Having written a eulogy to the music of William Mathias not many weeks ago, I managed to forget to mention the upcoming North Wales International Music Festival, which was founded by the composer. It runs from the 22nd-29th September and focuses on more popular contemporary music, making a special feature of the works of Karl Jenkins and royal composer Paul Mealor. The twentieth anniversary of the composer’s death will be marked by performances of his Anniversary Dances and Let the People Praise Thee O God. His daughter, Rhiannon Mathias, will give the festival Eucharist address on 23rd September.
A heads-up also for Ultima, the Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, which runs from 6th-15th September. The introduction to the festival from Director Mars Petter Hagen makes a virtue out of pointing out that there is no theme, but instead links will become clear as the festival unfolds: ‘whether it is in the intervals, between the concerts, at the fragile acoustic micro level in a newly composed and never performed piece, in a brutal, musical collision, or somewhere totally different.’ That may sound a bit nebulous, but a quick glance at the programme, here, reveals a very wide range of interesting concerts.
On Septermber 19th, finally, the BE OPEN Sound Portal arrives at Trafalgar Square as part of the 2012 London Design Festival: ‘An alien black, rubberised structure will be home to finely-tuned audio technologies aimed at delivering pure acoustic experiences to visitors in the middle of Trafalgar Square.’ It will also play host to musicians and sonic artists who have been commissioned to produce new works in the space. More information is available via SaM.