The UYMP office is operating with very limited hours while staff are on furlough. You can still obtain music from our catalogue in the usual way, from Musicroom.com, and hire from our agent Wise Music Classical. Please contact UYMP composers directly, via their own websites, if you have any queries.

UYMP University of York Music Press

SADIE HARRISON AWARDED SUBSTANTIAL ACE GRANT

2 November 2020

UYMP is absolutely delighted to announce that Sadie Harrison has been awarded a substantial Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant for a 2 year project entitled ‘PASTURE & STORM’ ('New Music for the Single-Handed Pianist'). Over the next year, Sadie will be writing eight new works for the internationally renowned virtuoso left-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy, Sophia Benton (a former pupil currently studying as a single-handed pianist at Welsh College of Music and Drama), singer Peyee Chen and the Bristol Ensemble conducted by John Pickard.

The compositions will include piano solos, piano duets, flute/piano and violin/piano, duos, a trio, quintet and single movement concerto.

The pieces will be premiered at St. George's, Brandon Hill in 2022 and recorded in 2021. Sadie is very happy indeed to have Ken Blair of BMP on board as recording engineer and Nick Shearn from Bluecat in charge of design. One of the most important aspects of the project will be a collaboration with award-winning filmmaker Jordi Robert, who will be documenting the work and also producing a film for distribution to international festivals, celebrating disability. Jordi writes: ’Using innovative visual narratives I capture the private, the unfamiliar and the different to gain and share insights.'

Sadie writes: 'The project came about through my coaching a single-handed pianist, disabled following a school accident. The search for contemporary repertoire proved almost fruitless, and I found myself arranging pieces for her conservatoire auditions. After discussions with one of the world’s leading ‘disabled’ pianists, Nicholas McCarthy, it became clear that repertoire specifically designed for single-handed pianists of all abilities is much needed, not least as a vehicle for encouraging disabled people to engage in music more widely. Above all, we want to inspire diverse people to explore their creative potential, so it is vital that the project is fully accessible with all materials specifically designed for online presentation.'

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