One of the most important cultural events of the London Olympic year is due to take place across the Southbank Centre in London this weekend.

New commissions

20 new commissions, including works from Mark Anthony–Turnage, Gavin Higgins, Sally Beamish, Luke Carver-Goss and Emily Howard will be premiered as part of PRS for Music Foundation’s New Music 20x12 programme.

Gillian Moore, Head of Classical Music at Southbank Centre told 4BR:

"We are thrilled to be hosting a weekend which shines a light on British new music. This will be a truly inspiring celebration of musical creativity in the UK."

Each commission lasts 12 minutes and will culminate on the opening night on July 13th with Conor Mitchell’s ‘Our Day’, which is set against the troubles in Northern Ireland in 1972 and the gold medal won at the Munich Olympics by the great Mary Peters.

Dyke Gold

Current European champions Black Dyke will be featured on Sunday afternoon in the front room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the Luke Carver Goss composition, ‘Pure Gold: A 4X4 Relay Race’, with the Manchester Chorale and Halifax Choral Society.

Howard's Zatopek

Later the same afternoon, Emily Howard, who wrote the critically acclaimed ‘Obsidian’ for Black Dyke a couple of years ago, will be the featured composer in in ‘Zatopek!, a 12 minute opera inspired by the legendary Czech runner Emil Zatopek, who won triple gold in the 5,000, 10,000 and marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.

The Sunday evening concert features, Sheema Mukherjee’s ‘Bending the Dark’, a work celebrating the first transatlantic telephone line, whilst the centrepiece of the final evening concert on 15th July is Graham Fitkin’s ‘Track to Track’, inspired by the high speed train link that takes spectators from St Pancreas Station to the Stratford Olympic site.

Eagerly awaited Higgins

However, one of the most eagerly awaited performances on Saturday afternoon at Queen Elizabeth Hall, will come from the ground breaking Rambert Dance Company with, ‘What Wild Ecstasy’ by Gavin Higgins, which celebrates the centenary of Nijinsky’s iconic ballet, ‘L’Apres-Misid’un faune’.

No stranger to the world of brass, the composer’s, ‘Destroy Trample as Swiftly as She’ created a huge impression when it was performed at the European Brass Band Championships in Montreux in 2011.

one of the most eagerly awaited performances on Saturday afternoon at Queen Elizabeth Hall, will come from the ground breaking Rambert Dance Company with, ‘What Wild Ecstasy’ by Gavin Higgins4BR

Worldwide showcase

Gavin, who will also be featured in compositional workshop, told 4BR:

"The Southbank weekend is a worldwide showcase for the very best that British composers can produce. It’s a real honour to have my work performed by the Rambert Dance Company and surrounded by such brilliant talent. I would urge people to come along as there is sure to be something for everyone’s taste."

Prisoners to ping pong

That will certainly be the case, as there is screening of a filmed performance of Mark Anthony –Turnage’s, ‘Beyond This’, composed in collaboration with prisoners from HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire and the London premiere of ‘Ping!, which has been written for string quartet and table tennis players.

For further details:
http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/Partnerships/Flagship-Programmes/New-Music-20x12/