Derby Chosen For World Premiere
East Midlands orchestra, Sinfonia Viva has joined forces with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Australia, the the Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) and the Fidelio Trust to co-commission an exciting new work which will have its world premiere in Derby on March 19.
Breaking Silence, composed by Fraser Trainer, is a new concerto for orchestra and O Duo percussionists Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnell and is O Duo’s second major work created with funds from a BBT Special Commissioning Award.
The world premiere of the concert will be conducted by dynamic young Hungarian Gergely Madaras at the Assembly Rooms on March 19 at 7.30pm with a chance to hear from the conductor and O Duo in a special ‘Talking Music’ audience session beforehand at 6.30pm. The commission will then be performed by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on May 30 at Melbourne Town Hall.
Trainer cites ritual, dance and song as the three key elements within the sounds, textures and rhythms of this unusual combination. The four movements – Earshot, At the Double, Breaking Silence (Secret Song) and Hook – harness the brilliant technique and animated physicality of Cox and Gunnell, from the opening reveille, through wisps of melodic and lyrical percussion calls in the third movement, to virtuosic drumming and dance-like loops, drops and grooves in the finale. The second movement is a showcase for O Duo alone, playing on instruments that range from marimba and vibraphone to reception bells, African thumb piano and biscuit tin.
The stirring programme at the Assembly Rooms also includes Haydn’s Symphony No.3 ‘Drumroll’ and Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’, while in Melbourne Breaking Silence in May is part of the orchestra’s Meet the Orchestra Education Week featuring O Duo and Fraser Trainer in a range of musical events and programmes including BIG BANG! for orchestra and audience.
Sinfonia Viva Chief Executive Peter Helps said: “We were delighted to been involved in co-commissioning this exciting work by Fraser Trainer and to work again with O Duo who are certainly making their mark both home and abroad.
“We are particularly excited that the world premiere of Breaking Silence will be in Derby and that this will be the second world premiere for us in two days with new work commissioned by Anna Meredith being performed at the Assembly Rooms on March 21 as part of the Orchestra’s spring education residency Moon.
“The Orchestra has a long standing commitment to commissioning new work but to perform two world premieres in one week has to be a first for us.
“These occasions will be made even more special by having the composers join us in Derby. And the international collaboration with colleagues in Australia as well as the opportunity for the audience to meet O Duo beforehand for to learn more about this piece will make the premiere of Breaking Silence an evening to remember for us all.”
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Note To Editors
O Duo: Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnell www.oduo.co.uk
O Duo was the recipient of a Borletti Buitoni Trust Special Commissioning Award in 2008. Founded in 2000 at the Royal College of Music, O Duo has performed throughout Europe and beyond, including recitals at Wigmore Hall, Cheltenham and City of London Festivals, The BBC Proms, and with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with whom they performed the world-premiere of ConcertO-Duo by Stephen McNeff (a commission also supported by BBT) as part of the orchestra’s 80th birthday concert in 2010.
Their highly acclaimed series of Children’s Classics Concerts includes performances at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow and Queen’s Hall Edinburgh with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestra of Scottish Opera and special guests. O Duo released their first commercial CD on the Sony BMG label in 2007 to critical acclaim. Renowned for their “style and panache” (Daily Telegraph) and seemingly boundless energy on stage, they have also performed on television and film scores and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and 3, Classic FM, Channel 4 and BBC Television. The Duo was chosen for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust (YCAT) 2005 to 2011.
Fraser Trainer www.frasertrainer.com
British composer Fraser Trainer has five London Sinfonietta commissions to his name and has firmly established himself as a composer keen to communicate with both performers and audiences through a vivid and direct musical language particularly with young audiences. He has also written works for violinist Viktoria Mullova, London Mozart Playres, and the ensemble Between The Notes, of which he is a founding member. Other orchestras to have performed his music include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Hallé Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the City of London Sinfonia. He is also on the teaching staff at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and sits on the panel for the BBC Prom’s annual Young Composers Competition.
Borletti-Buitoni Trust
BBT is unique in not just giving financial awards, but actively helping young musicians to create and realise the projects they believe will further develop and enrich their careers. To date, BBT has assisted the commissioning of 25 new works, the recording of over 60 CDs, and the making of 50 artist profile, project and performance films. It has helped fund the purchase of more than 20 new bows, as well as new instruments – from pianos to recorders – and supported four artist concert series. Mitsuko Uchida and Christian Tetzlaff have led four special concert tours in Europe and America, while BBT has presented award winners in more than 20 showcase concerts in London, Paris and Budapest. Other areas in which BBT awards support young careers include financial and practical assistance with websites, photography, coaching, travel, auditions, PR, concert clothes, rehearsal studios, instrument insurance and repair, language courses, recording and filming equipment, scores and instrument cases – even survival money for sabbaticals and prolonged periods of study. The Borletti-Buitoni Trust celebrates its 10th anniversary in May 2013 with a three-day series of events at London’s Southbank Centre: www.bbtrust.com/bbt10.
Sinfonia Viva www.vivaorch.co.uk
Sinfonia Viva was founded in 1982 and is a national orchestra based in the East Midlands. It has an integrated approach to concert giving, outreach and audience development work, performing in a wide range of venues in urban and rural areas.
The Orchestra has toured to Ireland and Berlin, has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and has been part of a project for Granada Television. In addition, Sinfonia Viva made its London debut as part of an Indian music festival in London’s Kings Place, building on its partnership with top Indian classical violinist Kala Ramnath. One of the Orchestra’s tracks on the Gorillaz’ album Plastic Beach was nominated for a Grammy award. The Orchestra has hosted the Association of British Orchestras’ national conference. It took part in the BBC Radio 3 co-ordinated Music Nation week-end which was a countdown event to the London 2012 Festival and the performance was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3. The Orchestra was the local content producer for the Olympic Torch Evening Celebration event in June 2012 in Derby.
Sinfonia Viva prides itself on its project development activity and partnership working, often bringing together musicians from other musical styles, genres and traditions. It is also has extensive experience in event management activity and delivery.
Sinfonia Viva’s national reputation for its work with children and young people has been publicly recognised and many projects having been shortlisted for awards including the British Composer Awards. It has been involved in an education project for the Department for Education run in Northamptonshire. Currently Viva is the professional orchestra partner in Nottingham in one of only six In Harmony projects in England modelled on the Venezuelan El Sistema method.