Celebrate! A conversation with National Youth Choir's Young Composers
National Youth Choir's cohort of Young Composers speak about their album, Gen Z, modern madrigals, the physicality of choirs, and community
Prxludes Feature interview, Patrick Ellis
published Monday 19th February 2024
"I’ve never been in an environment where we’ve had that space as composers; where we can just chat through each other’s music in real-time and make these little tweaks. You also got to see into people’s minds in a way you never would normally."
Read the full feature here:
(photo: Belinda Lawley)
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Six composers appointed to the LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme
published 15th February 2024
"Across twelve months, these composers will experiment with and develop their orchestral writing skills, guided by Colin Matthews, with support from Christian Mason and additional tailored support. They will each develop a three-minute composition, which will be workshopped by the LSO and Principal Guest Conductor, François-Xavier Roth, in a public session at the culmination of the scheme. Two compositions will be chosen to be further developed into five- and ten-minute pieces, to be premiered in an LSO concert at the Barbican."
Read the full announcement here:
Young Composers 5: the latest iteration of the National Youth Choir's Young Composers scheme challenge & stimulate
"Vivid use of texture, imaginative subject matter and challenging writing clearly stimulate the young singers who give wonderfully engaged performances"
CD review, Planet Hugill
published Wednesday 14th February 2024
"An exciting and colourful piece, Hazrati assembles multiple layers of different types of sound and overlays with with [sic] melodies and rhythm, with the excitement of the piece clearly being enjoyed by the singers." One Thousand Threads
"Hazrati combines intimate, close harmony with an imaginative use of textures and the suspicion that it is a challenge to sing." khāne (meditations on home)
Read the full review here:
PRS Foundation - Latest Open Fund for Organisations and Open Fund for Music Creators grantees announced
Emily Hazrati: The Open Fund for Music Creators
published Tuesday 23rd January 2024
"Through an incremental, collaborative process of developing and workshopping ideas with performers, Emily and Joseph will create two new songs which mark the beginning and end of Don Juan's life, combining historical references and conventional notation with open scoring and extended vocal writing. They are excited to explore modern audiences' roles as interpreters of Juan's narrative, incorporating elements of participation where audience members can decided whether he was 'cursed or mended'."
Read more here:
Making Music - Adopt A Music Creator pairings 2024
published Monday 15th January 2024
"The Adopt a Music Creator project (originally called Adopt a Composer) began in 2000 and has inspired over 120 diverse musical works. The project aims to help emerging music creators and leisure-time music groups develop artistically, provide them with opportunities, and expose audiences to new music. It celebrates music of all genres and showcases the creative vitality of the UK’s leisure-time music scene."
Read the full announcement here:
Composers announced for WeCompose 2023-24
published Friday 27th October 2023
"We have recruited a fantastic team of composers who will be visiting schools across the country to help develop the composition work of KS3 and KS4 students and support their teachers. Students get to experience working with professional musicians and are supported in developing compositional and collaborative skills, which they will use to create group and individual compositions. Students will then get to see their work being performed by professional musicians in a culmination concert towards the end of their academic year."
Read the full announcement here:
National Youth Choir - Young Composers Blog 2023 #1 Emily Hazrati
5 Best Things about 'Discovering' with National Youth Choir in 2023
published Thursday 13th July 2023
Read the full blog post here:
(photo: Belinda Lawley)
The Arts Desk review | Ligeti Day; Kolesnikov/Tsoy, Aldeburgh Festival review - 14 musicians, 16 premieres and 100 metronomes
published Monday 26th June 2023
"More dazzle came from Emily Hazrati in György's Apprenice [sic], viola initiating a thicket of notes taken up by the other players..."
Read the full review here:
(photo: David Nice, classical music and opera editor of theartsdesk)
Ave Maris Stella by Emily Hazrati – a singer's take on this new commission
Thames Philharmonic Choir blog
published Saturday 27th May 2023
"The theme of water comes across very strongly as I sing. I'm an alto and in Emily's piece, the three lower parts, (bass, tenor and alto) have what feels like surges of triplets underneath the soprano line. It reminds me of waves, the ebb and flow of the sea, or water lapping on a shoreline."
(photo: Ben Tomlin Photography)
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NYCGB Showcase 2023
broadcast from VOCES8 Centre, London
premiered Tuesday 28th February 2023, 6.30pm
"Watch an uplifting evening of new music, created and performed by some of the UK’s leading young singers and composers, and be the first to hear about our plans for the year ahead."
Watch the full showcase here:
TIDE film extract (Aldeburgh Festival 2022)
released Thursday 8th December 2022
Music by Emily Hazrati
Words by Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme
Watch the full opera here:
Eleanor Burke - director
Will Sharma - music director
Georgia Bishop - Estèr
Katherine McIndoe - Amelia
Erin Rossington - Ina
Akito Goto - cello
Anna Caban - violin
Sophie McLaughlin - flute
Filmmaker: Matt Jolly
Aldeburgh Festival 2022 launch
Wednesday 15th December 2021
featuring TIDE (BPA commission)
- Britten Pears Arts https://brittenpearsarts.org/events/tide
- Slipped Disc 'Aldeburgh Festival extends by a week to pump out new music': https://slippedisc.com/2021/12/aldeburgh-festival-extends-by-a-week-to-cram-in-more-new-music/
- Opera Wire 'Dame Sarah Connolly, Claire Barnett-Jones & Roderick Williams Lead Aldeburgh Festival's 2022 Season' https://operawire.com/dame-sarah-connolly-claire-barnett-jones-roderick-williams-lead-aldeburgh-festivals-2022-season/
- Opera For All 'Aldeburgh Festival 2022 Premieres New Opera' https://www.operaforall.co.uk/aldeburgh-festival-2022-premieres-new-opera/
BBC Radio 3 Afternoon Concert
featuring Drop down, ye Heavens, from above by Emily Hazrati
recorded by the BBC Singers, conducted by Nicholas Chalmers
"...a recent work by rising star composer Emily Hazrati... Emily wrote [Drop down ye heavens] in 2020 for the Minerva Festival in Cambridge: a festival which celebrates music of female and non-binary composers."
more information here
Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme Composers 2021-22: Les Six
"A specially-commissioned short film by Jessie Rodger, focusing on the creative processes of the six early-career composers currently supported by the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme. This film was made during the New Music Course for the cohort of early career musicians on the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme 2021-22. It features all six of the composers, their views on writing music and what inspires their own individual process. It will be shown as a rolling installation across the two days of the festival."
Friday 10 September, 2pm - 9pm
Saturday 11 September, 10am - 8pm
watch the full film here:
Coventry Carol video release (2021)
performed by Siglo de Oro
watch here
Artistic Director: Patrick Allies
Soprano: Hannah Ely, Fiona Fraser, Victoria Meteyard
Alto: Luthien Brackett, Rebekah Jones
Tenor: Paul Bentley-Angell, Chris Fitzgerald-Lombard
Bass: David Le Prevost, Ben McKee, Ben Rowarth
Recorded July 2021 at St Augustine's Kilburn, with the kind permission of the Rector and Churchwardens
Recording (c) MoV (2021)
Available in Multitude of Voyces Sacred Music by Women Composers Volume 3, No. 9 (sold through Stainer and Bell Ltd)
Digital offprint available from louisestewart@multitudeofvoyces.co.uk
In conversation with Katherine Dienes-Williams on Drop down, ye Heavens, from above (2021)
performed at Guildford Cathedral for their Advent Carol Service, Sunday 28th November
more information here:
writing raindrops keep dancing... (2021)
a blog on my micro-commission from Guildhall New music society, included as part of their spring 2021 archive. raindrops keep dancing... was written for and premiered by Julien Harman-Evans (voice flute) and Thomas Ang (piano).
read more about raindrops keep dancing... here
A Clare Toccatina (2020)
commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine as part of their New Music Series 2020, in partnership with Graham Ross and The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Premiered by George Gillow (Sir William McKie Organ Scholar) on Sunday 15th November 2020.
Read my interview with Choir & Organ here.
A Clare Toccatina received its second performance at York Minster Cathedral on Thursday 25th March 2021.
Drop down, ye Heavens, from above (2020)
premiered by The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge in their evensong for the Minerva Festival, Sunday 19th January 2020, Clare College Chapel, Cambridge.
Soprano: Matilda Mills
Conductor: Graham Ross
'Janet [Wheeler] tweeted "Thrilled to hear fabulous Clare Choir singing my Responses so beautifully at the Minerva Festival evensong yesterday. A great service – really loved the anthem ‘Drop down ye heavens’ from Emily Hazrati"...'
[source: https://newn.cam.ac.uk/newnham-news/the-minerva-festival-a-cambridge-wide-festival-of-music/]
Sweeter Than Honey (2019)
commissioned by The Korrigan Consort for 'A Blue True Dream Of Sky'
Saturday 12th June 2019, University College Chapel, Oxford.
Recorded by Jocelyn Orrell, Annette Michelle and Emily Hazrati
Sunday 15th March 2020, Robinson College Chapel, Cambridge.
"The Korrigan Consort will be celebrating 40 years of women at University College, Oxford with a concert. They will be singing music setting works by queer poets from across history, including works that explore universal love, self love, and embracing one’s identity.
From Sappho to Stein, this programme includes works old and new, including works featuring harp and electronics. We’re also incredibly pleased to be premiering a new piece by Emily Hazrati, setting letters between two nuns in love. Other works include songs by Benjamin Britten, Judith Shatin, Jake Landau, Gwyneth Walker, and more."