hcmf// 2023

In November 2023, hcmf// will produce a 10-day festival of contemporary and experimental music at the highest international standard. The programme will be built around a focus on the work of Irish composer Jennifer Walshe, who will be Composer in Residence for this year's edition of the festival. All aspects of Walshe's diverse oeuvre will be explored. hcmf// 2023 is funded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

The programme includes the UK premiere of PERSONHOOD with the Oslo Sinfonietta and soloist Andreas Borregaard, a 45-minute work in which Walshe considers what it means to be a person in at a time when our every movement is surveilled, mined, and monetised by the devices we have extended our consciousness into. There will also be the first live performance of IRELAND: A DATASET with vocal ensemble Tonnta and saxophonist Nick Roth, a narrative with visual imagery, musical accompaniment, projections and radio drama routines. MINOR CHARACTER makes its UK debut, a set of songs in collaboration with Australian composer Matthew Shlomowitz and Ensemble Nikel, which places Walshe at the centre and forefront as a performer and vocalist in an intimate cabaret style performance.

Also on show will be the short film AN GLEACHT, accompanied by an improvised live score; a selection of Walshe's vocal works and text-based scores performed by the choral collective Musarc as part of an installation of Walshe's scores; and a performance by Walshe alongside US experimental electronic duo Matmos,  renowned for their inventive and esoteric approach to sampling.. This focus on Walshe's work will be complemented by a programme of new works by some of the strongest and most original female voices in new music today: Laura Bowler, Rebecca Saunders, Liza Lim and Bára Gísladóttir.

Further information:
hcmf.co.uk

Dates

November 17 – 26, 2023
Huddersfield