Artists in Association
Music Orbit is a network for emerging musicians which provides a resource base for new work. It is based at Brunel and directed by Senior Lecturer Colin Riley with long-term funding from HEIF via Brunel's Enterprise Centre. As well as providing showcase platforms for live work in London and UK venues, Music Orbit also nurtures new work in other key ways. It makes high quality videos of members performances, distributes soundfiles on promotional sampler CDs, has regular calls for new work, publishes a quarterly on-line magazine (The Orbiter), reviews members CDs. Its hub is the interactive website where members can post a profile and share ideas via its online noticeboard (The Soundboard) amongst other things. Music Orbit is also supported by PRSF. Visit Music Orbit on Youtube
Piano Circus have had an association with Brunel University since 2004. This has enabled the group to rehearse and prepare for performances from a studio base, as well as giving them the opportunity to work with postgraduate composition students through workshops and involving them in Calls for works.
They have also been able to develop and expand their relationships working with resident composers such as Colin Riley and Peter Wiegold and invited guest composers such as Graham Fitkin, Philip Mead, Lynne Plowman, Andrew Morgan and Philippe Kocher. In 2010 they are involved in PhD projects leading to performance and ongoing input into the level 2 composition module.
In 2010 piano circus celebrated their 20th anniversary with the 20in09 festival, supported by Arts Council England and PRS Foundation for New Music. Within the festival they curated two events in partnership with Brunel, introducing Errollyn Wallen with Brunel's Jazzbridge for a workshop and performance at Oxford House and Peter Wiegold's notes inégales ensemble at Hoxton Hall. Piano Circus also managed and produced a large-scale education project across schools in Aberdeen and the Highlands for sound festival, joined by Brunel tutor Colin Riley as composer-mentor for student compositions. They are the new 2010 Associate Ensemble for Young Composer of Dyfed.
www.pianocircus.com
