UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 08 FEBRUARY
PhD alumna and Belgian composer Maya Verlaak’s album ‘Trace’ will be released on Friday 16 February by Birmingham Record Company, a record label that celebrates off-beat work that sits between genres.
Graduating from RBC in 2019, Maya is an experimental composer who consistently challenges conventions, finding inspiration for new music in the unique context of each musical situation.
Trace is a collection of six pieces composed for specific musicians. Maya travelled across the country to record each musician in their own home and tailored each piece around her individual relationship with the players. This way of working opens up Maya’s compositional practice towards new methods, creative solutions and playfulness.
Maya’s compositions are written in such a way that the performers have insight into the compositional process. The music is intended to create space for critical thought; space for the individual listeners and performers to scrutinise the work.
Her music has been commissioned and performed by diverse ensembles worldwide, including Ensemble Klang (NL), Ensemble Modern (DE), Apartment House (UK), Ensemble Interface (DE), LCollective (USA), a•pe•ri•od•ic (USA) amongst others. Her music appears on NMC, BRC and Another Timbre.