Brighter Sound presents a special Sing City workshop for young composers of any genre.
Professional composers Ben Cottrell and Sara Lowes will lead this special Sing City workshop for young composers. Participants will be given the opportunity to receive support and guidance to develop their compositional skills, and can bring their own compositions to the session.
Ben Cottrell is a composer, bandleader and saxophonist currently based in Manchester. He is best known as the director of the Beats & Pieces Big Band, which has received awards at home and abroad alongside consistent critical and audience acclaim. He also co-founded and manages rising independent label Efpi Records. An in-demand orchestral arranger, Ben has worked with and for a diverse range of artists including Laura Mvula, Esperanza Spalding, Goldie and Everything Everything, and his arrangements have been performed and recorded by world renowned orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orkest (Netherlands) and The Heritage Orchestra.
Sing City regular Sara Lowes is a composer, singer and piano player, as well as a fantastic mentor. She’s carved a successful career as a session musician and solo artist, including work with The Earlies, King Creosote, Daniel Johnston and Marina and the Diamonds. She’s released four solo records to date, receiving critical acclaim in the national media and music press. In 2014 we commissioned Sara to compose a piece of music exploring the relationship between music and science as composer in residence at the National Graphene Institute (University of Manchester). Graphene Suite was premiered during Graphene Week at the university. Watch the video here.
Sara has recently been working for Oscar Winning composer Steve Price for the BBC Natural History Series The Hunt.
Additional information
The young composers workshop is part of Sing City, Brighter Sound’s songwriting and vocal collective for young musicians.
Our free Sing City sessions continue to build, develop and nourish the talent of young people by incorporating regular performance opportunities, guest masterclasses and special workshops into our programme. Sessions are led by a team of expert vocalists and music educators who all work professionally in the music industry. This fantastic team includes Sara Lowes (Solo artist and composer), Yvonne Shelton (Gloria Estefan, Simply Red, George Michael), Liam Frost (solo artist and with Tokolosh) as well as a number of guest musicians.
At the end of every month, there is a Sing City Live under 18’s performance night where everybody comes together to perform live on stage at Manchester’s iconic music venue Band on the Wall. Book a ticket to the final Sing City Live of the term on Weds 30 Mar (7-9pm) here.
Open to under 13-25’s. Free, but booking is required as places are limited.
More info: 0161 830 3899 | sara@brightersound.com
January: Project Jam Sandwich
Weds 13 and 20 Jan, 6-8pm: Project Jam Sandwich workshops
Weds 27 Jan, 7-9pm: Sing City Live with Project Jam Sandwich
February: Young Composers
Weds 3 and 10 Feb, 6-8pm: Sing City session
Weds 24 Feb, 6-8pm: Young Composers Workshop (Open to 13-25’s)
March: A Tale of Two Cities
Weds 2 Mar, 6-8pm: Sing City session
Weds 9 Mar and 16 Mar, 6-8pm: A Tale of Two Cities
Weds 23 Mar, 6-8pm: Film and Music masterclass with special guest Josephine (Open to 13-25’s)
Weds 30 Mar, 7-9pm: Sing City Live with Wildflowers: A Tale of Two Cities