ABOUT SOUNDING CITIES

 

Formed in 2017, Sounding Cities is a contemporary music duo that uses the language of music to explore the environment in which we live. With a strong commitment to and belief in the benefits of collaboration, Sounding Cities works with composers and visual artists to devise performances inspired by responses to our urban surroundings - questioning how we experience contemporary music and how music and art can mirror our fast changing cities.

The Sounding Cities duo is made up of Luke Newby (clarinet) and Naomi Sullivan (saxophone). The duo formed after presenting a concert of South African music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2017. Titled "Crossing Paths", the concert was the result of a series of networks linking players, composers, and the cities of Johannesburg and Birmingham. During the creation of this concert, it became increasingly clear that the two cities had a great deal in common and much to say to each other. The Sounding Cities duo began by commissioning new music and films by artists in Johannesburg and Birmingham and presented concerts and workshops in South Africa and the UK, speaking to the common spaces and creative synergies between these two vibrant cities. Since this initial project the duo has gone on to explore how music and art can reflect the environment in which we live.

Sounding Cities began in Johannesburg in August 2018 at the Centre for the Less Good Idea with a week of intensive work with the Johannesburg-based composer and artist and the performers. This was be followed by a succesful tour of South Africa including concerts, workshops and masterclasses. Since this initial tour the duo has continued to commission new works, with performances at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Centrala and upcoming dates at the Wigmore Hall Bechstein Sessions.

 

Photo credit: Zivanai Matangi and The Centre For the Less Good Idea

Photo credit: Zivanai Matangi and The Centre For the Less Good Idea