On the album are two pieces I wrote around lockdown - 'same but different' for guitar duo @miyabiduo and 'flare' for pianist @bensmithkeys_
Both pieces involved working with the players over zoom, but the process still felt tangible, generous and alive. It was exciting to exchange recordings and make something together and I'm so thankful to @hughmillington@sakikatoguitar and Ben for all that they brought to the pieces, their suggestions, thoughts, fellow adventuring and of course their beautiful playing.
Big thank you to @royalphilsoc for commissioning 'same but different' and to @wigmore_hall for allowing us to use the recording in the album. And thank you to @simone.tarsitani for recording 'flare', and to @musicondurham@eric_egan for allowing us to include this recording!
The album comes out on Saturday on Another Timbre and we can't wait to share it with you.
Photo of Miyabi Duo by Benjamin Ealovega
#newalbumrelease #newalbum #preparedguitar
Application open for this year's course ✨
Applications are now open for the @guildhallschool 's Summer Course for Composers 21+. This year it's running from 13-17 July.
We ran this for the first time last year and it was fantastic: composers wrote new pieces either for me or for the amazing pianist Ben Smith in five days.
Yes, that's right: you write the piece and I learn the piece in five days. (Don't worry there's great coffee in the area.)
And you get awesome help and instruction (and cheering on!) from GSMD composition teaching legends @hardinghollie and @rchrdbkr . Two of the best in the biz!
It's a great course if you're considering postgraduate study and want to try the Guildhall out. But it's also a great course if you want to have a challenge, spend a week in London, make some new friends, work with me/Ben, learn a ton and have a great time in the process!
We had such a fun (and international) group last year - I loved meeting and working with everyone - so why not join us this summer!
I'm happy to chat if you have questions about it, but more information is on the website (link in my bio and I'll put one in today's stories as well).
So excited to be playing this wild, explosive, transcendently mad piece with James Weeks and @royal_northern_sinfonia ! Here’s me getting a page from the opening cadenza up to speed - hopefully both me and the piano make it out alive tomorrow 🌋
Final day of practising this absolutely frantic final section of John Adams’ Phrygian Gates 😳 I’ll be attempting the whole wild ride tomorrow at Kings Place!
Here’s Ben Smith, @bensmithkeys_ .Brilliant pianist and all round lovely guy who’ll be joining us this Friday at @kingsplacelondon to perform Phrygian Gates by John Adams. It’s a huge, wonderful piece and Ben really gets it. It’s going to be a very special performance! We’ll also be playing some Meredith Monk with him and of course, Shaker loops…Hope to see you there. Tickets in bio. #piano #pianist #contemporarypiano #contemporarypianomusic #minimalism
TAKE 2! The insta algorithm thought it was so unbelievable I joined instagram it actually deleted the account 😂
soooooooooooooooooo here we go again. Obligatory pictures of pianos on stages and a few other things from my year so far, when I didn’t forget to take photos, which was mostly, and also my cat, again.
