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Gigs & Festivals
Olympic composition premieres announced
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 11 October 2011
Organisers of a project called New Music 20×12 Cultural Olympiad Composers have announced details of premiere performances of new works created by the initiative.
A group of 20 composers have been commissioned to each create a twelve minute piece of music that captures the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. You know, corrupt officials, sponsorship out of control, endless tedious TV coverage and horrendous public transport congestion, that kind of thing. Each piece will be premiered during spring 2012, with a big bash at the Southbank Centre from 13-15 Jul next year. They’ll also be broadcast on Radio 3 and get a formal release.
The other performances announced yesterday will all take place in Scotland: Gavin Higgins and the Rambert Dance Company’s commission premiering in Aberdeen from 15-17 Feb, Aidan O’Rourke and An Tobar’s piece in Tobermory on 8 Jun, Oliver Searle and Drake Music Scotland’s work in Edinburgh on 15 Jun, and Richard Causton and European Union Youth Orchestras composition also in Edinburgh, during the city’s summer festival, on 23 Aug.
The initiative is supported by the PRS For Music Foundation, whose Executive Director Vanessa Reed told CMU: “New Music 20×12 is a central part of the Olympics celebrations and people all over the country will have the opportunity to attend a special event which celebrates the excellence and imagination of some of the UK’s most exciting composers. I am thrilled that each new work will receive three premieres and be accessible to so many people through the stunning array of nationwide performances and BBC Radio 3 broadcasts”.
