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About Adopt a Composer
Composers from the Adopt a Composer project
Making Music's Adopt a Composer project pairs a leisure-time group with an emerging composer, with the composer collaborating with the group on a new piece written specifically for them over the course of a year. These talented emerging composers, who took part in the project between 2016 and 2018, are selected for their ability to work with leisure-time ensembles. All Making Music members can book them for commissions by contacting them directly via their websites.
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Since the project began in 2000, Adopt a Composer has created over 100 partnerships, producing hugely diverse works and performances in the process. Many of the composers have had further performances or commissions as a result of being part of the scheme and several have been nominated for awards, including the British Composer Awards. You can hear recordings of these pieces on our Soundcloud catalogue: soundcloud. com/makingmusicuk/sets/adopt-acomposer Making Music members can visit the Adopt a Composer legacy project to download and perform rescored versions of these compositions for free at www. makingmusic.org.uk/legacy Adopt a Composer is run by Making Music in partnership with Sound and Music, funded by the PRS Foundation and the Philip and Dorothy Green Music Trust.
Anna Appleby loves folk and jazz, and specialises in writing contemporary classical music. She composed Turbines for Merchant Sinfonia, which explores nature and technology and captures the identity of the orchestra. She is based in Manchester and has written for artists including the Royal Northern Sinfonia and the BBC Singers. www.annaappleby.com
Ben See is a composer and performer based in London. He specialises in contemporary vocal music. One of the pieces he wrote for Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra, We Want, balances the everyday things that young people want (like delicious biscuits), with bigger-picture desires about being taken seriously. Ben leads several community choirs, and various other singing projects and vocal workshops. www.bensee.co.uk
Edmund Hunt's work includes instrumental, vocal and electroacoustic music. He composed Vita Hominum for The Singers, which was inspired by the early medieval history of the group's native Northumbria. Edmund is based in Derbyshire and has a PhD in composition at Birmingham Conservatoire. www.edmundhunt.com
Esmeralda Conde Ruiz composed The Other Ocean for the Fretful Federation Mandolin Orchestra, to accompany pieces of local film archive material. She is a composer and conductor, and has run interdisciplinary choral projects, including conducting a 500-strong choir of community voices at the Tate Modern. @esmeraldamusic on Twitter
Gaynor Barradell composed Step Up, an imaginary journey by bike through Edinburgh’s streets, composed for the Edinburgh Concert Band. Based in Scotland, she plays several different instruments for bands and orchestras, teaches instrumental lessons and enjoys helping adult learners begin their journey into musicianship. www.gaynorbarradell.com
In his composition for Côr Crymych a'r Cylch, Y Gors Fawr, Max Charles Davies’ set a poem by Eifion Daniels - a member of the choir’s bass section - which explores an enchanted old stone circle in Mynachlod-ddu. Upcoming projects include a concerto for piano and orchestra with narrator, and two more symphonies in his 'Tiny' series. www.maxcharlesdavies.com
London-based Peter Yarde Martin composed Starsong and Nocturne for the Bellfolk Handbell Ringers, which evokes constellations in the night sky. He has written for professional orchestras, schoolchildren, gospel choirs, brass bands, church organs and electronics and performs regularly as a trumpeter, keyboardist and singer. www.peteryardemartin.com
Christopher Schlechte-Bond is based in London and his compositions draw on folk, world and theatrical elements. He composes chamber, choral and orchestral music and often incorporates electronic elements. Martian Saloon, written for KEMS Concert Band, evokes a soundscape of ethereal harmonies and atmospheric playing techniques. www.chrisschlechtebond.com
Aran Browning's work with Drake Music Scotland led to him being awarded the Kimie Composition Prize, composing Cardboard Creations and exploring inclusivity in further projects. Other collaborators include Tong Lam, BBC SSO, Ensemble Modern and musicbits. His piece, A Quiet Life for Strathendrick Singers delves into what it's like to be part of a community choir. www.aranbrowning.co.uk
Rosie Clements grew up in rural Somerset, and this background often feeds into her work. In addition to composing she has an interest in festival production and outdoor arts. Her piece for Spectrum Singers, In Reginald's Garden, is inspired by the life of horticulturalist Reginald Cory and his family. www.rosieclements.com
London-based Brazilian percussionist/composer Adriano Adewale has an exploratory approach to music, and is known for his ability to create magical soundscapes from the seemingly banal. Suite Dialogues, written for Horsham Symphony Orchestra, creates a nurturing space for all to come together through peaceful, poignant and truthful ways. www.adrianoadewale.co.uk
Mark Boden has been commissioned by ensembles including London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hebrides Ensemble, Sinfonia Cymru and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. His piece for Croydon Bach Choir, Homo Sum, celebrates multiculturalism, reflecting both the diversity of Croydon and of the choir itself. www.markdavidboden.com
Martin Humphries' music has been performed at venues including the National Museum of Wales, Barbican Centre, Abacus Gallery, Fête de la Mare, Celluele133, Idstein Jazz Festival. Tilikum, written for the London Medical Orchestra, celebrates the tragic Seaworld orca whale made famous in the documentary Blackfish. www.martin-humphries.co.uk
Glasgow-based Shona Mackay is a mixed-media artist who is interested in the use of music alongside visual and performative elements and has been exploring work involving installation and interactive formats. Her piece Continuum, written for the Glasgow School of Art Choir, explores the past and the present, and the blurred, ever-shifting line between the two. www.shonamackay.com
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