"The players were really helpful and I was very encouraged by their response to what I'd written"

Four composers studying at Yorkshire Universities visited the Netherlands recently to take part in HCMF's new high-profile Composers' Professional Development Programme.

Jenny Jackson (University of Sheffield), Ben Isaacs (University of Huddersfield), Dimitris Maronidis (University of York) and Lauren Redhead (University of Leeds) flew to Amsterdam at the end of February for a series of workshops with the Nieuw Ensemble at their studio.

During the workshops they tried out new ideas and sketches with the ensemble and received advice and guidance from the tutors. Whilst in Amsterdam they also observed workshops with other composers from the Nieuw Ensemble's existing Netherlands programme and attended performances at the Bimhuis and Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ.

Ben Isaacs commented: ‘The players were really helpful and I was very encouraged by their response to what I'd written. The atmosphere during the workshops was friendly and supportive and every effort was made to realise my intentions. Having never written for such a large ensemble before, I learned a lot in a relatively short space of time. After the workshops, I now have the confidence to continue the work I have started, and have a clearer conception of my ultimate aims for my final piece.'

The aim is of the programme is to provide sustained and valuable professional development opportunities for emerging composers, learning from and working alongside a leading international contemporary music ensemble in one of Europe's most vibrant cultural centres.

You can read Ben Isaac's blog here: http://www.hcmf.co.uk/category/show/4

and you can read Jenny Jackson's blog here: http://www.hcmf.co.uk/category/show/3

Composer Information

Ben Isaacs has recently written music for Bridget Carey, Philip Thomas, Barrie Webb and Wake Up, who premiered Peel at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music 2008. He is currently studying for a Masters degree in Composition at the University of Huddersfield with Aaron Cassidy, and enjoys playing in the university's edges ensemble and Split, his free-improvising, notation-reading, experimenting trumpet trio.

Jenny Jackson (b. 1971) is currently studying part-time for a PhD in composition with George Nicholson at the University of Sheffield. Her music reflects an enthusiasm for the visual and performing arts and literature which often serve as stimuli for new pieces. Recent work includes short pieces for chamber ensembles, including Fluxus Boxes (2007) for clarinet trio & flexible wind orchestra, and to break a young horse... (2007) for string quartet & string orchestra, and she has also written three pieces of music theatre including an adaptation of Alexander Pope's mock-heroic poem The Rape of the Lock (2006). She was selected to participate on the Jerwood Opera Writing Programme based in Aldeburgh in 2007, and received tuition from Harrison Birtwistle.

Dimitris Maronidis was born in Thessaloniki in 1980. He studied Counterpoint, Harmony, Orchestration and Composition at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki with Prof. Kostas Siembis and Kostas Tsougras. From years 1998 to 2006 he had studied at the Music Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and he graduated after the successful completion of his thesis regarding the use of Markov Chains in interactive music environments composed/constructed with Max/msp.

He is currently studying for the Ph.D degree in music composition at the Music Department of York University under the supervision of Dr. Thoma Simaku with funds from the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece (IKY).

Lauren Redhead is originally from Manchester but now lives in West Yorkshire. She is the president of the Forum of Composers and Musicians (FOCAM); is undertaking postgraduate study at the University of Leeds with Mic Spencer; and is interested in non-linearity and the music of the 21st-century.

Funded by NFPK+ and Musicians Benevolent Fund

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