Compositions
New course: Mediterranean Modal Improvisation and Composition
As part of the SOAS Summer School I am thrilled to lead an experimental online course in modal creative work
Performances
Beyond Mode in SOAS Concert Series
We were thrilled that Beyond Mode was featured in the SOAS Concert Series 2019-2020.
Compositions
Live TV Broadcast, BBC Persian
An opportunity to present one of my own compositions, Acem Kurdi Saz Semai, live for the BBC, with a mysteriously dramatic background – not really in line with the melancholy of the piece! Please contact me if you would like a copy of the score.
Compositions
Reid Concert Hall
A concert of Ottoman court music along with my song cycle “Sing no Sad Songs with Me”, in the elegant Reid Concert Hall of Edinburgh University.
Compositions
Sing no Sad Songs for Me (Italiano)
Un “Liederkreis” tra il Tamigi e il Bosforo Sonorità lontane tessute con ricordi di donne Poesie di Christina Rossetti Musiche di Rachel Beckles Willson Musicisti: Rachel Beckles Willson (voce, oud), Ciro Montanari (tabla), Kostas Tsarouchis (contrabbasso), Evgenios Voulgaris (yayli tanbur) ‘Sing no Sad Songs for Me’ nasce dall’incontro tra la poesia Read more…
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…
Uncategorised
Acem Kurdi Saz Semai
I had the privelage to study composition with Ross Daly, under whose guidance I learned how to write in a modal idiom, and in a range of genres typical of the Ottoman era and broad west Asian region. One of these genres is the saz semai, which has a metre Read more…
Compositions
Sing no Sad Songs for Me (Francais)
Un cycle de chansons entre la Tamise et le Bosphore Sons lointains tissés par des mémoires de femmes Poesie de Christina Rossetti Musique de Rachel Beckles Willson Musiciens: Rachel Beckles Willson (voix, oud), Ciro Montanari (tabla), Kostas Tsarouchis (contrabbasse), Evgenios Voulgaris (yayli tanbur) Sing no Sad Songs for Me réunit les traditions Read more…
Compositions
London 1988
I composed ‘Talking about Tatyana’ when I was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. It is an oblique homage to Tatyana Nikolayeva, the pianist who premiered Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. It’s a fugue, and I scored it for clarinet trio. Why? I don’t remember!
Education
Academic teaching
I have worked in full-time academic teaching since 2000, when I began as a lecturer at the University of Bristol. I was Professor of Music at Royal Holloway, University of London until September 2019, and now I am Professorial Research Associate at SOAS, University of London. My teaching has ranged Read more…