Clockwise from top left: Issie Barratt Mira Calix, Laura Jurd, Emily Saunders, Vick Bain, Shirley Thompson, Jenni Roditi, Nicola Lefanu

BASCA (British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors) is hosting an event at Kings Place Hall Two on the afternoon of Saturday October 24th, as part of the Equator Festival: Women of the World Series. 

Three of the seven featured composers – ISSIE BARRATT, LAURA JURD  and EMILY SAUNDERS – have written introductions to the pieces that will be premiered in the concert: 

Emily Saunders – Mashup 2

“Mashup2, a premiere, highlights a poem sitting over a hypnotic groove, juxtaposed with angular instrumental lines. It is a radical reworking, taking material from the instrumental piece ‘Mashup’ (debuted at the EFG London Jazz Festival). The poem is a reaction to recent and past mass migration – the plight of people fleeing war or poverty, looking for a new life.”

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Issie Barratt – A shared matter of confluence

“A shared matter of confluence (A premiere) Dedicated to John Taylor and Ray Warleigh (two creative forces who were family friends and a huge influence on my formative years) The piece is programmatic, depicting the majestic and accumulative flowing of a river created through the ensemble’s merging of musical styles and personalities – as all the musicians are comfortable with playing notated and improvised music of all genres, and the genres in turn have so much in common rhythmically and harmonically, it’s often impossible to tell which water came from where! The piece starts with solo marimba (Representing the spring – the source of the river) with the instruments gradually joining one by one, just like a river’s tributaries – the groove, harmony and melodic shapes gradually building in volume and ebb and flow, similar to the accumulative flow of a confluent river.”

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Laura Jurd – Awakening

“Awakening is a meditation for chamber ensemble featuring samples of speech from Zen Buddhist and activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The music begins and ends with the pure tone of a Tibetan singing bowl representing inner stillness and peace. Featuring a moment of trumpet improvisation the music exists to encourage a sense of the here and the now.

Instrumentation: Tibetan Singing Bowl (approx. 440hz), Marimba, Percussion (shaker + tenor drum), Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Cello, Double Bass, Tape.”

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 PROGRAME FOR 24th OCTOBER

DEBATE – 2.30pm – 3.15pm – The role and profile of female composers

The debate chaired by BASCA CEO Vick Bain will be about the role and profile of women composers. The panel includes:

Jessy McCabe – student who is currently petitioning for more women to be represented in A-level music exams

Issie Barratt- composer and BASCA’s Chair of the Jazz Executive Committee

Shirley Thompson– composer and BASCA’s Classical Executive Committee Member

CONCERT, 3.20pm – 5pm (with interval)   

Issie Barratt A shared matter of confluence
Mira Calix The More That You Appear
Laura Jurd Awakening
Nicola LeFanu Sea Sketches
Emily Saunders Mashup2
Dr Shirley J. Thompson Sunbeam Child
Jenni Roditi Geo Muso!

LINKS:The BASCA Equator/ Women of the World Festival

BOOKINGS for the Festival

Bookings for the debate / showcase