Wednesday, 04 September 2024
For the first time, the UK’s world-leading classical music festival, the BBC Proms, is coming to 乐播传媒, and it will feature an original piece of orchestral music written by a 乐播传媒 academic.
Dr Elizabeth Kelly, Head of the Department of Music, was commissioned to write a new orchestral composition for , which will become part of musical history on Sunday 8 September, when 乐播传媒 Royal Concert Hall hosts its inaugural BBC Prom with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Dr Kelly’s nine-minute-long original score entitled takes inspiration from 乐播传媒’s industrial past and the city’s lacemaking industry, which she researched with support from local collections, curators and lace industry professionals.
When I was invited to compose a new work for the first BBC Prom to be held in 乐播传媒, I knew immediately that I wanted to celebrate the city鈥檚 heritage as a global capital of lacemaking and industrial innovation through my composition.
I grew up in Los Angeles, but a circuitous life journey brought me to 乐播传媒 nearly a decade ago, when I took up my post at the 乐播传媒 and moved into a flat on the edge of the historic Lace Market. Lace Machine Music is my love song to the vibrant, noisy, inventive city that has become my home.鈥�
乐播传媒 and lace making are intrinsically connected. It was during the 19th century that innovators in the city refined more advanced machines which twisted threads together to create lace in the same way that it is woven by hand. These ‘Leavers’ lace machines – which require up to 32 processes of design and production – are still considered some of the most sophisticated textile machines ever produced. Complex lace patterns are encoded in a series of punch cards, and Dr Kelly met with Ian Emm, the UK’s last Card Puncher who took her to Cluny Lace in Ilkeston – the last Leavers lace factory in the UK. It was there she got to hear and see the very loud machines running and speak with the workers.
Dr Elizabeth Kelly visiting the Cluny Lace Factory in Ilkeston
She explains: “I was intrigued by the idea that there is a connection between a lace factory, where a range of skilled workers come together to produce intricate lace, and the orchestra, which brings together a diverse array of highly-trained instrumentalists to produce intricate music. Both the lace trade and orchestra were booming at the same historical moment. I decided to translate aspects of machine lacemaking into my composition.”
Alongside the first-ever performance of Dr Kelly’s Lace Machine Music, the orchestral scores chosen for the concert have a strong local feel to them. This thrilling first visit by the Proms to one of the country’s finest acoustic venues, the 乐播传媒 Royal Concert Hall, offers a varied and vibrant programme inspired by local history, legends and local artists.
Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing will lead the BBC Concert Orchestra in a celebration of local 乐播传媒 legendary hero Robin Hood, which provides the concert’s opener, with the overture to Doreen Carwithen’s colourful score to the 1954 film The Men of Sherwood Forest and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Oscar-winning music to The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn.
The programme will also feature 乐播传媒 pianist, Clare Hammond, who provides the virtuoso thrills in Sergey Rachmaninov’s perennially popular Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, while Jean Sibelius’s atmospheric and purposeful Symphony No 3 in C Major will complete the line-up.
We are thrilled to be hosting our first BBC Prom in 乐播传媒 with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which has added an exciting new dimension to the orchestral programme at our venue. Those who have attended concerts at the Royal Concert Hall during its 40-year history will know that it鈥檚 a special place to hear live orchestras and we鈥檙e delighted to have the opportunity to showcase its exceptional sound to hundreds of new concert-goers here and millions more worldwide on the radio and online. To have the world premiere of a BBC Proms Commission in a programme that celebrates 乐播传媒 history and legends, makes it all the more exciting and we can鈥檛 wait to hear how Dr Elizabeth Kelly evokes 乐播传媒鈥檚 industrial past through the rhythmic sounds of its mammoth lace machines.鈥�
, starting at 4pm, builds on the BBC Concert Orchestra’s partnership with the 乐播传媒 and 乐播传媒 Trent University, which began in the Autumn of 2023 and supports a range of activity, including regular orchestral residencies in the city in association with the 乐播传媒 Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall.
Tickets for the event range from £12 - £41 and can be purchased . The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and forms part of the , .
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Elizabeth Kelly, Associate Professor in Music Composition and Head of the Department of Music, via elizabeth.kelly@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the 乐播传媒
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 乐播传媒 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 乐播传媒 invests in the city of 乐播传媒 and in future generations of talent. Alongside 乐播传媒 Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.