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Trinity Laban staff and alumni nominated in 2018 British Composer Awards

Tue 6 November 2018

Nominations for the 2018 British Composer Awards have been announced, and include pieces by Trinity Laban alumni Cassie KinoshiCevanne Horrocks-Hopayian and Simon Lasky, as well as Head of Composition Dominic Murcott.

They appear alongside many of the most eminent names in the UK contemporary music scene, including Judith Weir, Thomas Adès, Harrison Birtwistle and Julian Anderson.

2018 saw a record-breaking number of entries for the awards, which are sponsored by PRS for Music. From more than 560 submissions, just 37 composers were shortlisted across 12 categories including orchestral, sonic art, solo and duo, stage works and jazz.

Chair of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) Crispin Hunt commented, “it’s hugely exciting and inspiring to see the fresh passion represented by our first-time nominees. Congratulations to everyone nominated.”

Cassie Kinoshi’s Afronaut is one of three nominees in the brand new Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble category. Afronaut was written for Kinoshi’s group SEED Ensemble, in which she plays alto saxophone, and will be released on an album this winter on the new jazzre:freshed label.

Simon Lasky is nominated in the Jazz Composition for Small Ensemble category for his piece Close to Ecstasy. The piece was written for his quartet and released earlier this year on the album About the Moment on the 33 Records label.

Nominated for the Solo or Duo category is The Harmonic Canon by Trinity Laban’s Head of Composition Dominic Murcott. Written for US-based arx duo, the piece features an array of exotic metal percussion including almglocken, aluphone and a unique half-ton double bell designed by sculptor and musician Marcus Vergette that is currently resident in the courtyard of Trinity Laban’s Faculty of Music.

Alumnus Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian was nominated in the Sonic Art category for her song Two Machines, created with electronic musician and producer Hugh Jones as Crewdson & Cevanne. Their modern approach to British song straddles the traditional and avant-garde by weaving together electronics and folk music, blending their voices with harp and field recordings from across the British Isles. It will be released on a debut album funded by the PRS Foundation.

The winners of the 2018 British Composer Awards will be announced on 4 December at the British Museum in a ceremony presented by BBC Radio 3’s Andrew McGregor and Sara Mohr-Pietsch.