Trish Clowes, with the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Andrew Connolly. Photo credit: Vanessa Reed.

Saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes celebrated last night in winning the Contemporary Jazz Composition category at the 2015 British Composer Awards, with her original composition, The Fox, the Parakeet and the Chestnut.

The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), which promotes the art of composition and seeks to bring contemporary composers’ music to a wider audience, shorlisted an impressive array of nominees for this year’s awards, including Robert Saxton, Judith Weir and James MacMillan; and in the jazz category, Django Bates, Mike Williams and former BBC New Generation Artist, Trish Clowes.

A BBC commission, the composition premiered last year at the Southbank Centre, performed by the Trish Clowes Quintet – Gwilym Simcock, Mike Walker, Calum Gourlay, James Maddren – and the BBC Concert Orchestra (Trish’s 2014 album release Pocket Compass, on Basho Records, also features the BBC CO).

Inspired by her local Blythe Hill Fields, with its clear spaces and elevated views of London, the musical fable imagines an old chestnut tree bestowing its wisdom on the fox and parakeet characters, and features open landscapes which prompt the orchestra into improvisation.

Commenting to LondonJazz News on this significant achievement, Trish said: “It’s a huge honour to receive this, and a great way to remember and celebrate a hugely fulfilling project with my quintet, BBC CO & Clark Rundell.”

LINKS
BASCA: British Composer Awards shortlist
LondonJazz News: Awards shortlist announced