Foden's announce the Winner of their Female Composition Initiative
On Tuesday 11th July Foden's held the final of their 'Female Composition Initiative' launched on International Women's day to encourage Female composers aged 21 and under to write for Brass Band. The contest (supported by Arts Council England) saw submitted entries reduced to three by Dr Lucy Pankhurst and Dr Liz Lane before being performed in concert.
The shortlisted Composers Naomi Hill (What a Saviour!), Mary Lillington (The Battle) attended in person with Anna Conroy (Take the Cake) joining virtually. Both Lucy and Liz gave constructive feedback after each performance before announcing Naomi Hill as the winner. Naomi will now have her worked published by Foden's Publishing with each shortlisted composer being sent a video / audio of their performance, written feedback as well as a 1:1 session with Lucy and Liz.
Speaking about the project Lucy commented 'I am very grateful to Foden’s for organising this composition competition. Promoting brass bands as a vehicle for new music is always an exciting prospect in its own right, but to specifically shine the spotlight on young composers that might otherwise not have approached the ensemble was wonderful. With so much musical potential and fresh ideas in the music, the role that Liz and I were tasked with was most certainly not an easy one, but what a privilege to be part of the process. Hearing the band bring the music to life by these three talented composers for the first time was stunning - I hope it fuels their enthusiasm to continue writing more!
Liz commented 'I was delighted to be asked to be a part of this initiative, and privileged to have the opportunity to get to know some innovative and impressive new compositions for the brass band repertoire. The three finalists all had very different approaches but it was clear that everyone really enjoyed listening to their music; excitingly, two of the composers had written for brass band for the first time.’ Thanks to all involved for an excellent evening. Congratulations to the winner Naomi and to Mary and Anna, I really look forward to hearing more of their music in the future.'
Photo L to R - Dr Liz Lane, Mary Lillington, Michael Fowles, Naomi Hill, Dr Lucy Pankhurst
