Events
Moro Festival
Today is Good! took the stage at the first edition of Siracusa’s Moro Festival on 22 December
Compositions
Sing no Sad Songs for Me
A song-cycle connecting the Bosphorus and the Thames – resonances woven through the memories of women Poetry by Christina Rossetti Music by Rachel Beckles Willson Performers: Rachel Beckles Willson (vocals, oud), Ciro Montanari (tabla), Kostas Tsarouchis (double bass), Evgenios Voulgaris (yayli tanbur) ‘Sing no Sad Songs for Me’ connects the Read more…
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Sing no Sad Songs for Me
Ein Liederkreis, der den Bosporus und die Themse verbindet – Resonanzen gewebte durch die Erinnerungen von Frauen Poesie von Christina Rossetti Musik von Rachel Beckles Willson Musiker: Rachel Beckles Willson (Gesang, Oud), Ciro Montanari (Tabla), Kostas Tsarouchis (Kontrabass), Evgenios Voulgaris (Yayli Tanbur) „Sing no Sad Songs for Me“ verbindet die modalen Musiktraditionen Read more…
Education
Today is Good!
I moved to Sicily in May 2017, in order to work as a volunteer with Francesco in various educational projects for asylum-seekers. We were keen to work with unaccompanied minors, and were trained to be legal gaurdians. Alongside this legal and pastoral work we have put on a series of Read more…
Compositions
New work – London premiere!
Sing no Sad Songs for Me – a cycle of pieces after the poetry of Christina Rossetti. For voice, oud, yayli tanbur, double-bass and tabla Premiered at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, London, on 30 June 2018 My imperialist grandfather Henry Beckles Willson was sent in 1918 to Palestine to decommission Read more…
Music
Ornina – debut performance in Trafalgar Square, London
Called after Ornina, goddess of music in Mesopotamia and ancient Syria, our ensemble is leading a revival in the tradition of female music-making by women in the Arab world. In the courts of Baghdad, Cordoba, and Medina women were highly trained in musical composition and performance, as well as in Read more…
info
Oudmigrations
Oudmigrations is an internet-based project dedicated to the journeys of ouds, their histories, and the stories attached to their makers, players, and owners. I developed the research thanks to a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, and worked in collaboration with musician, luthier and researcher Karim Othman-Hassan. When we launched in April Read more…
Education
Welcome to Italy
In autumn 2017 I collaborated with Isola Quassud, a theatre company based in Catania, Sicily, developing music within an intercultural production entitled ‘Welcome to Italy’. The aim was to immerse the audience in Italy’s disfunctional reception process for immigrants. Through a series of workshops involving reading, movement and singing, the actors drew Read more…
Compositions
Electroacoustic
I’m intrigued by the interplay between the sounds that are conventionally part of concert music, and those conventionally excluded. I recently started bringing external sounds in, while continuing to use traditional instruments and – with a certain ambivalence – becoming a studio musician. In the works below I engage closely Read more…
Compositions
Audiovisual
My work is increasingly engaged with the play between sight and sound. While developing materials and techniques for a large-scale project exploring the marine environment I have published some short work-in-progress studies in audio-visual animation. They build on earlier collaborations with bassist James Banner, and artist Lin Li.