International flavour to York music residency
Posted on 14 June 2006
Ensemble 360, formed in 2005 to take up residency with Music in the Round at the Crucible in Sheffield, will give one concert each year in the University Concert Series, playing classical as well as more recent music.The ten members of the group are drawn from Israel, France and Sweden, as well as the UK, creating a flexible ensemble featuring wind quintet and string quartet with piano. The group has already impressed audiences and critics with its enthusiasm, drive and musicality.
During the residency in the Department of Music, members of Ensemble 360 will also coach student musicians on an individual basis and work with sections of the University orchestras. The residency will be formally launched at the Ensemble’s first concert for the University on 25 October 2006 in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall.
The residency gives our students opportunities to work with young professional musicians of the highest calibre
Professor Roger Marsh
Head of the Department of Music, Professor Roger Marsh, said: "We are very pleased that Ensemble 360 is to be closely associated with the department. The residency gives our students opportunities to work with young professional musicians of the highest calibre, as well as presenting our audience with exciting concert programming."
Ensemble 360 already has a relationship with York, having given three concerts at the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM). The University residency will generate new possibilities for collaboration between the two organisations leading to a wider choice of repertoire to concert audiences.
Simon Webb, Administrative Director of Music in the Round, said: "We are delighted that the University of York has invited Ensemble 360 to be their resident ensemble. Ensemble 360 has made an enormous impact through their performances in Sheffield and throughout the region, including at the NCEM in York.
"From the beginning their role has been to be involved in the wider community, through performance and education in all its forms. Their residency at the University will enable them to fulfil this role to great effect."
As well as announcing this new residency, the University has also confirmed the residency of the jazz group the Julian Argüelles Octet for a further three years.
Notes to editors:
- The University of York is one of the liveliest centres of musical education and research in Britain. During the academic year, the Department of Music is home to more than 270 music students and a large staff of professional musicians and scholars, all engaged in the study, creation and performance of all kinds and types of music. The range of music supported includes early music and contemporary music; acoustic and digital music; world music and jazz; music for the concert hall and music for the community. More information at music.york.ac.uk/
- Music in the Round one of the UK’s foremost promoters of chamber music, and is dedicated to presenting the greatest music to the widest public in an informal atmosphere. Based in Sheffield, it promotes around 150 concerts a year and runs a varied range of education projects. Its resident musicians, Ensemble 360, are at the core of its activities and form the heart of the musical community of South Yorkshire. More information at www.musicintheround.co.uk/