only mention, in the poetical style, the delicious “Aquarium” (Fanelli?... already!), le “Cuckoo” in the depth of the woods and the “Swan”, which is famous but that most performers play too fast. In the comical style, “Hens and Roosters” cackling with wit, “Personages with Long Ears”, a picturesque rapture of brays, “Tortoises” striving in slow fashion to the tune of the quadrille from Orpheus in the Underworld, andante amoroso; “Pianists” hammering with musical scales the skull of the beleaguered composer who, in frustration, expends himself in energetic zuts... “Fossils”, the Finale... What else?... in a word: everything... Go and listen to them, it will be much better.

Jean Lobrot (trans. Jean-Paul Metzger)

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The Composers

Camille Saint-SaënsBorn October 9, 1835 Camille Saint-Saëns was the son of Jacques-Joseph-Victor Saint-Saëns, who died shortly after the boy’s birth, and his wife Clémence Collin. He studied piano from the age of three with his great-aunt Charlotte Masson and later went on to, at the age of ten, perform his first recital of works by Mozart and Beethoven, effectively establishing his role as a child prodigy. In school he went on to develop interests in astronomy, archaeology, and philosophy and he began to write his own compositions. Enrolling in the Paris Conservatoire in 1848, Camille initially studied organ and later began lessons in composition and orchestration after winning the premier prix for organ in 1851. Because Saint-Saëns had such great success as a young musician, he was

quickly able to form friendships with the likes of Gounod, Rossini, and Berlioz. In 1853 he became the organist at the church of St. Merry, where he was able to further perform some of his own works. His admirers even included Franz Liszt, who was very much impressed by the talent he saw at St. Merry performance. From 1861-1865, Saint-Saëns was appointed to his only professional teaching position at Ecole Niedermeyer where his students included Fauré, Messager, and Gigout. In 1875, he married Marie-Laure Truffot but the marriage was an unsuccessful one and ended in 1881 with Saint-Saëns blaming his wife for the consecutive deaths of their two sons. He never married again. In 1886, the same year in which he wrote the famous [Carnival of the Animals], he left his position as one of the founders of the Société Nationale de Musique when the committee sought to endorse performances of non-French composers. Later, his popularity in France began to diminish but he remained a notable image of French composition in America and England, which he visited often to give lectures and performances throughout the early 20th century. His career as a conductor finally concluded in August of 1921 with rehearsals of the piece Antigone and he died shortly after on the 16th of December.

Manos CharalabopoulosManos is a versatile musician, whose breadth of musical experience encompasses performing, composing and directing. He has been commissioned by various ensembles, including the Hezarfen Ensemble (KlangZeit-Festival, Germany) and the Bridge Quartet (American College of Greece), as well as by contemporary music organizations such as New Music in the South West (UK) and Contemporary Music Venture (UK).

As a performer he has appeared often as piano recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician and harpsichordist, in venues across the UK (Bridgewater Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Colston Hall, Bath Pump Rooms), his native Greece (Historic Greek Parliament, American College of Greece) and France (British Ambassador's Residence).

He was awarded the first and overall prize in the Panhellenic Competition 'Filon' and in the 2009 EPTA UK Competition, as well as second prize in the International Evangelia Tjiarri Competition. In March 2011 he was the musical director of a production of 'Sweeney Todd' at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he graduated with a BA in Music in 2012.

In the following year he completed his Master's studies in Composition at Bristol University, where, under the supervision of John Pickard and Michael Ellison, he composed many chamber and solo works, his first large orchestral composition (Solar Impulse), ensemble music and theatre music for a production of Shakespeare’s 'The Tempest'. Having completed a year of piano studies with Eugen Indjic at La Schola Cantorum in Paris, he is due to commence his doctoral studies in composition at King's College London under the supervision of George Benjamin as a scholar of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in October 2014.

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Andy KeenanHaving studied clarinet and composition at the Royal Academy of Music, Bristol-born composer, orchestrator and producer Andy Keenan is active in a wide variety of musical genres and in a number of different roles.

He has been score editor and arranger on numerous projects for major publishing houses, including Boosey and Chester, and has worked with composers such as Mark Anthony Turnage, Steve Martland and Jocelyn Pook. As score editor and orchestrator for Michael Nyman, he has worked on films such as The Actors, Nathalie X and The Libertine as well as a number of Nyman’s Operas and concert works.

Andy has worked at The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Shakespeare Globe Theatre and the National Theatre in London and has orchestrated projects for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and London Symphony.

In his role as a producer he has worked with contemporary musicians in the fields of classical, jazz and electronic music.

As a composer he has written a number of works for small ensembles, three for Wind Orchestra and two pieces for large symphony orchestra, including a commission for the first piece in the inaugural concert of the Docklands Sinfonia in London. He is currently writing a concerto for Bass Clarinet and Strings as well as a piece for the CityWater Music Ensemble in Sacramento, California and one for the Providence String Quartet in Rhode Island. He will be producing albums for both of these groups later in the year.

Julian LeeksJulian is a Bristol based composer who has written in various genres, including orchestral and choral music, songs, solo pieces and music for chamber ensemble. His compositional style reflects his broad musical interests which extend from renaissance polyphony up to the contemporary avant-garde. Elements of world music, minimalism and rock (evidence of his previous musical life as a singer, guitarist and songwriter with various bands) can also be heard in his music. He was recently awarded a PhD in composition by Bristol University.

As well as composing and teaching, Julian is also the founder and director of NEW MUSIC IN THE SOUTH WEST.

Anna MeredithAnna Meredith is a composer and performer of both acoustic and electronic music. Anna's music has been performed everywhere from the Last Night of the Proms to flashmob performances  in the M6 Services, Latitude Festival to PRADA fashion campaigns, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival to the Ether Festival, and broadcast on Radio 1, 3, 4 & 6

S h e h a s b e e n C o m p o s e r i n R e s i d e n c e w i t h t h e B B C Scottish  Symphony  Orchestra, RPS/PRS Composer in the House with Sinfonia ViVA, the classical music representative for the 2009 South Bank Show Breakthrough Award and winner of the 2010 Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers.

During 2012 she wrote  HandsFree  as a PRS/RPS 20x12 Commission for the National Youth Orchestra  which  was performed at the BBC Proms, Barbican Centre and Symphony Hall as well as numerous flashmob performances around the UK. Her new body-percussion piece Connect It, made with choreographer Dvid Ogle, is a commission for the BBC Ten Pieces Initiative which launches in Autumn 2014 and aims to reach every Primary age child in the UK over the coming year. Anna's two electronic EPs - Black

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Prince Fury and Jet Black Raider have been released on Moshi Moshi records to critical acclaim including Drowned in Sound's Single of the Year.

Projects during 2013 included arrangements for The Stranglers & Laura Marling with the London Sinfonietta for the 6Music Prom, performances/commissions at Latitude Festival, Streetwise Opera and a Recorder Concerto for Erik Bosgraaf and the Aurora Orchestra. As well as  Connect It, plans for 2014 include commissions for the Scottish Ensemble, Living Earth Duo and a Residency in Hangzhou as one of the British Council/PRSF China Residencies.

Anna is also supporting Anna Calvi on her UK Tour and writing her debut album - due for release next year.

Jean HasseJean Hasse composes for silent films, sound films, science festivals and special events (music soundscapes), along with concert music pieces. She conducts ensembles and does music score preparation and orchestration work. Jean is the Course Tutor for the MA Composition for Film and Television course at the University of Bristol. Her music is published by Visible Music.

Michael EllisonMichael’s music defies categorization, integrating contemporary and classical sensibilities with traditional influences into a unique and personal idiom. Described as “beautifully crafted, robust and absorbing” by American Record Guide, Michael’s music is full of colour and contrast, evocative atmosphere and emotional breadth. Having lived and worked in the collision of cultures that is Istanbul for over ten years, his recent work explores the integration of disparate traditions and sonic experimentations into meaningful new forms.

Michael Ellison has observed penguins at the Bristol Zoo, the Baltimore Aquarium, and in numerous films and documentaries. 2013 was a watershed year for the popularity of Penguins in Istanbul.

Co-founder and co-Director of Hezarfen Ensemble, Michael teaches composition at the University of Bristol.

Litha EfthymiouLitha studied Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she was awarded various prizes, including the Director's Prize, the prestigious Isabelle Bond Gold Medal competition and first prize in the Greenwich International String Quartet composition competition. Generously funded by the ERC, she is currently undertaking her PhD in composition at the University of Bristol, working with composer John Pickard.

Litha has been commissioned by a variety of organisations and ensembles, including Consortium 5 and PRS Women Make Music (2013); The International Guitar Foundation (2012), Kettles Yard and Ensemble Bash (2012), and her work has been performed at venues across the UK, including at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kings Place and Bath Assembly Rooms.

She has also directed and composed for numerous large-scale multidisciplinary projects, working with artists from the fields of theatre, dance and film.  Her credits include The Engineer's Corset (R and D at The Brewery Theatre, Bristol,  Bread and Circuses, 2013); Reminiscence (Jacksons Lane, Theatre DaCapo, 2008) and, most recently, Parting (Kings Place Outhear series in March 2014).

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Sara GarrardSara studied music at the University of Bristol and is excited to be returning to study composition as a postgraduate.  She has also scored several film and television projects, and works with Bristol theatre companies, most recently providing a live keyboard score to Degrees of Error's improvised murder mystery at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Jean-Paul MetzgerJean-Paul recently completed a PhD in Composition at Bristol University under the supervision of Geoff Poole and John Pickard. Born in France in 1961 and now living in Bristol, he first studied music with Paul Webster at Morley College (London) before reading composition under Joe Duddell at Exeter University. His chamber music has been performed by ensembles such as Kokoro, Gemini and the Bozzini Quartet.

Geoff PooleGeoff, who retired from his Professorship at Bristol University five years ago, has composed to commissions from The Halle Orchestra, BBC Singers, Lindsay Quartet, festivals including Cheltenham and Huddersfield, and many others. His work (which has received over seventy broadcasts and been performed in 32 countries) formed the centrepiece of a BBC intercultural week in 2004, and a composer portrait concert at the ICS London, and over two dozen pieces are represented on 15 CDs.

He is currently active both as a composer and pianist - accompanist, in several ensembles including duo partnership with violinist Madeleine Mitchell.

Jolyon LaycockJolyon was born in Bath in 1946 and studied for B.Mus and M.Phil in composition at the University of Nottingham. His composition teachers included Henri Pousseur and Cornelius Cardew. During the 1970s he pursued a freelance career as an experimental sound artist based at the Birmingham Arts Laboratory and Spectro Arts Workshop, Newcastle. In 1979 he took up the post of Music and Dance Co-ordinator at the Arnolfini in Bristol, running a programme of contemporary music and dance regarded as one of the most innovative outside London. In 1990 he took up the post of Concert Director at the University of Bath and at the newly opened Michael Tippett Centre at Bath Spa University College where he founded the award-winning concert series “Rainbow over Bath”. He left the University of Bath in 2000 to concentrate on the completion of his book “A Changing Role for the Composer in Society”

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which earned him a Ph.D from York University. In 2004 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Arts Management at Oxford Brookes University a position he held until until 2010.

His compositions include orchestral, chamber music and choral music, a string quartet, music for solo piano and a growing body of songs. In 2012 he won the EPSS Jubilee Composers’ Song Competition with his setting of Philip Larkin’s poem The North Ship. This song later became the final movement of the song cycle Dark Seas for coloratura soprano, clarinet and piano which received its world premiere in May this year at the Lantern Colston Hall sung by Sarah Leonard with Mary Barrett and Stephen Gutman.

John PickardJohn is Professor of Composition at Bristol University, where he has worked for over 20 years. He has composed five symphonies, five string quartets, concertos for piano and for trombone and over 40 other works in many genres. The most recent disc of his orchestral music (Sea-Change; Piano Concerto and Tenebrae), issued by BIS records in March 2013, received critical acclaim, with International Record Review (May 2013) describing it as 'outstanding' and BBC Music Magazine (June 2013), in a 5-star review, declaring the release 'an absolute triumph’.

John recently completed his Fifth Symphony for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales's 2015/16 season. His new orchestral piece 'Sixteen Sunrises' commissioned by the

Nagoya Philharmonic in Japan, received its premiere performances in May of this year. Future commissions include a work designed for simultaneous performance during the summer of 2015 by several instrumental groups located in different parts of the South-West, and connected together in an online environment.

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The Performers

Roger Huckle - violinRoger Huckle has been the inspiration and guide for Bristol Ensemble - Bristol's professional chamber orchestra, and a cherished musicians' collective of exceptional standard - since its foundation in 1994.Born in Bristol, Roger studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and with Frederick Grinke, was a member of Norway's Bergen Philharmonic, and now performs with leading UK orchestras - including co-leading the London Concertante and Opera Box Orchestra.Roger appreciates Bristol Ensemble players' musical hunger and real commitment to the group's performances. He always aims for heart-felt music making, and fondly recalls the transcendent spirituality of a 2004 Emerald Messiah.Although his favourite journey is Bergen to Oslo by road, he loves Bristol's Downs, and describes the tip of Worms Head at Rhossili in Gower as his favourite place in the world.

Paul Barrett - violinPaul is a freelance violinist performing regularly with many orchestras including Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Bristol Ensemble, Trafalgar Sinfonia, Orchestra Nova and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He has played in the West End, most recently in Sweeney Todd and also performed the première of Stuart Hancock’s Violin Concerto with Southbank Sinfonia.

Solo and chamber music experience includes performances of Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale as principal violin with the London Contemporary Music Group, and Bach’s Double Concerto with London Concertante. Recent recordings include albums for Katie Melua and Scott Matthews (Ivor Novello award winner). Paul has recorded for film and TV including work for the BBC, Channel 4, and films with Stuart Hancock, and has also recorded with Orchestra Nova for Paul Patterson, Cecillia McDowell and David Matthews. Paul plays as part of the Estilo String Quartet who have recently released a CD called 'Marriage in an Orange Grove'.

Carl Hill - violaCarl studied viola at the Guildhall School of Music with Mark Knight and Paul Silverthorne. After leaving college, he moved to Athens, and then Spain, where he was principal viola of the Real Philharmonia de Galicia. During this time he was also a member of Quartetto Matiz who performed regularly around the country. In 2000, he joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as sub-principal viola.Carl has performed with most of the UK's major orchestras and is now living in Cardiff enjoying the diversity of freelancing and looking after his two little boys!

Robyn Austin - celloRobyn Austin was a specialist music scholar at Wells Cathedral School and a member of the National Youth Orchestra at 13. Robyn took her 'A' levels and licentiateship performance diploma in Rome, where she studied with Professor Giorgio Ravenna, and while at Cambridge University was a pupil of Christopher Bunting. After graduating Robyn worked as a cellist and translator in Italy, then joined the Ulster Orchestra before spending four years with the Philharmonia Orchestra, working with such conductors as Maazel, Muti, Harnoncourt and Sinopoli. In 1997 Robyn moved to Somerset and rapidly established herself as a chamber musician of considerable repute while continuing to work with major orchestras.

Jub Davis - bassJub's career has covered a wide range of musical styles. He's worked in avant-garde theatre with Station House Opera, been a member the Indie pop group The Band of Holy Joy, as well as working with more conventional groups like English National Opera, London Contemporary Dance Theatre and the London Chamber Orchestra.

He co-founded the prize winning Kreisler String Orchestra which went on to win the 1986 Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade. Jub has been a longstanding member of the well known Carnival Band whose unintentional aim has been to subvert the notion of authentic performance when it comes to their repertoire of Medieval, Renaissance, folk/world music, music hall, bluegrass, cajun and soul music. He can often be seen playing and singing with them and their long-time collaborator Maddy Prior.

Over the years he has worked with many notable artists including Youssou N'Dour, Tanita Tikaram, Abdullah Ibrahim, Brian Eno, Sting, Joss Pook, DJ Krust, Zero 7,the Brodsky and Duke string quartets. He gets a great deal of pleasure playing small ensemble works with the Adderbury Ensemble and the Bristol

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Ensemble, with which he has recently been featured as a soloist in performances of Bottesini's Grand Duo for Violin, Bass and orchestra. He has taken up the challenge of contemporary music with groups such as Opus 20, Lontano and Ixion. However, to take time out he really enjoys a good forty-mile bike ride!

Roger Armstrong - fluteRoger was born in Northern Ireland and emigrated to Australia at the age of 11. He began his flute studies at 15, and after graduating from the Sydney Conservatoire of Music with first class honours spent two years freelancing in Sydney before joining the West Australian SymphonyOrchestra in 1971. Shortly after returning to Britain, he took up the post of sub-principal flute with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra in 1974, a position he held until 1991.Roger now pursues a varied freelance career, both as a performer and as a teacher. He is principal flute with the National Chamber Orchestra of Wales and teaches at Cardiff University and the Welsh College of Music and Drama. He enjoys musical challenges which are 'off the beaten track'. He has built his own harpsichord, and is currently engaged in a study of music by an autistic composer.Roger plays a wooden Powell flute made in 1998.

David Pagett - clarinetDavid studied clarinet at the Royal Northern College of Music with Sidney Fell and Janet Hilton. He has worked extensively throughout the UK with some of the countries leading orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. As well as working as an orchestral musician David has played in West End Productions of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, 42nd Street and West Side Story. He is currently working in and around Bristol combining a busy teaching and performing schedule.

Steven Kings - pianoSteven Kings was born in 1962. He studied music at St John's College Cambridge and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He now lives in Bristol, playing and teaching the piano, and working as an accompanist, chorus master and conductor. In 1985 he won the Young Composers Competition at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival with Snapshots for flute, saxophone, `cello, double bass and percussion. Several of his scores have been shortlisted by the Society for the Promotion of New Music, including Phantasy V (for solo clarinet) in 1984, Window Waiting (for Tenor, Choir and String Quartet) in 1991, and Passion Games (for viola) in 1999.

In 2002 Steven was one of the prize winners in the Tong Piano Duet competition, and "red land spring" for piano duet was performed in Tokyo and London. His "haiku mass" was nominated for a British Composer Award in 2003. His setting of the Canticles, Songs of Mary and Simeon, was commissioned by the Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir, and first performed by them at the 2005 Three Choirs Festival. He was Chairman of the Severnside Alliance from 2007 to 2011.

Helen Mills - pianoHelen graduated with distinction from the Performance Masters in piano accompaniment at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008. She then completed monthly masterclasses at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels the following year. Prior to that, Helen read music at Birmingham University and studied solo piano at Birmingham Conservatoire, then worked as a Staff Accompanist at Wells Cathedral School for two years.  She frequently performs as a collaborative pianist, which has taken her around the UK, Europe and South America, and was a Live Music Now artist for five years. Helen also teaches piano privately and at Bristol Cathedral Choir School. 

Jeremy Little - PercussionJeremy was born and grew up in Kenya. He studied Psychology and Zoology at Bristol University and studied percussion with Diggory Seacome, Jayne Obradovic, Graham Johns and Michael Skinner. He now teaches percussion at Millfield School and plays with the Bristol Ensemble and many others including Welsh National Opera, The London Gala Orchestra, English National Ballet, Bath Philharmonia and the Brunel Ensemble.

Jeremy has coached many youth orchestras and has recently enjoyed a course with the National Children's Orchestra. He regularly records for film and television including a solo role on "Dog Soldiers", a werewolf horror!

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NMSW is a non-profit organisation which aims to promote classical music as a vital, living art form. It takes contemporary classical music to new places and new audiences and supports the development of the region’s best young musicians by providing them with the inspiration, guidance and vital practical opportunities that are not available through our current education system.

As well as our concert series and many new music commissions we also run an integrated educational programme involving talks, workshops and the annual NMSW Young Composers’ Prize.

This project would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and friends. So, a big thank you to our sponsors:

and our friends:

John ManleyReggie Sangha

Rob HicksShona Scofield

John-Lloyd HaggerPeter Manson

Frances ClaytonVincent Young

NMSW would also like to thank John Pickard, St. George’s, Ed Davies, Richard Osmond and Aurora De Santis for their invaluable contributions to our 2013/14 season.

Supporting NMSW

If you would like to support future NMSW programmes please email us at info@nmsw.org.uk for a full list of sponsorship options.

We are also currently running a crowd funding campaign at the Sponsume website. To watch our campaign video please go to www.sponsume.com/project/new-music-south-west

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!!!NEW MUSIC IN THE SOUTH WEST

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NEW MUSIC IN THE SOUTH WEST

CONCERT SERIES EDUCATIONAL PROJECT COMPOSITION COMPETITION

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NEW MUSIC IN THE SOUTH WEST

Web: www.nmsw.org.uk I Twitter: @NMSWproject !!!!NEW MUSIC IN THE SOUTH WEST

CONCERT SERIES EDUCATIONAL PROJECT COMPOSITION COMPETITION Web: www.nmsw.org.uk I Twitter: @NMSWproject

the Paragon Concert Society

The Honeymead Arts Trust