A live showcase of new music by three amazing composers.
Join Brighter Sound as Johnny James, Carmel Smickersgill and Ben Lunn perform brand new compositions in an afternoon of inspiring and original digital music that pushes the boundaries of innovation.
“This will be a performance wherein you, the audience, take over. With the use of lasers you will contort and distort the live music until control of the performance is altogether yours.” – Johnny Barry
Over the last six months the three artists have been part of two commissioning projects – Disruption and Emergent – to support the best and most innovative young and emerging composers.
Johnny and Carmel (Disruption) and Ben (Emergent) have each received funding, support and mentoring to explore their practice, as well as ask questions of performance, audience and composition.
“Through a disrupted trio I will be finding a different way of exploring how many minds are better than one, as well as questioning how freely we give away information to the online software industry.” – Carmel Smickersgill
Each artist was presented with a theme to explore throughout the commission. Ben Lunn’s new work is a powerful piece dedicated to the disabled victims of the Nazi operation Aktion T-4 and Tory Austerity.
“The commission asked me to contemplate the environment from a ‘disabled perspective’. I could not use this opportunity in any other way than highlighting the growing reality of what it means to be disabled when Fascism becomes a prevalent voice again.” – Ben Lunn
Ben will be live conducting three musicians playing trumpet, cello and violin, as well as creating sounds using movement sensors and other music technology to create a powerful and politically charged piece.
About the Disruption Young Composers Commission
The two composers have been exploring a variety of sound art and technological approaches to disrupt the systems within their music making process working with code, Arduino, lasers, electronics and granular synthesis; undertaking research trips to Algomech Festival and CTM Berlin.
Disruption is a Brighter Sound project supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
About Emergent
Emergent: A Music Legacy is a programme designed to open up new opportunities for disabled musicians to develop their portfolios in terms of new commissions and training opportunities to work in music education.
Ben Lunn’s Emergent commission has been delivered in partnership between Brighter Sound and Drake Music. Emergent is supported by Help Musicians UK.