The ground breaking 'Just a Vibration' composition has won the 'Wind Band or Brass Band' category at the British Composer Awards which were presented at the British Film Institute in London this evening.
Intoxicating mix
Led by the acclaimed musician Shri Sriram, the composition introduced a fresh musical perspective of fusing Indian melodies and instrumentation to the traditional concepts of the British brass band alongside an intoxicating mix of sitar, bass, drums, Indian flute and Indian tabla vocalisation.
Commissioned by Drum the Bass, it received its UK premiere in September 2015, performed by Shri and Skelmanthorpe Brass Band at the Freedom Festival in Hull, and has since been performed and recorded alongside Hammonds Saltaire Band to widespread critical acclaim.
Hamminds link
Hammonds Saltaire worked extensively from the very beginning of the project with Shri to enable it to come to fruition, and have since been a champion for exploring the connection by perfomring part or whole of the work in concerts and in contests.
The work was picked from a short list that also included Nigel Clarke's 'A Richer Dust' commissioned by Middle Tennessee State University and was premiered in the UK in November 2015 and Fumiko Miyachi's 'Au79' which was premiered in March 2016 by Birmingham Conservatoire Brass Band.
Award winners
Other award winners on the night included Claudia Molitor, Tansy Davies, Oliver Leith, Joe Cutler, Jonathan Dove, Leo Chadburn, John Webb, Mark Bowden, Roderick Williams and Rebecca Saunders, Jennifer Walshe and Simon Bainbridge.
Led by the acclaimed musician Shri Sriram, the composition introduced a fresh musical perspective of fusing Indian melodies and instrumentation to the traditional concepts of the British brass band4BR
2016 British Composer Award Winners:
Amateur or Young Performers
The Monster In The Maze by Jonathan Dove
Chamber Ensemble
Freezywater by Leo Chadburn
Choral
Ave Verum Corpus Re-Imagined by Roderick Williams
Community or Educational Project
Into The Light by John Webb
Contemporary Jazz Composition
Karembeu's Guide To The Complete Defensive Midfielder by Joe Cutler
Orchestral
Alba by Rebecca Saunders
Small Chamber
A Day At The Spa by Oliver Leith
Solo or Duo
Five Memos by Mark Bowden
Sonic Art
Sonorama by Claudia Molitor
Stage Works
Between Worlds by Tansy Davies
Wind Band or Brass Band
Just A Vibration by Shri Sriram
2016 Gift of BASCA Award Recipients
British Composer Award for Innovation
Jennifer Walshe
British Composer Award for Inspiration
Simon Bainbridge
