This week sees two premieres for Richard Whalley at this year’s New Music North West a showcase for new music staged by the Royal Northern College of Music.
On Thursday 16th November, the Netherlands-based Ebonit Saxophone quartet will perform Refugees Welcome ♥ premiere, alongside Christian Chamoun War Machine and fellow CE composer Kevin Malone’s The Water-Protectors (world première).
Refugees Welcome ♥ is Whalley’s response to the political upheavals of 2016
More details and ticketsand the feeling that however insignificant my voice it’s important to say something. It goes into some new territory for me, weaving Arabic modes and West African rhythmic patterns in amongst my own musical materials with the aim of creating a kind of emotional tapestry of sound that celebrates the joy and cultural richness that immigrants can bring to society. It also empathises with the plight of refugees from numerous parts of the world, whose stories are often so heartbreaking. After all, we are all human.
Then on Friday 17th, the superb Manchester-based ensemble Psappha will premiere Whalley’s Wonderland, UK premiere, alongside Philip Cashian’s Leonora Pictures (more on this here).
Richard Whalley on Wonderland:
More details and ticketsWritten in 2015, this piece is an expression about my deep concerns at mankind’s current obsession with short-term financial gain at the expense of the natural environment. The piece celebrates the miracle of nature and is like a garden: it creates interweaving textures, but often leaves the way they are combined open, allowing beautiful and complex patterns from their unpredictable combinations. Much of the inspiration stems from a walk at Alderley Edge
Tags: Kevin Malone, Philip Cashian, psappha, Refugees Welcome, Richard Whalley, wonderland