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GAVIN BRYARS
ENSEMBLE
When Bryars started this ensemble in 1981, he worked on the
principle of mutual respect and musical trust, which is
illustrated by the use of musicians with whom he wanted to
work, rather than with players who were there simply because
pieces demanded certain instruments. For this reason the
ensemble has often had an unusual line-up. The musicians,
essentially chamber music players, are also exceptional
individual soloists. When composing for his ensemble,
Bryars' has their individual musical characters and their
particular sounds in mind.
The Gavin Bryars Ensemble performs annual concerts in
London, as well as regularly undertaking international tours
to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Austria
and Japan. This series of concerts, presented by
Contemporary Music Events and the Melbourne Festival, is the
Ensemble's first visit to Australia.
GAVIN BRYARS
(Composer/Double Bass/Piano)
Gavin Bryars is one of Britain's most original and
successful composers. Over the last 15 years, his
compositions have ranged widely and include: Medea (1984),
an opera produced by Robert Wilson at the Opera de Lyon and
Paris Opera; String Quartet No 1 (1985) for the Arditti
Quartet; By the Vaar (1987) for jazz bassist Charlie Haden;
Pico's Flight (1988) recorded by the BBC Symphony Orchestra;
a series of vocal works for The Hilliard Ensemble including
Glorious Hill (1988), Incipit Vita Nova and Cadman Requiem
(1989); and Invention of Tradition (1988), a mixed media
piece conceived with artists Bruce MacLean and David Ward
for the opening of the Tate Galley in Liverpool.
In 1990, The Balanescu String Quartet premiered his String
Quartet No 2, and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta with
Saxophonist John Harle recorded his work, The Green Ray
(1992) for Decca Records. In 1993, the BBC Symphony
Orchestra premiered a major new cantata, The War in Heaven
and Bryars also completed a commissioned sound installation
for the French Ministry of Culture's Centre of Contemporary
Arts at Chateau d'Orion. Recent works include commissions
from Nexus (1994), Fretwork (1995), harpsichordist Maggie
Cole (1995), Julian Lloyd Webber (1995) and Adnan Songbook
for the Canadian soprano Valdin Anderson, commissioned by
the BBC and Almeida Opera Festival (1995/6). His next opera,
Doctor Ox's Experiment (original libretto: Blake Morrison,
after Jules Verne), directed by Atom Egoyan is a
co-commission by the English National Opera and BBC
Television and will be premiered in June 1998 at the London
Coliseum.
Among his numerous recordings are: The Sinking of the
Titanic (1969) and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1975)
on Brian Eno's Obscure Label; Three Viennese Dancers, After
The Requiem, The Black River and Vita Nova on ECM New
Series; The Last Days, featuring the Balanescu Quartet on
Argo (1995) and The Sinking of The Titanic, Jesus' Blood
Never Failed Me Yet and most recently, Farewell to
Philosophy featuring Julian Lloyd Webber on Point Music
(1996). His latest record on Point Music, A Man in a Room,
Gambling, has just been released.
Future projects include 3rd String Quartet and music for
Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
SOPHIE HARRIS
(Cello)
Sophie Harris has won many prizes, notably the Sir John
Barbirolli solo cello prize and the Terence Weill prize for
Chamber Music, and featured in the 1986 BBC TV Paul
Tortelier masterclass series. In 1990, she joined the Smith
Quartet - a group specialising in the commissioning and
performance of new music. During this five year
collaboration, she worked with some leading composers and
musicians, performing at many major European festivals and
recording for radio, TV and CD. Since 1995, she has
concentrated on exploring the role of the solo cello in
contemporary culture, working with artists such as Gavin
Bryars, Alexander Balanescu and Django Bates, to create new
territory for the extraordinary emotional and tonal range of
the instrument.
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BILL HAWKES
(Viola)
William Hawkes studied violin and viola at the Royal Academy
of Music between 1985 and 1990, winning prizes for both
instruments. His professional career has been diverse.
Starting as Principal Violist with the Scottish Opera, he
has also been violist with the Balanescu Quartet, the Nigel
Kennedy String Quartet and the Michael Nyman Band. He has
recorded for labels such as Decca, Virgin and ECM and has
broadcast for radio and television all over the word. He is
currently active in the commercial sector of the industry,
playing on TV, film and rock/pop recordings.
DAVE SMITH
(Percussion)
Educated at Magdaline College, Cambridge, David Smith was a
member of the Scratch Orchestra in the 1970s. Since then he
has played in several composer/performer ensembles,
principally, with John Lewis, Michael Parsons, Howard
Skempton, John White, Gavin Bryars and Ben Mason. He has
also played with the English Gamelan Orchestra and Liria,
specialising respectively in Javanese classical music and
Albanian folk music.
For many years, he taught at De Montfort University,
Leicester, for whose students he arranged music for tuned
percussion orchestra. More recently, much of his work has
been written for solo piano and comprises a series of piano
concerts, four of which have been completed to date.
CHRIS EKERS
(Audio Engineer)
Having trained as a musician, Chris began his career in 1981
when he joined the sound rental company, Autograph Sound
Recording, working on numerous musical productions in
London's West End Theatres. Since 1988, when Chris first
worked with Gavin Bryars for the opening of the Tate Gallery
Liverpool, he has been responsible for all aspects of sound
in Bryars' work, both in live performance and recording
projects.. Over the last five years, besides working with
Gavin Bryars, Chris has built a strong collaborative
relationship with many contemporary groups and composers and
has been instrumental in the realisation and performance of
new electro-acoustic compositions in the concert hall, for
radio broadcast and on CD.
DAVID CHESWORTH
ENSEMBLE
The David Chesworth Ensemble is dedicated to performing
Chesworth's own extensive repertoire alongside the work of
other exciting contemporary composers such as Louis
Andriessen, Gavin Bryars, Fred Rzewski and Carl Orff. Since
its formation in 1993, the ensemble has introduced new
audiences to this innovative music through a dynamic and
accessible program of recordings and concerts.
DAVID CHESWORTH
(Composer/Conductor)
David Chesworth's career has embraced just about every area
of contemporary music including orchestral and electro
acoustic music for performance, installation, dance, film
and opera.
Chesworth's distinctive compositions and soundscapes have
been performed and broadcast extensively in Australia and
overseas. Major festivals which have featured performances
of his work include the Festival D'Automne de Paris,
Edinburgh Festival, Covent Garden Summer Festival, Ars
Electronica, Adelaide Festival, Sydney Biennale and
SoundCulture. Currently composing a new work for Opera
Australia, David's other opera's include Insatiable,
Recital, Two Executioners and Lacuna. Previous works for
Melbourne Festival include Domepiece and Sabat Jesus. In
1996 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to pursue studies
with composers of contemporary opera in the U.S. and
England.
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