RCM composition students create bespoke soundscape for Kew Gardens spring festival
Tuesday 9 January 2024
As part of an innovative new Knowledge Exchange partnership, RCM students will write new compositions that celebrate Kew Gardens’ unique landscape, bringing together music and nature to create a unique multisensory experience for visitors.
The new spring festival ‘Sounds of Blossom’ takes place in the UNESCO World Heritage Site from Saturday 23 March to Sunday 14 April 2024, with six specially written compositions celebrating Kew Gardens’ unique landscape by RCM students Tymon Zgorzelski, Daniel Musashi, Delyth Field, Lucy Holmes, Jasmine Morris and Louis Enright.
Inspired by six carefully chosen locations in the grounds, the compositions will subtly emerge from the landscape as visitors walk around the blossoming gardens, creating a bespoke soundscape and a unique experience for visitors. Additionally, each weekend a selection of RCM students will be performing a variety of classical and jazz music as part of the festival.
One of the six composers writing music for the festival is Year 4 BMus student Lucy Holmes who commented: ‘I’m very excited to be working with such an acclaimed institution as Kew Gardens. This is such a unique project that presents an interesting new direction for me and I'm so grateful to the RCM for providing me with this inspiring opportunity and helping me to cultivate the skills and confidence to compose music for a wide audience.’
Dr Ed Bennett, Masters Composition Coordinator, commented: 'This is a fantastic opportunity for our RCM composers to collaborate with a renowned international institution and present their work to a huge and diverse audience in the beautiful surroundings of Kew Gardens. Composers have always been inspired by the natural world and in this time of growing concern around climate issues it seems appropriate that these young artists use their skill and imagination to draw our attention to nature and its wonder.'
Find out more about the RCM’s Composition Faculty.
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The project is support by the RCM Knowledge Exchange Fund.