This week, EXAUDI and Laura Bowler perform in this year’s Sound Festival in Aberdeen, each giving concerts of contemporary music that resonate with current global concerns of isolation and climate change, and new works wicked problems by Laura Bowler and MOBOFCROWS by Stuart MacRae are performed. The festival takes place over four days of concerts and events, which will be available to stream live on the Sound Festival website here.
At 16:00 on 23 October, Singers Lucy Goddard and David de Winter of EXAUDI vocal ensemble will join ensemble director James Weeks (piano) for the live-stream of ‘Lonesingness’. The programme will explore re-finding connections and bridging distances in a time of isolation, including pieces by Linda Catlin Smith, John Cage, Barbara Monk Feldman, Lisa Robertson, and Zesses Seglias. The ensemble were last heard at Sound Festival back in 2019 with the premiere of Ailie Robertson’s ‘Motherhood’. More information on Friday’s concert can be found here.
At 20:00 on 24 October, Stuart MacRae's work MOBOFCROWS is performed as part of 'Ten Wee Drams', a programme of ten short works commissioned by Sarah Watts for solo bass and contrabass clarinet. This commission, which takes inspiration from the Isle of Raasay and its culture, heritage, and landscape, was premiered in the island’s new Raasay Distillery in April 2019. You can watch the concert here.
At 12:00 on 25 October, Laura Bowler closes the festival with 'Gaia', a programme that responds to the current climate emergency and celebrates the natural world. She and flautist Ruth Morley perform the world premiere of three new works; Laura's own work wicked problems, Postcards from a fragile planet by Deirdre McKay, and More by Carmel Smickersgill. The concert will be broadcast on Youtube and will be followed by a live Q&A, which can be watched here.
