La Nova Singers premiere Land Cycle

Hardest working bands of 2015, according to Songkick.

Last year Hozier took the number one slot in Songkick's list of hard-working bands, with 224,379 kilometers travelled to play 147 shows. Those metrics don't work so well for choirs, but after my experience this year working with La Nova Singers I reckon they'd be a good bet for a place in the leaderboard of hardest working choirs.

It's been a thrill working with them to write Land Cycle for the Adopt A Composer project, and they'll be giving the first performance of it in their concert "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Saturday 16th July at Christchurch Priory, Dorset BH23 1BU. 

"Members of La Nova Singers collaborated with award-winning melodist Ed Scolding after their selection for the UK-wide Adopt a Composer initiative.

In July, the Dorset-based group will perform a new song cycle by Mr Scolding, with audiences hearing the first public performance of Land Cycle ahead of its planned broadcast on BCC Radio 3 next year.

The concert will also feature well-known classical music such as Purcell’s Come Ye Sons of Art and Mendelssohn’s fairy songs from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, accompanied by a chamber orchestra."
(Bournemouth Echo)

We worked together closely to create the piece, and I'm really pleased with how it's sounding - BBC Radio 3 will be there on the night to record for future broadcast, so I'll be bringing the cough sweets. 

Thanks to Making Music and Sound and Music for the project, and to PRS for Music Foundation and the Dorothy Green Music Trust for supporting it.

More details and tickets at lanovasingers.co.uk/concerts.