Events
Stephen Upshaw: contemporary solo viola – writing and performance
A lecture-demonstration for composers on writing for the viola focusing on four key works. Stephen will examine the scope of literature written for solo viola through Berio's Sequenza, Kurtag's "Signs, Games and Messages", Ben Graves "Nocturne" and Marc Yeats' "Hyran" - tracing how composers approach and push the boundaries of notation, extended technique and sonority. Each of these works exploits the viola's unique qualities and use what could be acoustic imperfections to create a character actor of the string family, which is why many contemporary composers treat writing for solo viola with so much weight and consideration.
Stephen is an international contemporary solo viola player and viola player in The Riot Ensemble.
You can hear/see Stephen playing some of the Kurtag Here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Ol5LovHrM; bonus recording of Stephen and the Riot Ensemble in Jonathan Harvey’s amazing Jubilushere: https://soundcloud.com/riotensmble/jubilus-by-jonathan-harvey