Women in Music UK Blog

This rave review of conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla and her fabulous actions reveals a change of heart in a key regional critic's view. Here is a quote from Christopher Morley's Birmingham Post piece 

"Enthusiasm is one thing, but how about the skills? Well, Mirga, though still barely 30 is already highly experienced in a variety of fields - opera and choral, as well as orchestral - and her conducting technique has an armoury of styles appropriate to whatever the music demands.

She can beat time with acute precision, or swoop and persuade balletically (much in the manner of Nelsons - perhaps it’s a Baltic trait). She can shape structures with a clear sense of direction, and she can point rhythmic detail with witty verve. To everything she tackles she brings an irresistible freshness and a sense that this is right for this moment.

By no means is Mirga a Nelsons clone, despite some of these similarities. She is certainly her own person, with ideas that she wants to share with players and audience alike, such as last July’s insertion of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville into a suite from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty."

http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/cbso-finally-found-next-music-10716300

Women in Music UK will be keeping an eye on proceedings and we look forward to being able to write a congratulatory note! 

Following the success of a previous shared carol last year the BBC have commissioned Women in Music UK member and leading world renowned composer  Cheryl Frances Hoad to write a four-part a capella carol (initially noted for the readers of BBC Music Magazine - and we are spreading the word further) to sing in carol services and concerts around the world this Christmas. 

www.classical-music.com/article/download-score-good-day-sir-christemas-cheryl-frances-hoad

And here is an interview with Cheryl: http://www.classical-music.com/article/cheryl-frances-hoad

Quoting from the article: "We do hope that those of you who sing in choirs will include  'Good day, Sir Christemas!' in your carol service or concert. If you have already received your magazine, please feel free to photocopy the music for your choir and share it widely ....

We’d love to hear or watch your performance, so do record it on an audio or video recorder. You can share the file with us via email ([email protected]) or, if the file is too large, visit  www.wetransfer.com and send the file to the email given from there. 

If you upload a YouTube video, do tweet us the link @MusicMagazine."

There is a link to a PDF for the score and there are some performance directions from Cheryl herself as you will see

You can watch the world premiere performance, sung by Sansara, here.

Happy singing, and Merry Christmas! 

The AGM will be on 20 November at Regent Hall, Salvation Army, 275 Oxford Street, London W1C 2 DJ (near Oxford Circus tube station) at 5 pm followed by a Composers' Forum led by David Sutton-Anderson and a concert of new music performed as part of London New Wind Festival at 7.30 pm. Tickets for the forum and concert £10 and £6 concession, just for the wind concert they are £8 and £5 concession.

http://www.londonnewwindfestival.co.uk/ConcertDetails.html

A useful resource

http://www.openculture.com/2015/10/1200-years-of-women-composers-a-free-78-hour-music-playlist.html

A People's Opera for Garsington

Good news on the women in the right place music front - Roxanna Panufnik has been commissioned to write a new opera with libretto by Jessica Duchen working with Garsington Opera's learning and participation Creative Director Karen Gallagher who also directs their Opera for All programme.  It truly is a people's opera with great community and schools participation. It looks at the impact of war on families, specifically the 14-18 war with Siegfried Sassoon's poetry central. 

There's plenty of time to book your tickets as this is for the 2017 season.

Women in Music UK found out about this from  journalist/author Jessica Duchen's Music Blog which is well worth signing up for. JD is very passionate about women in music making which is refreshing in someone with such a high profile in her field 

Follow this link for more details: http://www.jessicamusic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/lets-make-opera-for-garsington.html. and here is a piece on the Opera company's website with more detail and biogs of all concerned       look here   

Just for your interest and listening pleasure here is a link to a fascinating and very welcome review of 40 years of women in electronic music - with a brilliant list of contributors you may not have known about  - the toys are not only for the boys! No way! Enjoy!

                                         synthtopia.com/content/2015/05/15/40-years-of-women-in-electronic-music/

Women in Music UK incuded some pioneer electronic music in the 2nd round of our commissions a few years back (a role that PRS For Music Foundation has taken on board now with its excellent women make music  fund) . Follow the links here to find out more!

www.womeninmusic.org.uk - select projects (and remember to post your women's music events in the what's on facility)

www.prsformusicfoundation.com/funding/women-make-music/  Next round in in 2016 - details published in December - keep a look out!