After a long time in development, my piece Ex Umbra... was set free and put out into to the world on 27th July 2023. I'm thrilled it's finally finished - it was a great piece to work on.
The release video included 5 new works for clarinet by composers Aidan Teplitzky, Kay Rowan, Will Parker, Aidan Lochrin, and Abigail Hellam (and me!).
I can attest to all the pieces' excellence - this scheme has nurtured a really diverse set of works, and they're all well worth a watch and a listen.
Indeed, alongside the clarinet release, there are new pieces for Double Bass, Percussion, and Pipa (a traditional Chinese instrument, that shares some similarities with the lute).
A reminder also that one of the companion pieces to Ex Umbra..., Afterglow I, was performed by Terra Invisus in February, and you can find that audio on my website too.
On a slightly sadder note, Psappha (the new music group who set up and ran this whole scheme) have made the difficult decision to close. In their own words:
"The ensemble has had an outstanding history, and we still have plenty of ideas and plans for future projects. However, the loss of 100% of our regular public funding from Arts Council England, which constitutes around 40% of our income in an average year, has ultimately proven too great a challenge for an organisation of our size and scale to overcome, especially in such a difficult funding climate for the arts. We’ve worked tirelessly behind the scenes and considered every possible alternative, but we haven’t identified a realistic new funding model that would allow us to continue working to the high standards we’ve set ourselves over three decades of commissioning, performing and promoting new music."
This is devastating news for the new music community, especially in the North of England. I wish I had the ability to articulate my thoughts on this topic, but at this moment in time, I'm too angry and confused to make much sense in a blog post. All I can really add right now is my thanks and gratitude to Ben, Sally, Harry, and all of the Psappha team. They are exceptional people, and this was an exceptional group, that will be sorely missed.