PRS Announces latest Beyond Borders funding recipients

PRS has announced the latest projects to be supported by their Beyond Borders initiative. The scheme supports co-commissions and tours and seeks to develop relationships between composers, musicians and ensembles and music organisations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A number of names familiar to the jazz community are featured this time including LCoM alumnus Phil Meadows, Lauren Kinsella and Chris Hyson's duo Snowpoet and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.

Below are the full list of recipients and a brief description of their projects. To see the full press release, visit the PRS website.

• Cryptic – the UK tour of Oliver Coates’ first full length music theatre, Shorelines is set in the aftermath of the North Sea flood of 1953 is a work for string quartet (Ragazze Quartet) and electronics commissioned by Cryptic, in partnership with Belfast International Arts Festival, Sound Aberdeen and Southbank Centre, London
• Decibel Ensemble –a landmark 35-minute work ‘Togetherness’ for amplified large ensemble and electronic media by the acclaimed Northern Irish composer Ed Bennett. The work explores the contradictory notions of independence, pluralism and unity in music, culture and society, and will tour in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland
• Engines Orchestra – ‘Phronesis’ mind expanding collaboration with composer Dave Maric and the Engines Orchestra ‘Decade Zero’, tours the UK in 2017 in partnership with Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Manchester Jazz and the EFG London Jazz Festival
• Falkirk Community Trust –a live dynamic alternative reinterpretation of Mazzetti’s ground-breaking work together with acclaimed musician/composers Raymond MacDonald and Christian Ferlaino composed for saxophone and percussion, with engagement opportunities for D/deaf/HoH audiences.
• Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival – A new commission for UK harpist and composer Rhodri Davies, for voice and ensemble working with different systems of time to govern musical interactions. Touring to Huddersfield, Cardiff and Glasgow.
• Snowpoet – an ambitious tour for album number 2 across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland
• Sound Festival – a new cross art-form project from composer Colin Riley exploring ‘a sense of place’ comprising a 70-minute multi-media song cycle for singer and 4-piece instrumental/electronic ensemble which will be toured across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• The Wallace Collection Ensemble – Composer Jay Capperauld will shake up the British brass band movement with an exciting and atmospheric new work for brass quintet and brass band called ‘New Moves for The Movement’ to be toured in Scotland, England and Wales

Irwin Mitchell MJF Originals commission winner announced

Pianist and composer Andy Stamatakis-Brown has been announced as the 2017 recipient of the Irwin Mitchell MJF Originals commission.

His work, Cottonopolis, will be premiered at this year's MJF which takes place between 28th July and 6th August.

From the MJF website...

His winning concept for mjf originals – entitled ‘Cottonopolis’ – will explore other iconic aspects of Manchester’s colourful past; its role as the power-house of the industrial revolution, and as the happening heart-beat of the dance music scene. ‘Cottonopolis’ will bring the noise and clatter of a 19th century mill and the excitement and atmosphere of a contemporary club night to manchester jazz festival.  The ensemble, drawn mostly from the Manchester Jazz Collective, will showcase the variety of talented players on the Manchester scene.

Andy Stamatakis-Brown said: “I am thrilled to have been awarded the Irwin Mitchell mjf originals2017 commission.  It gives me the opportunity to bring together so many creative people from different parts of my life to present this project. manchester jazz festival gives us a high profile platform to share the sort of thing we like doing – working together to produce an unusually interesting and exciting night out.”

This exceptional, night-long experience of weird and wonderful entertainment will take place in a surprise location in Manchester, with DJs from Space Cassette, and archive and live video projections – developed by Blain Cousin and Ric Lowe from Norvun Devolution – providing an evocative backdrop to a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.

Manchester Jazz Festival’s Artistic Director, Steve Mead, said: “Cottonopolis looks set to become yet another milestone in a long line of ground-breaking new pieces that audiences can savour in this year’s festival programme. I’m especially excited about Andy’s idea to integrate a historical subject close to Manchester’s heart with creative artists from the city’s vibrant DJ and VJ cultures and – of course – a formidable line-up of musicians from the north’s inspirational jazz scene.”

For more information, visit the MJF website.

Commission Opportunity at Kendal Calling

Well loved festival Kendal Calling has put out a call to artists to apply for a commission fund. Nine commissions will be offered this year, with one of the artists being offered a larger commission to perform their work at two other festivals.

From the Kendal Calling website...

Over the last two years, Lost Eden has commissioned a variety of brand new artworks, including the Mechanical Heart by Felicity Jones and the Umbrella Tree by Tim Hill and Dave Young (Rag and Bone). In 2017, nine commissions will be offered. Of these one artist will be offered a larger commission to tour their work to an additional 2 major boutique music festivals.  Lost Eden at Kendal Calling is produced in partnership with Walk the Plank. A panel made up of Walk the Plank and Kendal Calling representatives will shortlist and select applicants. In their proposals, successful applicants will have demonstrated good value for money, artistic excellence, understanding of logistical and production and plans for sustainable working practices.  Successful applicants will receive funding to create and install their work, and will be promoted in the 2017 Lost Eden launch and arts programme. All commissions are subject to securing Arts Council funding in 2017 (a bid is currently in place).  

For more information, visit the Kendal Calling website.

Commission Opportunity from THSH Birmingham

We've heard through the grapevine of a commission opportunity open to jazz composers which is being offered by THSH in Birmingham. The deadline is soon (Monday 17th October) but just in case it seems like the perfect opportunity for any composer out there, here is the information:

Jazz Electives KS2 Composer: £2500
Jazz Electives KS3 Composer: £2500

We are seeking up to two jazz composers and performers to write two pieces; one for large Primary KS@ children's ensemble and one for KS3 students. These will be performed at Symphony Hall on Friday 9th June 2017. This fantastic opportunity will also include activities such as leading a creative familiarisation session with music service tutors, school-based workshops, mass rehearsal sessions and the final performances.

If you wish to apply, please see the commission profiles and provide a CV (focused on recent commissions and education work), covering letter including 500 words describing why you are applying and how you meet the skills and experience outline and examples of previous including soundcloud links or youtube footage. 

Please note that if you wish to apply for both commissions, you will need to submit two separate applications. 

For full information and application forms, visit the THSH website.

News from Jo McCallum the Double Big Band Project

                                                                                 Photo Credit: Fred Little


Back in April, a very special double big band project performed to a sold out audience in Manchester, performing specially commissioned music by Iain Dixon and Mike Gibbs.

The project, organised by Jo McCallum, brought together the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland to work together and premiere new music written for the occassion.

Videos and photographs from the event have now been added the website and big band leaders are invited to borrow the music free of charge to perform with their own ensembles.

Visit the NYJOS/ WYJO Double Big Band website for more information and congratulations to all involved! 

Tom Thorp premieres new East Yorkshire inspired work on June 4th

Saxophonist Tom Thorp will premiere a new work on June 4th as part of the Howden Minster summer concert series which is inspired by East Yorkshire.

The concert will seek to capture the essence of the East Yorkshire town and surrounding area by blending classical chamber music with Tom’s engaging and lyrical jazz improvisations.
The event will be the first public performance by new venture Tom Thorp and the Taka Ensemble.
Tom will be backed by David Austin Grey on piano, double bassist Geth Griffiths, and string quartet Faz Shah (violin), Graham Clark (violin), Tim Rathbone (viola) and Michael Newman (cello).
While all are jazz musicians, they are also regulars in orchestras such as the Halle and BBC Philharmonic, and will augment Tom’s melodic sensibilities with the rigours of the classical canon.

Tickets are priced at £7.50 and under 16s can attend for free.

For more information on the event, visit the event website and for more on Tom and his work, visit his website.

Be Part of Chris Sharkey's Make It/Break It at Gateshead International Jazz Festival

Guitarist Chris Sharkey has been commissioned by Serious to create a new piece of music which will be performed at Gateshead and London Jazz Festivals. The piece is called Make It/Break It and is a very ambitious work which will be see over 100 musicians taking part.

Chris has put a call out today for more people to be involved in the performance at Gateshead Jazz Festival this coming Sunday (April 17th).

He says -

Musicians of the North East of England! I'm doing something at Gateshead International Jazz Festival 2016 on Sunday and want you to be part of it. It's called Make it/ Break it.  We get together for one day, make something, perform it once, then it's gone. I'll need you for most of the day (from around 11am) then we play at 6.30 in the concourse which will be PACKED with people.
 
ANYONE, regardless of instrument or ability can be a part of this.
 
If you show up, I'll give you something important to do.
 
There is NO DEADLINE and NO SELECTION PROCESS.
 
Reply to the email in the link below, hit me up [on facebook] or just show up on the day.
 
We've got a pretty large ensemble already but I really want to push it over the edge - I hope you can come and be a part of it


For more information, see the event page on Sage Gateshead website. (The article states a deadline of March 18th for people who wish to be involved but as Chris says above, this is not the case!)

 

MJF Announces first round of artist featured in 2016 programe

Manchester Jazz Festival has announced details of some of the acts scheduled to perform at their 2016 festival.

Beats & Pieces leader Ben Cottrell has been announced as the recipient of the Irwin Mitchell Comission this year and his new piece will be premiered at the festival on July 27th .The work is called New Seeing and features trumpet, rhythm section and 12 piece string section.

Giving their only UK performance, Thomas de Pourquery & Supersonic play the music of Sun Ra on July 23rd. Following that, everyone's favourite Anglo-American jazz supergroup The Impossible Gentlemen give their headlining performance on July 26th.

In collaboration with HOME, MJF will show films during the festival that give a snapshot of the connection between jazz and film. Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and the Tubby Haye's film Man in a Hurry are highlights this year.

For full information and to book tickets (these events are sure to sell out so be quick!), visit the Manchester Jazz Festival website.

St Cuthbert's Suite premiere - March 18th & 19th

Pianist Paul Edis has written a new suite of music inspired by St Cuthbert, a saint of the Northumbrian church and widely considered to be the Patron Saint of the North.

The music was commissioned by Ushaw College and has elements of jazz, classical and folk and will be performed by ensemble that features Graham Hardy (trumpet), Graeme Wilson (woodwinds), Rob Walker (drums/percussion), Paul Susans (double bass), Emma Fisk (violin), Alice Burns (Northumbrian pipes) with piano and MD duties from Paul himself.

The suite will be performed twice in March - at Ushaw College on March 18th and then at Durham Cathedral on March 19th. (The cathedral being where St Cuthbert's body was laid to rest after 7 years fleeing the Vikings.)

For more information on Paul's music, visit his website.

Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra team up with NYJOS for special collaboration

Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra are to team up with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland for a special Double Big Band collaboration led by Jo McCallum.

Supported by Arts Council England, the project will see NYJOS travel to the Greater Manchester area for a weekend of rehearsals with WYJO culminating in a performance on April 17th at Halle St Peters which will also showcase the two bands individually.


The funding will allow for two new works to be commissioned; one by saxophonist Iain Dixon and the other by composer Mike Gibbs. It is hoped that the double big band material will be available shortly after the concert for any youth jazz orchestra to use across the UK.

Tickets are on sale now for the concert and are priced at £8/6. Seating is limited so early booking is recommended. Doors open at 1.30pm and the concert beings at 2pm.

For more information, visit the NYJOSWYJO Project website.

Lancaster Jazz Festival - Submissions Open

2016 marks the 6th Lancaster Jazz Festival and under the watchful eye of festival director Matt Robinson and his team, it continues to grow year on year.

They have opened the floodgates for artist submissions to take part in this year's festival and will be accepting submission until the 20th March at 5pm.

When programming we look for exciting artists that we feel might bring more to the festival than just a performance. This could be something very tangible, such as a workshop or a seminar (like Seth Bennett or A Dread Supreme from last year for example) or the hosting of a jam session or a new collaboration (like Word of Moth). Or, it could be something else, a buzz from peers about being on the same bill (Trevor Watts or Richard Illes), a truly amazing performance that is talked about for months (Thunkfish or Dakhla Brass), or a million other things that we haven't thought of yet.
We aim to promote the best in contemporary music and jazz from around the UK as well as locally. We are especially interested in promoting a diverse programme of events, including new works, emerging artists and underrepresented groups.

The application process is simple and is done through an online portal. Applicants are required to provide two tracks to be listened to (linked to directly so that the panel can listen online) and answer questions to describe their project. The festival open useful advice on their guidance page (like staying away from stock phrases like 'a new take on jazz standards' which incidentally was used over 30 times in applications last year...!)

Those under 25 can also apply to the Festival Commission fund. Each year, one group or artist is selected to develop a new piece of work to be premiered at the festival. These artists receive support from the festival and mentorship from the artist in residence throughout their project.

All the information you need can be found on the Lancaster Jazz Festival website. Good luck!

NJ Advent Calendar - Jazz North (December 8th)

When we talk about the Northern Jazz scene, it's easy to forget quite how big an area that covers. From Hadrians Wall to the Midlands, that's us. That covers cities like Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, rural areas and everything in between. Tasked with looking after all of this is Jazz North, the jazz development agency for the North and behind our door number 8.

Jazz North grew out of the previous regional organisations - Jazz Yorkshire, Jazz North West and Jazz North East. Starting off on project funding, the organisation has now become an NPO (in other words, a regularly funded organisation with the stability that comes with that) and recently appointed Lesley Jackson as the new Executive Director. To date, the organisation run/have run the following schemes -

Northern Line - the flagship scheme which supports 12 bands per season, offering them to promoters at subsidy and providing support in marketing and mentoring.

Jazz North Introduces - A mentoring scheme for young musicians, this project offers high profile festival performances to musicians aged between 16 and 25.

Jazz North Originals - This commissioning scheme is modeled on MJF's own commission project. Their first commission went to composer Rodrigo Constanzo.

CPD - There are a number of professional development events held for musicians including advice on funding, self-promotion and digital media. There is also a specialist strand called Making The Changes for young musicians ready to study jazz or start gigging professionally.

Education Conference and Networking - Each year, Jazz North holds a day long conference on jazz education, bringing together educators from across the region and nationally recognised speakers.

Find out more on the Jazz North website.

Laura Kinsella and Ben Crosland premiere new work at Marsden Jazz Festival

The 2015 Marsden Jazz Festival is fast approaching (9th-11th October). The festival are committed to supporting new music and each year commission artists to produce new work to be premiered at the festival. This year, these commissions come from vocalist Lauren Kinsella and bassist Ben Crosland.

Lauren Kinsella's project is called What Window Do You Look Out Of? and features Tom Challenger (sax), Dan Nicholls (keys and electronics), Conor Chaplin (bass) and Simon Roth (drums).

I've been inspired by so many different aspects of culture over the past few months. An important starting point was the documentary 'Salt of the Earth', a beautiful film about photographer Sebastião Salgado and his work through a political, social and cultural lens. What his pictures convey about the world and human suffering are some of the most moving images I've ever seen.
 
The music was also inspired by other artists and writers, including Marsden-born poet Simon Armitage and his book 'Gig' and Patti Smith and her autobiography 'Just Kids'. Lastly and most importantly, I am inspired by the wonderful musicians in my ensemble that will play with me at Marsden.

Ben Crosland will present his interpretation of songs by the Kinks' Ray Davies. He is joined by John Etheridge (guitar), Dave O'Higgins (sax), Steve Lodder (piano) and Sebastiaan De Krom (drums).

I began my musical education at 13 by taking up the drums and the Kinks’ singles were constantly on as I played along in my bedroom. Fifty years on, as a bandleader and composer, I am again discovering new subtleties and strengths in these wonderful compositions. 

Ray Davies is a songwriter whose work is rooted in the blues, music hall, popular song, variety and musical theatre. His songs provide the perfect vehicles for jazz interpretation. He is self-evidently one of the greatest ever British songwriters. To my knowledge, no one has yet undertaken a serious study of his work in a jazz context.

Ben performs on Friday 9th October at the Marsden Royal British Legion with tickets costing £14. Lauren performs on Saturday 10th October at the same details and tickets cost £7. 

Full details can be found on the Marsden Jazz Festival website. 

MJF Originals 2015 - Apply Now

Applications are now open for the 2015 Irwin Mitchell MJF Originals scheme, the flagship commissioning project run by Manchester Jazz Festival.

Aimed at developing the work and careers of musicians working primarily in Manchester and the North West, the scheme has produced 16 unique works in recent years. 2015 marks the 20th year of MJF and proposals which reflect this are particularly welcome.

Applicants are invited to submit a 100-word synopsis of their idea and, if it fits the criteria of the scheme, will be asked to submit a full application. The deadline for this 100-word synopsis is Monday 8th December at 10am.

This year, guitarist Anton Hunter (pictured above) was awarded the commission and premiered his new work, Article XI at the festival in July. Previous composers have included The Felonious Monks (Mike Hall & Debbie Rogers), George King and Pete Moser.

For more information, visit the MJF website.

Evan Parker at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival

The annual Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival takes place between 21st and 30th November at various venues throughout the city. Each year, the programme is diverse and adventurous, featuring the best in contemporary classical, improvised and experimental music. This year, saxophone giant Evan Parker will perform in two different settings during the festival.

Evan Parker's Twelve for Twelve Musicians (November 23rd, Hepworth Gallery Wakefield) is a new work commissioned by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival to mark Evan's 70th birthday. Playing this new work alongside Evan will be

Neil Metcalfe flute
John Rangecroft clarinet
Percy Pursglove trumpet
Matt Wright computer/turntables
Sten Sandell piano
Toma Gouband percussion
Paul Lytton percussion
Mark Nauseef percussion
Damien Harron percussion
Richard Barrett live electronics
Paul Obermayer live electronics

Evan Parker & Sten Sandell (November 24th, St Thomas' Church Huddersfield) is a saxophone/church organ duo which Evan recorded with in 2010. Keen to work with this soundscape again, this gig will make use of the acoustics within the church to allow the two musicians to explore sounds and compositions.

These two highlights represent a small portion of the programme during the festival, so visit Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival to see the full line up.

Lancaster Youth Jazz Commission 2014

Lancaster Jazz have announced the launch of their Youth Jazz Commission 2014 scheme, open to musicians under 25, to support the creation of a new work to be premiered at their 2014 festival in September. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on July 1st 2014.

Full submission details can be found on the Lancaster Jazz website but a brief outline of criteria is outlined below.

The commission is a fixed amount that will develop the work and profile of an emerging artist in collaboration with established musicians and with support from Lancaster Jazz Festival.

The fee will be budgeted by the applicant and can be used to pay for creation time, relevant research, performance fees, rehearsal time etc.

Lancaster Jazz Festival will provide support by helping the composer to -

•  put together an ensemble of established musicians
•  produce, manage and deliver a project plan
• manage a budget
• find relevant resources
• gain insight into promotion and marketing

The work will be premiered on September 19th on the Brewery Stage as part of the festival.

MJF Originals commission announced

                                                    Anton Hunter (photo by Mark Whitaker)

Manchester Jazz Festival has announced that the recipient of this year's MJF Originals commission is guitarist and composer Anton Hunter.

The scheme, which is the UK's only open jazz commissioning scheme for musician-composers, supports one recipient per year to create a new work to be premiered during the festival (which this year takes place between 18-27 July). Last year saw the premiere of Felonious Monks, a fusion of jazz and renaissance music by Mike Hall and Debbie Rogers.

Anton said: “This commission is amazing news for me and I’m tremendously excited to be given the mjf originals commission for 2014. It’s come at just the right time to boost my career as a writer and player. mjf is a fantastic supporter of Manchester music and of new ideas. I can’t wait to get started!”

(taken from MJF website)