UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 25 JULY 2012
A graduate from Birmingham Conservatoire has been commissioned to write a new work for this year’s BBC Proms, forming part of the London 2012 Festival, the cultural celebrations of the Olympic Games.
Charlotte Bray, who studied Composition and graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire with first-class honours in 2006, has written ‘At the Speed of Stillness’ for Sir Mark Elder and the Aldeburgh World Orchestra to perform as part of Prom 21 on Sunday 29 July at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
‘At the Speed of Stillness’, finds part of its inspiration in surrealist works by French poet, Dora Maar, who suggests that a hummingbird not only represents power but also delicate fragility in her poem, ‘I rested in the arms of my arms’.
Upon graduating from Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University, Charlotte went on to complete a Master’s course at the Royal College of Music and was appointed as Birmingham Contemporary Music Group’s composer-in-residence for the 2009/2010 season. Charlotte also won The Royal Philharmonic Society’s composition prize in 2010 and most recently was a judge at the 2012 BBC Young Musician competition.
Charlotte, who was made an Honorary Member of Birmingham Conservatoire in 2011, said: “It’s a great honour for me to have a work commissioned by the BBC Proms. I’m hugely excited about the concert and looking forward to their performance”.
For further information and to book tickets for this year’s BBC Proms, visit www.bbc.co.uk/proms.