The Dewsbury Minster evening will be an evening of extracts from the full concert, with a talk about the beginnings of the project and the making of the performance.
Wednesday 7 December / 7:30pm
Dewsbury Minster, Vicarage Road, Dewsbury WF12 8DD Tickets: pay what you can No advance booking
Manasamitra is delighted to welcome a Special Guest Speaker:
Dr Natasha Barlow, Associate Professor of environmental and sea-level change, University of Leeds.
Dr Barlow runs a major European research project which is investigating how fast ice sheets melted, and how fast sea level rose, when the Earth’s climate was last warm (around 125,000 years ago). She has conducted fieldwork at sites around the North Atlantic and Alaska, and has been involved in research from Greenland to South Georgia, a small sub-Antarctic island. She is leader of the international PALaeo SEA level and ice sheets (PALSEA) working group and her research has been included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.
Natasha is motivated by improving our understanding of how the Earth’s system may respond to changing climates and communicating her research to a wide range of audiences.
The MELTWATER performance is the culmination of Manasamitra’s ‘Terrarium’ project, which worked with local communities in the UK, India, Indonesia and Portugal to elicit personal narratives of the impact of flood and drought. MELTWATER focuses on the melting polar ice-caps, using the amazing diversity of sound created by ice sheets turning back into water; drips, running streams, crashing ice, to create a haunting and evocative performance.
Friday 2 December / 7:30pm (Performance) Dewsbury Town Hall, Wakefield Old Road, Dewsbury WF12 8DG Tickets: £15 / £12 Booking: Telephone: 01484 225755 Online: Book Now E-mail: townhall.tickets@Kirklees.gov.uk
Featured Musicians:
Supriya Nagarajan – vocalist Duncan Chapman – electronics Lucy Nolan – harp Karin de Fleyt – flute Simon Limbrick – marimba
Supriya Nagarajan is the creator/composer of Meltwater. She has a unique voice in the British music scene and creates concept driven immersive music productions that push boundaries and encourage thought. She has performed across the world in various venues like the Harpa in Reykjavik, Royal Albert Hall and the Zee Jaipur Litfest music stage. Her works like Lullaby Sonic Cradle, Sound of Tea and Bollywood Jazz project have won critical acclaim and earned her a niche reputation in the UK and beyond. Her music which is a blend of her South Indian classical traditions and Western contemporary styles have been featured in festivals like the hcmf//, Ultima Oslo and at Casa Da Musica Portugal. She has also released albums under her own Manasamitra label, Tokuroku and Come Play With Me. She regularly receives funding from Arts Council England, PRS Foundation and is a vocal advocate of the Fair Access Principles championed by Sound & Music. Supriya runs a successful mentoring scheme for women composers of colour.
Karin is a renowned flute player, commissioning and premiering many works in solo and ensemble context. She is section chair for the woodwinds at RCA and principal lecturer at KASK/Conservatorium in Gent. Flautist in Hermes Ensemble and Duo NewFLow together with Carla Rees. Current PhD Perspectives on time in the music by Stockhausen, the experience of a performer.
Duncan Chapman: composer / musician based in Lincolnshire. Recent projects include online live events, a residency at EMS in Stockholm, curating a concert for the Aural Diversity project and performances (with Supriya) at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India. Current projects include online performances with Comb Filter and Humbox and an album of marimba and live electronic pieces with Simon Limbrick.
Lucy Nolan – Graduating from Oxford University and the Royal Northern College of music with Distinctions in postgraduate degrees, Lucy was the recipient of a number of prizes and a finalist in the RNCM’s Gold Medal weekend. She has been a guest artist on BBC radio 3 and performed new music at the Hong Kong World Harp Congress, The Royal Albert Hall, TUSK festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Lambeth Palace, Jaipur Literature Festival and Hull City of Culture
Simon Limbrics involvement in music embraces performance, composition and education, both in the UK and Internationally, and his current output appears on the BBC, Café Oto, Wigmore Hall and online performance spaces. Six short performative films were released in 2018 and he has completed a PhD, ‘The Evolving Loci of New Music’. His creative output can be observed in musical contexts that include improvisation, contemporary music, film and theatre. He has created a film-score performed on a building, ‘3 Church Walk’ (dir. Emily Richardson), and released a tenth CD, ‘Relay’, a double CD of contemporary music for steel-pan and electronics.
It is the end of a scorching summer and a season of festivals across the UK. Now, time to sit back and relax as the cooler autumn breeze come in. Supriya has invited her long time collaborator and friend Duncan Chapman to provide his take on the music that has inspired him on his journey. Duncan brings the unique sound world into their collaborative work and for two hours he will tell us and play the music that has influenced him. Something different, something wonderful. Sit back and relax.
Since graduating with a First Class in Classical Guitar Performance from Leeds College of Music, Matías Reed has collaborated with a variety of artists and toured extensively around festivals and venues throughout UK and Europe including WOMAD, New Morning (Paris), Paradiso (Amsterdam), headline slots at Shambala and Secret Garden Party, Jazz Cafe and performed live on BBC Radio 4. His time spent writing and playing for the bands K.O.G & The Zongo Brigade, Mansion of Snakes and founding the groups Vipertime and Muertito has enabled meaningful relationships to blossom between promoters and venue owners around UK and Europe. Alongside live performances, Matías has written music for TV and cinema, most recently for the Scottish whisky company Tomatin
Thursday 8 September 2022 / 12pm / Dewsbury Minster
Supriya Nagarajan is part of the first ever cohort of composers on Music Patron, a new game-changing initiative aiming to transform the way new music creation is funded in the UK. Music Patron ensures composers can continue to create by inviting music lovers to connect with and truly support them. By supporting a composer directly with a small monthly donation, Music Patron offers people an opportunity to delve into a composer’s world and access exclusive patron-only content, giving everyone the opportunity to play a part in the creation of new music.
Manasamitra is delighted to present a showcase of work created by our 2022 cohort of amazing women composers. The Manasamitra Mentoring Project offers support to emerging women composers from minority backgrounds, based around bespoke one-to-one sessions with Supriya Nagarajan, Artistic Director of Manasamitra and a successful internationally-renowned carnatic singer and composer in her own right. Mentoring sessions include advice and support ranging from critiques of the music compositions to career and business planning.
The 2022 showcase demonstrates the breadth of performance styles and music genres that is the hallmark of the project. Each piece is introduced by the composer, putting the piece into a context that reflects their practise.
The performance will be launched online at 7pm on Friday 7 October. The link will be available closer to the time – watch this space.
Supriya Nagarajan presents: An incredible summer so far with a trip to Australia to work with a Tibetan ensemble, performance under the moon at WOMAD with Luke Jerram’s installation in the secret forest and the release of my new album Posse of Fireflies. The album is a response to the decline of fireflies and other luminous insects from countrysides across the world. It is a throwback to my childhood train journeys from Mumbai to Chennai and is a fitting tribute to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence and growth.
Posse of Fireflies is a 60-minute album of eclectic music combining South Indian vocals, electronic sounds and acoustic instruments, inspired by an exploration of the impact of light pollution on insects, particularly the titular fireflies.
It reflects a personal journey spanning decades, as Nagarajan brings to life her childhood train journeys across the vast expanse of India. She is joined by collaborators Ben Castle (Clarinets & Saxes), Duncan Chapman (Electronics), Karin de Fleyt (Flutes), Lucy Nolan (Harp) and Carla Rees (Flutes).
The album will be launched on 15th August 2022 and will be available for purchase either as a CD or as a download. For latest information contact info@manasamitra.com
‘A Circle of Songs’ concludes at Dewsbury Minster. Satnam and Jess invite you to join them for a sharing of all the different songs covered throughout the workshop series as part of the Sangam Festival. Come along, listen, join in and have fun!
You will have the opportunity to hear and learn Punjabi language songs, which have been sung for hundreds of years and passed down from generation to generation, as well as celebration songs from different cultures.
Join in with singing some tappay, ghoriya, suhaag and boliyan, find out about the imagery used in these songs and have a go at creating your own verse.
MELTWATER is an immersive a 60-minute music and performance event focussing on ‘water’ as an environmental disruptor. The performance will include vocals, acoustic and electronic music, creating a unique experience that highlights both the destructive power and the awesome beauty of water.
