Paraorchestra and Friends Innovation Lab: A response to ‘Stages & Tales’

In this unique innovation lab, three musicians of differing disciplines selected from the Paraorchestra and Friends ensembles will come together to devise new music in response to our current exhibition ‘Berlinde De Bruyckere. Stages & Tales’. 

Taking inspiration from the themes of vulnerability and concealment exposed in De Bruyckere’s work, the musicians will explore the physical use of the space using musical layers and textures, exploiting both traditional and contemporary music technologies. 

The work will be led by composer and clarinettist, and Paraorchestra and Friends’ Associate Music Director, Lloyd Coleman and will ultimately inform new material for Paraorchestra and Friends ‘The Anatomy of the Orchestra’ project. Coleman will be joined by pianist Georgie Ward and flautist David Ruff.

Visitors are invited to observe the two days of musical experimentation occupying the Rhoades and Bourgeois galleries on Thursday 6 & Friday 7 December, from 10 am until 4 pm.

This is a free, drop-in event

  About the musicians   Lloyd Coleman is a composer and clarinettist whose music has been performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Sacconi Quartet and New London Chamber Ensemble.  Born in South Wales, Coleman attended Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, before moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music with Gary Carpenter (composition) and Angela Malsbury (clarinet). Coleman combines his composing activities with a busy performing schedule – most often with conductor Charles Hazlewood and the British Paraorchestra, the first professional ensemble in the world comprised of disabled musicians. They launched to a global audience of half a billion viewers when they joined Coldplay at the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and Coleman was appointed as their first Associate Music Director in October 2017. He was also the first composer to write a new piece specifically for the British Paraorchestra – Towards Harmony. Critically acclaimed as a model for integrating disabled and non-disabled musicians, it received a second performance at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in February 2017 in collaboration with the CBSO. David Ruff studied classical flute with a scholarship at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining both his BMus (2008-2012) and MMus (2012-2014). Ruff regularly plays with orchestras including the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Oxford Philharmonic, New London Sinfonia, The Army of Generals, and The British Paraorchestra. Ruff also plays in the West End and recently was the chair holder on Me and My Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre 2018), Young Frankenstien (West End 2017-2018), and Funny Girl (Official West End UK Tour 2017). Georgie Ward  is a pianist and composer who specialises in contemporary music and synthesisers. Ward’s 2018 highlights include a UK tour with the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, performances of ‘Kraftwerk Re:werk’ with the British Paraorchestra and Army of Generals, as well as recording a new immersive musical experience for spatial audio company, Roomsize. Ward is currently working on her own solo set for piano and synthesisers and recently had a composition played on BBC Radio 3.   Header image: Lloyd Coleman. Courtesy of Paraorchestra and Friends