2000 & beyond

The Bach 2000 Project The year 2000 marked the 250th anniversary of the death of Bach and, to celebrate this, the swingle singers commissioned six composers to write Bach-inspired pieces to be performed throughout the world during that anniversary year. Each of these pieces were performed as part of a Bach-centred programme which included old and new arrangements of Bach instrumental music, pieces by his Baroque contemporaries and popular music inspired by Bach. See also Bach Albums Perhaps the best known of the composers involved in the project is Michael Nyman (b. 1944). He has been Britain's best-selling contemporary composer ever since his composition of the sound track to the film The Piano which has sold nearly three million copies. A fan of the swingle singers since his student days, Nyman's works embrace every style of music with inspiration coming from classics and pop, soap operas and fashion shows! Refusing to be pigeonholed, he writes Hollywood soundtracks alongside his operas and, in between composing concertos, has created music for video games. web site: www.michaelnyman.org/ Other composers included Antony Pitts (b. 1969) who won the Radio Academy BT Award in 1996 for his original radiophonic techniques. Hugh Collins Rice (b. 1962) has won a number of composition prizes including the 1995 Composers' Guild / MCPS prize. Thomas Jennefelt (b. 1954) was born in Sweden, studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and is now president of the Society of Swedish composers. Moritz Eggert's (b. 1965) first compositions were for jazz and rock ensembles and he has since composed film and theatre music. Early in the year 2000, A swingle singers mixed media collaboration carried off the prestigious SACEM award for audiovisual musical productions. Jaap Drupsteen's video production of Berio's Sinfonia, conducted by Peter Eötvös and with the Dutch Philharmonic Radio orchestra, was first broadcast by nps television in February 1999. Willem van den Berg collaborated with the swingle singers' John Milner on sound. The video weaves visual fragments around Berio's glittering score. Verona, Italy saw the birth of an astounding new collaboration in August, 2000. The swingle singers shared a unique spectacle with the MOMIX dance company in the beautiful ancient surroundings of the Teatro Romano. Based in the USA and founded and directed by Moses Pendleton, MOMIX specialises in combining athletic gymnastic choreography with simple props and dazzling lighting effects. Each company performed works from their respective repertoires and MOMIX and the swingle singers combined their talents in five numbers as the audience was thrilled by the marriage of stunning visuals and lush sound. At the end of the run of five sold-out shows, both outfits promised each other that this was by no means the last time they would be working together.

In October, the swingle singers spent 3 weeks in Milan, Italy rehearsing and performing a new opera at Teatro alla Scala. Composed by Azio Corghi, the opera Tat'jana is based on Tat'jana Repina by Anton Chekhov. the swingle singers provided a haunting, distant chorus, coupled with an unusual orchestra comprising just strings, extensive percussion and a double bass flute. The group also performed their a cappella show to a sell out audience at La Scala and earned themselves some new fans, judging by the email comments received! the swingle singers recorded a theme tune for a remake of the Television series "Randall and Hopkirk (deceased)" starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. The theme tune is written and performed by the pop group PULP, with the swingle singers providing the vocal arrangements and backing. 2001 On 29th January the swingle singers gave a lunchtime concert at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. The programme included the premiere of 'Dejeuner sur l'Herbe' by Pascal Zavaro, commisioned by Le Chatelet and dedicated to the swingle singers and Joelle Astier. The concert was attended by the group's founder and musical adviser Ward Swingle, recorded for radio and television and was followed by a glittering reception organised by Intermedes-Concerts and the Theatre du Chatelet. The swingle singers toured the USA for five weeks in February/March. The group performed arrangements of The Ash Grove and I'll Be There for You (the theme from 'Friends') with local choral groups as part of their show. Towards the end of their trip, the swingle singers were the special guests at the ACDA (Association of the Choral Directors of America) conference in San Antonio, Texas, where they gave two performances and made many new friends. Website Creation All design and programming by Soft Top Limited web maintenence by zimbabel