[short_description]
On Reflection – Music by Stephen Pratt
Pixels Ensemble:
Cormac Henry - flute
Kate Romano - clarinet
Mark Simpson - clarinet and conductor
Thelma Handy - violin
Jonathan Aasgaard - cello
Simone Rebello- percussion
Ian Buckle - piano
The Miraculous Mandolin (sextet, 14’, 2007)
Short Score (clarinet and piano, 10’, 2006)
Entre Nous (cello solo, 7’, 2012)
On Reflection (sextet, 12’, 2011)
In Hope (first performance, c. 6’, 2021)
Solo Uno (clarinet solo, 8’, 2015)
Telling the Tale (sextet, 12’, 2019)
For almost his entire career, Stephen Pratt has been based in his hometown city of Liverpool. Entering Christ’s College as an intending primary school teacher in 1965, he took up the serious study of Music for the first time; when he completed his three-year training, he taught part-time and joined the conducting class at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the RNCM). Following this with a Music degree at Reading University, he returned to Liverpool for postgraduate study in 1971, and secured some part-time teaching back in the Music department at Christ’s College. Becoming a full-time member of staff in 1972, he witnessed all the transformations that saw the college become part of Liverpool Hope University, and he became head of the Music department from 1991-2012, establishing it as one of the leading teaching and research departments in the University. Since stepping down as head, he has continued to work in the Department in a variety of capacities.
As a composer, Stephen’s career also reflects his lifelong association with Liverpool and the North-West; he has had around a dozen major works premiered by the RLPO and Ensemble 10/10, and has also worked closely with the Manchester -based ensemble Psappha and members of tonight’s ensemble, Pixels. Beyond Liverpool, his work has been heard at home and abroad, including performances at London’s South Bank, and through broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. In 1997, he was appointed as Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, a post he shared with Joanna MacGregor, with whom he has worked closely for nearly 30 years.
Stephen has also worked as a broadcaster for the BBC, including interviewing composers such as Michael Tippett, Peter Maxwell Davies and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
For many years he collaborated with colleagues at the RLPO, Bluecoat Chambers and the Arts Council to bring many leading contemporary music figures and their work to Merseyside. Tonight’s concert comprises pieces written over the last fifteen years or so, and are all published by Edition hh, Stephen’s publisher since 2001.
NB: The concert starts at 7.30pm. There will be a pre-concert event open to all ticket-holders at 7pm.
Pixels Ensemble:
Cormac Henry - flute
Kate Romano - clarinet
Mark Simpson - clarinet and conductor
Thelma Handy - violin
Jonathan Aasgaard - cello
Simone Rebello- percussion
Ian Buckle - piano
The Miraculous Mandolin (sextet, 14’, 2007)
Short Score (clarinet and piano, 10’, 2006)
Entre Nous (cello solo, 7’, 2012)
On Reflection (sextet, 12’, 2011)
In Hope (first performance, c. 6’, 2021)
Solo Uno (clarinet solo, 8’, 2015)
Telling the Tale (sextet, 12’, 2019)
For almost his entire career, Stephen Pratt has been based in his hometown city of Liverpool. Entering Christ’s College as an intending primary school teacher in 1965, he took up the serious study of Music for the first time; when he completed his three-year training, he taught part-time and joined the conducting class at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the RNCM). Following this with a Music degree at Reading University, he returned to Liverpool for postgraduate study in 1971, and secured some part-time teaching back in the Music department at Christ’s College. Becoming a full-time member of staff in 1972, he witnessed all the transformations that saw the college become part of Liverpool Hope University, and he became head of the Music department from 1991-2012, establishing it as one of the leading teaching and research departments in the University. Since stepping down as head, he has continued to work in the Department in a variety of capacities.
As a composer, Stephen’s career also reflects his lifelong association with Liverpool and the North-West; he has had around a dozen major works premiered by the RLPO and Ensemble 10/10, and has also worked closely with the Manchester -based ensemble Psappha and members of tonight’s ensemble, Pixels. Beyond Liverpool, his work has been heard at home and abroad, including performances at London’s South Bank, and through broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. In 1997, he was appointed as Professor of Music at Gresham College, London, a post he shared with Joanna MacGregor, with whom he has worked closely for nearly 30 years.
Stephen has also worked as a broadcaster for the BBC, including interviewing composers such as Michael Tippett, Peter Maxwell Davies and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
For many years he collaborated with colleagues at the RLPO, Bluecoat Chambers and the Arts Council to bring many leading contemporary music figures and their work to Merseyside. Tonight’s concert comprises pieces written over the last fifteen years or so, and are all published by Edition hh, Stephen’s publisher since 2001.
NB: The concert starts at 7.30pm. There will be a pre-concert event open to all ticket-holders at 7pm.
