The Watercycle Project with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

I love collaborative projects, and this one was brilliant. From January to April 2015 I worked with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) as part of their national Watercycle Project, in which they took an orchestral journey through the urban landscapes of England. Poets were commissioned along the way to provide a locally-based poem to act as a springboard for the creation of new concertos, and my poem, Replenishment was the basis for their Wiltshire piece. This was premiered by the OAE at the Wiltshire Music Centre on April 25th 2015, and was an brilliant example of community involvement in the arts, with creative input from local junior and secondary schools, the Bath-based Paragon Singers choir, and the people of Bradford on Avon.
It was a real privilege to work with the orchestra in schools as the concerto took shape. Their outreach work is outstanding - their enthusiasm seems boundless, and the creativity they inspire in children (and adults!) in even short spaces of time is remarkable.
As part of this project, I also worked with composer Daniel Thomason, cinematographer Oliver Brown and OAE clarinetist Katherine Spencer to create a film poem and digital score based on the poem. The digital score was created as the overture for the orchestra's symphony, and at the premiere featured an overlay of live clarinet by Katherine. The film poem incorporates recordings of the people of Bradford on Avon delivering one line each of the poem. Replenishment has featured at several film festivals, including, the Cannes Short Film Festival in September 2015.