Sadie Harrison Appointed Cuatro Puntos' Composer-in-Residence 2015/16

Following her previous collaborations with Cuatro PuntosSadie Harrison has now been appointed as the ensemble's Composer-in-Residence. The residency will consist of a tour of America in September 2015 where she will work with the group in preparation for a significant world premiere, Gulistan-e Nur (The Rosegarden of Light).

The tour will take in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Boston where she will work with the group in preparation for the premiere (and three subsequent performances) of Gulistan-e Nur. Sadie will also give a number of lectures and pre-concert talks, including a session at the University of Connecticut, where she will introduce her work to the students of the department for Gender Studies. Alongside work with the ensemble, Sadie will be taking part in 10 workshops, rehearsing sections of Gulistan with school and college students. The premiere of Gulistan-e Nur will be televised on Cox Channel 15 (Central Connecticut) TV on 24 September 2015. 

The residency will be continued into 2016 with Cuatro Puntos's UK tour, where they will give a number of performances of her music in UK venues within a programme entitled 'From Damascus to Kabul' (a celebration of the fabulous contemporary music being written in Syria, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan). Venues currently include the Brighton Festival, Silk Mill (Frome), Bryanston School, Goldsmiths College, Purbeck Arts Festival. The European tour will finish with a performance at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin on 6 June 2016. 

Finally, Gulistan-e Nur and other Afghan-related works will be recorded for CD in both America and Afghanistan, supported by a grant from the Fuller Foundation. It is a truly international and ground-breaking project that will highlight the talent of the young performers in the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

Kevin Bishop of Cuatro Puntos writes: 'Sadie has completed several major collaborations with Cuatro Puntos in the past - including composing Dast be Dast for rubab, viola, and tabla, which was triumphantly performed in a ground-breaking chamber music concert held in Kabul in June 2013. Now she is writing Gulistan-e Nur for string sextet and Afghan youth ensemble, which will be recorded and  performed on three continents in 2015-16. Sadie's demonstrable success at melding folk music (especially Persian/Afghan) with western classical music, her ongoing worldwide acclaim as a composer, and her passionate and compassionate personal dedication to musical diplomacy makes her the perfect fit for this position.'

Further information - http://www.cuatropuntos.org/news.html