Friday 20 November 2015
For the first time in my residency I sat down at the piano in the auditorium at The Pound. The piano is a Boston (made by Steinway) and is a baby grand. For the rest of my residency I am going to get to know this piano very well as I compose a new piece for piano and ensemble featuring the fantastic pianist Alex Wilson. Alex is based in Exeter, Devon (coincidentally where I was born) and we met at the Cheltenham Music Festival Composer Academy, which he was performing in and co-ordinating, in July 2014. Earlier this year we discussed the idea of collaborating and this project at The Pound is the result. More details will be released soon but I can reveal that the project will explore the many different roles that the piano plays in different musical settings and the ensemble will be drawn from local musicians.