CONNECT: The Audience as Artist

On Saturday 22 October 2016 at St John's Smith Square, London Sinfonietta and conductor Sian Edwards are presenting two world premieres, by Christian Mason and by Huan Ruo as part of the inaugural concert of the pan-European project CONNECT, with both works involving a degree of audience participation. The evening concert is preceded by a conference during the day in the Weston Pavilion at the South Bank Centre, which will explore key questions about the public's engagement with contemporary music.

Christian Mason's In the Midst of Sonorous Islands takes the audience on a sonic adventure, as audience members play improvised percussion instruments alongside the percussionists in the orchestra. And Huang Ruo's The Sonic Great Wall takes the Great Wall of China as its starting point, surrounding the audience with whispered words evoking the stories of the wall. Both works explore the relationship of audience and performer, and this is part of CONNECT's intention, and the works will receive further performances by ensembles in Frankfurt, Den Bosch and Porto. You can find out more about CONNECT from a film on Vimeo.

The conference which precedes the concert will be looking at the audience engagement with contemporary music, asking questions such as why it is so hard to build an audience and whether the current funding climate requires new models. Also, the crucial question of audience engagement and participation will be looked at.

Further information from the London Sinfonietta website.