I performed at the 2021 Colourscape Music Festival in a commissioned piece titled ‘AT SEA’ by Clare Salaman, composed for ancient instruments and electronics. The ensemble consisted of 3 Trumpet Marines, 2 Gothic Harps, Hurdy-gurdy, Iranian Santur and electronics.

The event took place in Colourscape, an inflatable walk-through sculpture of colour and light with multiple loudspeakers placed around the structure. We performed for 4 hours, with a lot of the piece consisting of freely improvised sections, and the musicians moving around the structure. I was receiving the audio input from each instrument and processing it within Ableton, as well as improvising with some pre-recorded material of the trumpet marine.

A big thank you to Clare Salaman for involving me in this project, it was a pleasure to work with the ensemble. Clare runs The Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments, which you can read more about here. Thanks also to Jo Wills for his help in preparing for the performance.

Performers: Clare Salaman (Trumpet Marine), Jean Kelly (Trumpet Marine, Gothic Harp), Jon Banks (Iranian Santur, Gothic Harp), Sylvia Hallet (Trumpet Marine, Hurdy Gurdy), Jamie Farrington (Electronics)

Photo taken from Instagram @colourscape_music_festival