"CHROMA, whose accuracy, energy and mastery of various idioms, and sensitivity to the singers and the text, was exemplary"
   Opera Today

"hugely impressive"
   The Times

Anna Meredith in rehearsal for railgun

SUMMER NEWS 2013

The masters composers at the Royal Academy of Music did themselves proud with six very different approaches to Joris Iven’s 1929 short film Regen (Rain). We premiered their pieces on 7 February plus Hanns Eisler Fourteen Ways of Describing Rain - which, without benefit of conductor or clicktrack, we managed to finish in perfect sync with the film. Triumph! Bravo to RAM composers Alice Beckwith, Aleksandr Brusentev, Guiseppe Desiato, Benedict Giles, 
Gareth Moorcraft and Freya Waley-Cohen.

Alex Wood, Kate Musker, Martin Cousin, Clare O'Connell, Katie Bicknell and Stuart King rehearse RAM

In March we were back for our 11th year in Norwich Primary Schools – co-ordinated by the wonderful Roger Rowe and Susan Jack. This year a theme of Maritime Britten with visits to 7 schools involving 750 children in total, and a concert for 311 children “I was enjoying the music so much I forgot why I was there, but didn't need to watch the children because they were as captured by the music as I was” (Teaching Assistant at Cringleford).
Thanks to The Woodroffe Foundation, The Barbara Whatmore Trust, The Ernest Cook Trust , The Paul Bassham Trust, The Joanna Scott Foundation and Aylsham Music Society for their support.

Ian Watson talks accordion with Dick Bird (designer) & Bob Workman (photos) Firework-Maker's Daughter

Very proud of the Music Department at RHUL (where we are resident ensemble) - awarded a prestigious Regius Professorship by the Queen – flying the flag as the only arts department in the country to receive one in these awards to mark the Diamond Jubilee. With the year’s assignments at RHUL coming to a close, we recorded Guy Bunce (PhD) and premiered pieces by MMus students Marisa Sharon Hartanto and Zoi Dachri alongside Britten Sinfonietta and Prokoviev Quintet in the Windsor Auditorium in March.

Mary Bevan as Lila in Firework-Maker's Daughter

Then, with great excitement, the long-awaited premiere of our dear friend David Bruce’s new family opera based on the novel by Philip Pullman (libretto Glyn Maxwell) The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (co-produced by The Opera Group and Opera North in association with ROH2 and Watford Palace Theatre. Co-commissioned by The Opera Group and ROH2).
Excellent company - directed by John Fulljames, designed by Dick Bird with puppetry from the inspiring Steve Tiplady and Sally Todd and multi-talented singers Mary Bevan, Amar Muchhala, James Laing, Wyn Pencarreg and Andrew Slater. Geoffrey Paterson on baton. We opened at Hull Truck and played Huddersfield before coming into the Linbury at the Royal Opera House. Riding the waves of happy family audiences and reviews the UK tour continues till 1 June www.fireworkmaker.co.uk.

Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival last year - Twitching Music.Words: Catherine Kontz Bird: Ellan Parry

The summer is looking diverse in various happy locations: by the sea at Deal Festival with Artistic Director Matt Sharp’s imaginatively programmed events Trove and Britten on the Beach; classic opera in the stunning Wiltshire countryside at Iford Festival joining Ollie Gooch for La Traviata then Geoffrey Paterson again for La Vie Parisienne; in the picturesque Berkhamsted for bluegrass/classical mash-up On The Road, and on the banks of the Thames as we pitch in with our associates Tête à Tête at their curated celebration of all things new and fresh in contemporary opera with Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival at Riverside Studios.

See our calendar page for more details, and hope to see you at a festival soon!