Composer news - Anna Clyne's new association, Nitin Sawhney new honour, Gavin Bryars' birthday

Gavin Bryars (Photo Doug Marke)

Anna Clyne is the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's new composer in association. Beginning in October, she will be composing three new scores for the orchestra over the next three years. Her first piece in the role is Glasslands, which she composed for saxophonist Jess Gillam, and will have its UK premiere with the BBC Philharmonic, conductor Ben Gernon at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on 5 October and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. 

The appointment builds on an existing creative relationship with the orchestra, which includes the UK premiere of This Midnight Hour at The Bridgewater Hall in 2020, and Anna Clyne in Focus, which saw students from the Royal Northern College of Music perform side by side with members of the BBC Philharmonic. Three of Clyne’s original soundscapes were performed alongside original student compositions at the concert in the BBC Philharmonic Studios at MediaCityUK earlier this year.

Further details from the BBC website.

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, club DJ, and producer Nitin Sawhney will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield in November. His first album Spirit Dance was released in 1994. Five years later, Beyond Skin was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and his latest work, Identity, is out in October. He will play at London’s Royal Albert Hall to coincide with the release of Identity.

He has worked on over 70 film, TV and video game scores including music for BBC series Human Planet and Wonders of the Monsoon. He received an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, and he is the Chair of the PRS Foundation.

Further details from the University of Huddersfield website.

Composer Gavin Bryars is 80, and Phaedra Ensemble is celebrating with Gavin Bryars at 80 String Works, a retrospective series of concerts and events across the UK. Founded in 2014, Phaedra has evolved from a string quartet to a larger collective of like-minded performers, drawing from London’s diverse contemporary and chamber music scene.  Their tour begins in Cardiff (29/9/2023) then moves to Kings Place, London (1/10/2023) when Gavin Bryars will be joining the orchestra to perform. Further dates include the Little Missenden Festival (11/10/2023), the Arnolfini, Bristol (18/11/2023) and Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds (2/12/2023).

Full details from the Phaedra Ensemble website.