Community

2022

fixed medium - ambisonic

4’ 45”

[dedicated to Jonty Harrison on his 70th anniversary and to the BEAST community on their 40th anniversary]

Community reflects on my association with BEAST over the past 40 years, using sounds from pieces I composed in the BEAST studios, as well as gesture shapes and sound worlds borrowed from BEAST friends.

There are so many aspects of BEAST that have helped to shape my work as a composer over the years, but there is one dominant aspect which I think about a lot; it’s not ATC loudspeakers, the Publison, the Fairlight, the Box - although they are all up there - no, it’s the feeling of being part of a welcoming, inclusive community. In the early days, this involved wandering out of a studio onto the balcony overlooking the old Elgar Concert Room, seeing if anyone else was working in the other studios and then listening to each other’s stuff to get valuable feedback. This continues to this day for me with composers in this community, through commenting on bits of works in progress that just don’t seem to work to sharing unfathomable problems in the ambisonic domain.

This piece is dedicated, with much appreciation, to everyone in the BEAST community and especially to its instigator, Jonty Harrison.