Chosen Composers Announced for New Compositions for Triorca

Triorca, the new international youth orchestra made up of young musicians from Norfolk, England, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and Novi Sad, Serbia, has now selected the two young composers who have been commissioned to write new works for the orchestra - Ana Kazimic from Serbia and Xiaotian Shi from the UK.

From Serbia, the selected composer is 27 year-old Ana Kazimic, herself a graduate of the Isidor Bajic Music School in Novi Sad whose young students form part of Triorca. Ana is a pianist, singer and dancer and she is currently studying for her doctorate in composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. She has written works for choir, for piano and for chamber groups and she has recently written a ballet which is soon to be premiered.

Ana says: "To connect people from three countries with music is a really worthwhile idea, but when the participants are young musicians especially, it cannot be resisted. In my opinion the cooperation between young musicians that is afforded by Triorca and, particularly, the possibility given to young composers to write for young performers, gives new energy to the life of music. I think that passionate emotions of young musicians can be best expressed by works of young composers. Young people can best understand each other. Beside affinities of young musicians, it makes young composers think about possibilities of the youth orchestra. I am sure that participating in Triorca project will be great experience and, above all, will lead us to musically more enriched future."

From Britain, the orchestra is to commission Xiaotian Shi the young British composer and pianist who studied at the Royal College of Music and has been a member of Aldeburgh Young Musicians. In 2008, Xiaotian won a Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, London to study composition with Paul Patterson and he also studies with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. He is currently composing for the Sacconi Quartet for an upcoming recording project.

Xiaotian says: "I'm delighted to be offered this commission to compose for Triorca and the great opportunity to become a part of this exciting project. No matter where people come from and the language that they speak, music has always been a common language that connects everyone together. I hope through this commission to inspire and motivate more young people to take music further in performing and creating music, and help to bringing different cultures closer together."

The composers have each been tasked to produce a new work of around 10 minutes in length scored for the orchestral forces of Triorca, a symphony orchestra of around 60 players (double woodwind, 4 horns, brass, percussion and strings).

The first performance of the work by Ana Kazimic will take place in Novi Sad, Serbia on 15 December 2012. The venue is to be confirmed; but is likely to be either the National Theatre or the Synagogue.

The new piece by Xiaotian Shi will be premiered on 10 April 2013 at St Andrews Hall, Norwich then performed again on 12 April 2013 at Snape Maltings concert hall, Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

We do not know yet what shape the new works will take but the composers were invited to consider the following as possible themes for each work:

1. Britten Centenary year
2. All three cities are on a river
3. Music that will appeal and inspire young people
4. Folk themes
5. European connection
6. Three Cathedrals
   
   

The composers have been asked to provide inspirational ideas that will appeal and motivate the young musicians of Triorca and help them to forge new relationships by playing together; bridging the boundaries of nationality and culture through music.

Partly funded through the EU Cultural Programme, Triorca will come together for residential courses and performances in Germany in July 2012, in Serbia in December 2012 and in England in April 2013. The new compositions were commissioned for the Serbian and British phases of the project through open competition among young composers aged between 16 and 26 years old from each of the two countries.
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The aim of the Triorca project is to help young musicians from England, Serbia and Germany to share their experiences and different cultural backgrounds and to learn together and from each other, using the international language of music. Triorca's Artistic Director is the international conductor and virtuoso oboist, Nicholas Daniel, recently awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music 2011, who will conduct the first performances of the new works.