Tag Archives: Cassie Kinoshi

News – the CBSO are Bringing The Light

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published by Ben Hogwood from the original press release

This winter, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will illuminate Birmingham’s Symphony Hall with Bringing the Light – a remarkable celebration of music, culture and community, featuring three brand-new pieces by Roxanna Panufnik, Joan Armatrading and Cassie Kinoshi alongside A.R. Rahman’s Slumdog Millionaire Suite arranged by Matt Dunkley.

Taking place on Sunday 7 December at 5pm, this uplifting afternoon of music and storytelling harnesses the full strength of the CBSO, the CBSO Chorus, CBSO Youth and Children’s Choruses, alongside presenter Satnam Rana, conductor Michael Seal and sitar soloist Akash Parekar. The programme blends orchestral and choral brilliance, contemporary composition and global influences, promising an unforgettable celebration of togetherness and creativity.

Emma Stenning, Chief Executive of the CBSO said: “This concert shines a light on Birmingham’s extraordinary diversity and creativity. ‘Bringing the Light’ will fill Symphony Hall with music that uplifts, connects and inspires – a true celebration of what makes this city so special. After a year that has been characterised by so much division and polarisation, this concert will do a great deal to remind us of what we as people all have in common – and the power of music as a force to unite us all.

“At the CBSO, we’re passionate about creating experiences that feel both rooted in our home city and open to the world. This concert brings together voices from different traditions, faiths and generations to reflect the vibrancy of Birmingham today.”

At the heart of the concert is Aurora a new work by composer Roxanna Panufnik and writer and librettist Jessica Duchen, co-commissioned by the CBSO, Royal Choral Society and the Arktisk Filharmoni. It is a powerful piece that explores the power of light as a universal symbol of hope, connection and unity – drawing inspiration from festivals of light from around the world. Developed in close collaboration with 14 UK faith leaders and devotional musicians, the text of each movement represents a different faith: Christian Christmas; Muslim Milad un Nabi; Sikh, Jain and Hindu Diwali; Jewish Hanukkah; Tibetan Buddhist Gaden Ngamchoe and ending with a beautiful, musical depiction of the Aurora Borealis for those of all faiths and none.

Roxanna Panufnik said: “When we hear about different faiths in the media it’s too often about conflict between them and very rarely about their respective beauty and the common themes we all share. We have planned this work over the past 10 years, and it has been hugely inspirational collaborating with our phenomenal consultants: 14 UK Faith leaders and their respective devotional musicians. The CBSO is perfectly placed, in a city with a fabulous and dynamic diversity of cultures and faiths, to premiere this work. Our 270 singers will be of multiple ages and faiths – so will, we hope, our audience. This is a piece for EVERYONE.”

Jessica Duchen adds: “The overarching image of Aurora: Faith in Harmony is the Northern Lights, a miracle of nature that can inspire the kind of awe in us all that some people find in faith. Embracing the secular community alongside a range of world faiths that have festivals of light in the depths of winter, the piece celebrates the virtually universal human longing for light in darkness, which we hope can help to bring people of all cultures together. It has been an incredible journey for us both – and Roxanna has excelled herself in writing music of extraordinary beauty.”

The performance opens with a world premiere of Homeland by singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading CBE– which she describes as her “love letter” to Birmingham.

Joan Armatrading comments: “Homeland is a piece that highlights the city of Birmingham and its people, reflecting their strong sense of community, resilience and warmth. It is a tribute to a place to which I am bonded, and one I will always hold with affection and pride. Through both words and music, the piece weaves together the sounds, energy, and rhythms of the city while reaching out into its vast surrounding countryside. This is Birmingham not simply as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing presence – an often-underrated landscape where industry and nature exist side by side in quiet beauty.”

The concert also includes a new commission by Mercury Prize-nominated and Ivors Academy Award-winning composer and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi with lyrics by poet Lydia Luke.

Cassie Kinoshi said: “I was in the state of mind to stay centres on how nature grounds and steadies us within the constant movement of city life. It captures the ways young people find calm and connection in fleeting everyday moments; rain against a bus window; flowers at a market stall; or the scent of trees through an open window; and celebrates the beauty of finding stillness amid the noise. Created with input from the Southwark Playhouse Youth Company, the piece offers a portrait of the city through young people’s eyes: a place where nature and metropolitan life coexist. It is about recognising how these small, tender moments can bring comfort, belonging, and a sense of balance in an increasingly hectic world. Rather than portraying nature as something distant or idealised, the piece treats it as part of daily life: a source of connection to oneself, and a reminder that even in the most built-up places, the natural world remains ever-present.”

The CBSO acknowledges the generous gift from Frances and Barry Kirkham, whose support helped ​make Aurora and i was in the state of mind to stay possible.

Leading up to the performance, there will be lantern-making workshops in partnership with the Canal and River Trust and Crafting Community. As well as a beautiful lantern walk along Birmingham’s canals, accompanied by narrowboats decorated by light artist Sophie Handy and featuring local musicians, which begins at Roundhouse Birmingham and ends at the ICC with a performance by the CBSO’s community choir SO Vocal.

Audiences are warmly invited to this vibrant celebration of culture and light which unites communities from across the city and beyond to share a moment of joy, hope and reflection.

Full details can be found on the CBSO’s website

Published post no.2,721 – Monday 17 November 2025

In concert – Ensemble intercontemporain – Boulez 100 @ The Barbican

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Ensemble intercontemporain / Nicolò Umberto Foron, NikNak (turntables), tyroneisaacstuart (choreographer & dancer), Julien Creuzet (visuals), Nathan England-Jones (electronics technical support)

Hannah Kendall shouting forever into the receiver
Cassie Kinoshi [untitled]
Pierre Boulez Sur Incises

Barbican Hall, London, 27 May 2025

by John Earls. Photo credits (c) John Earls

Billed as part of the Boulez 100 series* to celebrate what would have been Pierre Boulez’s 100th birthday year, it was exciting to see a concert by Ensemble intercontemporain, the group the great iconoclast founded in France in 1976 (I can’t help but also tell you that this was with the support of the then French Secretary of State for Culture).

Recognising Boulez’s championing of new voices, the programme combined a classic Boulez piece with new works by two younger generation British composers. First up was Hannah Kendall’s shouting forever into the receiver. The title comes from Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and refers to the description of a tiny plastic toy soldier yelling into its handheld radio transceiver. In this piece, spoken extracts, initially from the Book of Revelation and then verses from Ezekiel, are passed back and forth between two performers using walkie-talkie radios and sat on opposite sides of the stage. This is combined with arresting musical accompaniment including pre-programmed music boxes playing familiar works such as Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, dampened piano and a contemplative harmonica chorale. It was a fascinating opening 15 minutes.

Second on the programme was the world premiere of composer, arranger and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi’s [UNTITLED]. Inspired by Boscoe Holder, the Trinidadian artist, dancer, choreographer and musician it “pays tribute not only to historic Caribbean artforms…but also to the continued evolution of these forms in modern diasporic contexts”. This is reflected in this multi-disciplinary piece combining music, choreography, improvisation, technology and visual art “embracing the kind of fluid creativity that Boscoe Holder explored throughout his lifetime”.

At the very start choreographer and dancer tyroneisaacstuart circles the stage before literally passing on the baton to conductor Nicolò Umberto Foron (currently Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra). Throughout the evening Foron’s angular gestures complemented the music perfectly. Something of a dance in itself.

tyroneisaacstuart’s own dancing involved spins, weaving through sections of the orchestra, running on the spot and at one point appearing to hit a forcefield during a dramatic build-up of repetitive beats. Rhythm featured strongly throughout the piece including beats from NikNak on turntables (Nathan England-Jones provided electronics technical support) and we were frequently never far from an albeit eclectic dancefloor.

The dancer was all dressed in white contrasting with the fiery red visuals (by Julien Creuzet) on a large screen featuring the slower movements of blurred figures. Kinoshi’s intention is that the “on-stage presence invites the audience to not only hear but to see rhythm”. I don’t know whether when the orchestra, dancer and visuals are on stage together it makes it difficult to focus properly, but at times it felt a bit too busy. That said it is a stimulating and brave piece.

[left to right: Cassie Kinoshi, Nathan England-Jones, NikNak, Nicolò Umberto Foron, tyroneisaacstuart]

After the interval, nine members of the Ensemble performed Pierre Boulez’s Sur Incises (1996-1998) for three pianos, three harps and three percussion parts (including vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, steel drums, and tubular bells).

The stage setting alone with the instrumentalists set some distance apart (a bit like Covid times) with the harps centre stage was striking. It’s quite a sonic experience too. Heavy percussion and lustrous harmonies combine in an ebb and flow of crashes and trills that both comfort and have a sense of foreboding. Boulez’s music has a reputation for being difficult, but when played like this it is utterly captivating.

John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union. He posts on Bluesky and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls

*It was a bit strange, not to say disappointing, that the concert programme labelled this as part of the Boulez 100 series but contained nothing on Boulez himself or the piece of his being performed. The notes on the other two pieces, written by the composers themselves, were, not least for this reviewer, very useful.

For more on the ensemble, visit the Ensemble Intercontemporain website

Published post no.2,547 – Wednesday 28 May 2025