Trinity College of Music is celebrating the success of the first Wired Up: Festival of Electronics in Performance. The three day festival hosted a range of rare and innovative performances, paying homage to some of the most inventive musicians of the twentieth century.
The festival launched with an intimate lunchtime concert in the magnificent Old Royal Naval College Chapel, here the audience were treated music inspired by and featuring live electronics. The concert included works by John Cage and a special acoustic arrangement of classical ambient electronica by Aphex Twin,followed that evening by String Machine. Performed over two rooms in the Old Royal Naval College the sold out audience were delighted by performances from the Elysian Quartet and Trinity String Ensemble presenting works inspired by, and featuring electronics and multimedia.
Midpoint of the festival meant an evening of vocal music with realtime electronic transformation from Linda Hirst’s Electronic Blackbird and Alwynne Prichard’s ensemble Myrtle. The programme of Henri Pousseur Tales and Songs from the Bible of Hell, Roger Marsh Not a Soul but Ourselves and Myrtle Improvisations for solo instruments and electronics brought an electric atmosphere to Trinity’s own Butler’s Bar.
Trinity College of Music’s commitment to performing and developing this body of work was demonstrated throughout the college with installations running throughout the transformed café, while the courtyard became a giant ‘toy’ where a lone microphone stood picking up sounds from the college, these sounds causing light displays to be projected on the walls of the courtyard.Domonic Murcott, Festival Director, said: “The science fiction of the last century is being made reality in this one with computer technology influencing every aspect of our lives. Classical music has not been immune to these changes and this festival celebrates 50 years of music that extends instrumental performance with electronic technology.”
