Compositions
Teatime! (Did you think I was here to make the tea?)
A wry hearing of a kitchen in 1950s England
Compositions
Residency with Wild Plum Arts and Britten Pears
My compositional work had great support this month as I was privelaged to have a residency at The Red House, formerly the home of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. I stayed in Cosy Nook, the cottage of Nellie Hudson, Britten and Pears’ housekeeper. It had a beautiful acoustic, and I Read more…
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…
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.