Bristol New Music is a consortium of five key organisations in the city – Colston Hall, Arnolfini, Spike Island, St George’s Bristol and the University of Bristol – dedicated to bringing the very best international new music to the city, while working to create opportunities for emerging regional artists.
University of Bristol events
Gareth Davies performs music by Elliott Sharp, Friday 21 February 1.15pm, Victoria Rooms Auditorium, admission free
Bass clarinettist Gareth Davis performs a solo concert of music by Elliott Sharp, a central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s. The concert includes the UK Premiere of Foliage (2012), a graphic work based on a deconstruction of pieces which Sharp has written for a number of people over the last ten years, including Gareth Davis, JACK Quartet, and Neue Vocalsolisten.
Gareth Davis's performances and recordings range from classical concerti to newly written works by composers such as Bernhard Lang, Peter Ablinger, Toshio Hosokawa and Jonathan Harvey and collaborations ranging from the vocal group Neue Vocalsolisten to electronic artists Scanner and Machinefabriek.
The event will be followed at 2.15pm by a free workshop on improvisation and contemporary performance practice with Gareth Davis.
Bristol University Singers perform works by David Bednall and John Pickard, Saturday 22 February, 11.30am, Wills Memorial Building stairwell
Founded in 1974, the Bristol University Singers has built a formidable reputation as one of the finest groups in the South West. The choir is known for its exciting performances and imaginative, dynamic programming. Consisting of around thirty auditioned members drawn from many different departments within the University, the choir specializes in the performance of unaccompanied choral music from medieval chant to the present day.
Quatuor Bozzini premieres Claudia Molitor’s Und laß dir jeden Tag geschehen, Saturday 22 February, 1pm, St George’s Bristol. Concert sponsored by the University of Bristol
As part of their Festival residency at the University of Bristol, the Bozzini Quartet premieres Claudia Molitor’s Und laß dir jeden Tag geschehen, commissioned by Bristol New Music and inspired by the Rainer Maria Rilke poem Du mußt das Leben nicht verstehen.
The 'coincidence of solos' that comprises John Cage’s Thirty pieces for String Quartet, and renowned sonic pioneer James Tenney’s Koan complete this programme exploring new sounds for string quartet.
The Bozzini Quartet is an original voice in new, contemporary, experimental and classical music. The quartet has won three Opus prizes from the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM). It is also the recipient of the Étoile-Galaxie Prize from Radio-Canada (2001), the Förderpreis Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung (2007) and the German Record Critics Prize for Arbor Vitae (2009).
Quatuor Bozzini and University of Bristol New Music Ensemble, conductor Neal Farwell, Sunday 23 February, 12 midday, Victoria Rooms, Auditorium
In this concert, the Bozzini Quartet performs works by young composers from the University of Bristol who worked with the quartet in a satellite edition of their annual musical laboratory, the Composer’s Kitchen, which supports upcoming composers.
The University's New Music Ensemble (NME) performs Nico Muhly’s contemporary response to Webern’s Concerto Op. 24, a sextet of Hans Werner Henze and a brand new, propulsive work by 2013 NME student competition winner Benedict Todd. Bozzini and NME will join together at the end for a surprise conclusion to the programme.
The NME is a student-run, staff-conducted ensemble that performs new works, modern classics and student commissions to the highest standards. Coaching is given in contemporary performance techniques, with participants using their evolving talents to bring new music alive.