Projects

Off Grid: The Magic of Microtones

Researcher

This project brings together ongoing research into the use of microtones from compositional, performance and analytical perspectives. Covering spectral, post-spectral, just intonation, historical and synthetic approaches, this project is particularly concerned with the expressive and structural potential of microtonal environments in interaction with conventional 12edo tuning.

Led by Martin Suckling, the project comprises compositions, software aids for microtonal composition and rehearsal, articles, talks and creative education projects linked to microtonal composition and performance, in particular the ‘Armistice Bells’ events developed in collaboration with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. This research project has led to the development of two new undergraduate modules: ‘Spectral Music’ and ‘The Magic of Microtones’.

Selected Resources

‘Radulescu: Das Andere’ – presentation at IRCAM, June 2019

Martin Suckling in conversation with the artist Edmund de Waal

Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Martin Suckling: Armistice Bells creative education project

Martin Suckling: Emily’s Electrical Absence discussion and performance
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Martin Suckling: Candlebird

Robin Haigh: Samoyeds

Selected Composition outputs

– by Martin Suckling

Her Lullaby (solo viola, 2019)

This Departing Landscape (orchestra, 2019)

Emily’s Electrical Absence (string quintet, 2018)

The White Road (flute & orchestra, 2017)

Piano Concerto (piano & orchestra 2016)

Release (orchestra, 2013)

Candlebird (baritone, ensemble, 2011)

– by Robin Haigh

Grin (chamber orchestra, 2019)

Aesop (soprano recorder & ensemble, 2019)

Samoyeds (string quartet, 2018)

Morfydd (ensemble, 2018)

– by Andreas Tsiartas

String Quartet No. 2 (2019)

Other projects

Words and Music

This project brings together writings and compositions which interrogate the issue of combining words with music. An ongoing series of articles by Roger Marsh, William Brooks and others, addresses the many ways in which composers go beyond conventional word setting routes, exploring significant instances of writers crossing into musical territories and composers composing with words. Articles are linked to related compositions, presented as recordings and videos, with commentaries on collaborative and creative processes.
Player Piano

Player Piano is an interdisciplinary performance created as part of the research project ‘Performance, Subjectivity and Experimentation’, led by Catherine Laws, at the University of York and the Orpheus Research Centre in Music, Ghent.
Edgelands

Roam the Barbican foyers using headphones to experience this free audio journey, which reframes the sounds and sights of the iconic arts centre.
Representing Rehearsal

This research project, led by Catherine Laws (Senior Lecturer in Music), Jon Hook (Lecturer in Interactive Media) and Tom Cornford (Lecturer in Theatre) has been funded by the University of York’s Research Priming Fund.
Expressive Nonverbal Communication in Ensemble Performance

The Expressive Nonverbal Communication in Ensemble Performance network comprises three projects, exploring aspects of how musicians communicate in groups:

Movement and sonic gestures in ensemble performance
Achieving excellence in ensemble singing
Teaching and learning of ensemble communication
From Score to Sound

Engaging audiences with new music

The Score to Sound project aims to implement and evaluate an approach for engaging the public in twentieth and twenty-first-century British music, and is funded by the AHRC Cultural Engagement Fund.