Orchestral works by three student composers are among the seven shortlisted by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales for this year’s Composition: Wales event. Scores by undergraduate composer Harriet Grainger (pictured) and postgraduates Lewis Furber and Jason Savory feature in a series of workshops leading up to a culmination concert on 28th April.
The workshops, as well as the rehearsal and final concert take place at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff and are open to the public free of charge.
Harriet’s score Glasslines is the first she has composed for full symphony orchestra.
“Composing for full symphony orchestra sounds quite daunting but it is really exciting. You have endless amounts of creative freedom with so many instruments to work with,” she says. “I really wanted to showcase the percussion section during my piece and so have written a very difficult (but hopefully exciting) timpani part, with snare drum, crotales, a gong and a tam-tam, woodblock and bass drum – it’s all going to be quite loud!”
“The challenge for me was keeping sight of the overall structure – I kept focussing too much on tiny details. So I constructed a really long graphic score on many pieces of paper which I laid out on the floor for a few days – I find that ‘seeing’ the piece physically is a big help when you get stuck.”
Composition: Wales aims to showcase works by composers in Wales worthy of wider exposure and is organised in collaboration with Composers of Wales, Tŷ Cerdd and Welsh Music Guild.
Update: All three shortlisted composers will feature in our Atmospheres festival of new music on 4th May.
Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook