I’ve been awarded funding from Katherine McGillivray Get a Life Fund to take a creative sabbatical between September 2017 and April 2018 to compose and practise music for a debut solo album which will tour the UK in Autumn 2018. You can stay up to date with my progress at http://www.hollymarlandmusic.com! Continue reading
CBeebies Video and Radio recordings
I was lucky to be part of a specially commissioned project for BBC Music Day which involved performing keyboard and recorder on ‘Our Song’ for CBeebies Radio. Sasha Johnson Manning composed a special work based on the lyrics of schoolchildren from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. You can watch the video here http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/radio/music-day-our-song and you can … Continue reading
Radio 4 Broadcast – Thursday June 2
I created and performed music for a daily Service Broadcast last week which included arrangements of hymns and a specially composed anthem. You can listen again to the broadcast by clicking the link below for a few more days. http://bbc.in/1XTsvgZ Continue reading
Adele – Hello
Well, I posted an acapella arrangement of Adele’s new song ‘Hello’ on Soundcloud on the day of its release and it’s been interesting to see that 3400 people have clicked on the link since Friday. Whether they listened is another matter but we can quickly become obsessed with the ease at which others can access … Continue reading
Exodus
This piece I wrote recently seems especially pertinent as people are fleeing their own homes and seeking refuge in the unknown. A terrible terrible situation. It’s a series of reflections I wrote about exile, migration and slavery for RNCM’s Big Weekender. Click on the holy tree to listen. Continue reading
You are the Mirror, recording
It was such a privilege working with the lovely choristers of Manchester Cathedral Choir in developing my work You are The Mirror and then performing it with them in June 2015. You can listen to it on my new Soundcloud Composer Page! Click on the picture below! (there are some more lovely pictures in the Gallery) Continue reading
Live Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 LW Tuesday 25 August
I’ve been commissioned to do a third BBC Radio 4 Daily service broadcast with special arrangements and compositions for Kora and Choir, this time featuring the marvellous Michael Cretu on double bass! The Theme for the service is Face to Face with God and we’ll be performing the following pieces Sweet is the work (McLellan arr. … Continue reading
You are the Mirror
You are warmly invited to attend the world premiere of my new piece, You are the Mirror, commissioned by Christopher Stokes for the choristers of Manchester Cathedral. This is a setting of extracts from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet and is set for Kora and choristers with a soliloquy for double bass solo written and performed by … Continue reading
Happy New Year
2014 was a blur of activity, leaving my job at the RNCM in March after 19 years and finally becoming a fully freelance Kora player and singer. There was a lot to reflect on at the end the year including over 50 concerts in diverse settings from concert halls to old people’s residential homes and special needs schools, … Continue reading
Solo gigs
Playing two solo gigs tomorrow (Friday 5 September) and Saturday, one a participatory concert for young adults with special educational needs at Stockdales Centre in Sale and the other a baby naming ceremony for little Amara Lily Martindale-Brokate at Salem Fields, Hebden. This is why I am so passionate about the art of the kora … Continue reading