Wednesday 2 March 2022

Dancing, healing, telling stories: Opera North announces Resonance 2022 artists

Opera North: Resonance

Opera North's annual Resonance programme gives minority ethnic music-makers the time and space to experiment and create new work. And since the programme's launch in 2017, Resonance residencies have led to major commissions for artists including Jasdeep Singh Degun, Testament and Khadijah Ibrahiim; and work continues on a number of other ambitious projects.

This year, five lead artists have been announced with projects that explore dance, testimonies of female music makers, storytelling, and a variety of non-Western instruments including a project involving visually impaired people.   

  • Accompanist at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Azizi Cole's Body Clock project employs the body as an instrument to compose and perform music as well as to dance, using microphones to amplify movement. 
  • Flautist Naomi Perera's album in collaboration with award-winning saxophonist, improviser, producer and composer Lara Jones uses the performance and testimonies of other female music-makers as its raw material.
  • Persian percussionist Arian Sadr's work in progress The Wind exploits the extraordinary range of sounds produced by the daf (circular frame drum) and the tonbak (goblet drum), to reflect the journeys and upheavals of his life. 
  • Composer, bass trombonist, percussionist and mbira player Hannabiell Sanders will create a stage set to weave storytelling, visuals, electronics and percussion through the music of her duo, Ladies of Midnight Blue. 
  • Percussionist Mendi Mohinder Singh will work with four visually impaired people on a new body of music bringing his tabla together with electronics, the sounds of everyday objects, and the rhythms and voices of his collaborators. 

Each of the artists will receive a week of free rehearsal space in central Leeds, a grant of up to £3,500, and support and advice from technicians, producers and other specialists. There are also options for a short film to document each project, and a work in progress performance or livestream. 

Full details from the Opera North website.

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