Kate Whitley Explained

Background:person
Kate Whitley
Occupation:Composer
Instrument:Piano

Kate Whitley (born 1989) is an English composer, comedian and pianist.

Career

She is classically trained and studied music at King's College, Cambridge.[1] Her music is recorded by NMC Recordings and her debut release, I am, I say was released in 2017.[2] It was described as "unpretentious and appealingly vigorous music"[3] and "an excellent introduction to her sonic world".[4] She won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Special Award in 2014. Her music has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and performed as part of the BBC Proms.[5]

In 2017, Whitley was commissioned by Radio 3 to compose a piece for International Women's Day, setting the words of Malala Yousafzai's 2013 speech to the UN.[6] The piece, called Speak Out, was premiered on 8 March 2017 in the Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Chorus of Wales alongside the children's choir Cor y Cwm, conducted by Xian Zhang.[6]

Her concert piece Sky Dances, was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and performed in the summer of 2018 at Trafalgar Square. Sir Simon Rattle conducted the LSO and 70 young musicians from East London. The ballet Ignite, written for Birmingham Royal Ballet, toured the same year.[7] In July 2022 a new oratorio, Our Future In Your Hands was performed at the Buxton Festival, with an orchestra of young musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music and a choir drawn from local schools. The text, by Laura Attridge, voices climate change concerns from the point of view of young people.[8]

Multi-Story Orchestra

Whitley co-founded the Multi-Story Orchestra with conductor Christopher Stark in 2011.[9] The orchestra's first performance was of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in a car park in Peckham, London. The project won the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for Audiences and Engagement. The orchestra also works with school children and local community groups.[10]

Personal Life

As of 2023, Whitley lives in Deptford, with fellow comedian and musician Sam Griffin, as well as former professional bassoonist and cycling champion Joe Qiu.

List of works

Solo/chamber works

Orchestral

Choral

Dramatic

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2016-05-15 . King's alumna wins RPS Music Award . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20181109111942/https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/news/2016/rps-award-whitley.html . 2018-11-09 . King's College, Cambridge.
  2. Web site: Whitley I Am I Say. Whitehouse. Richard. 2017-04-20. www.gramophone.co.uk. en. 2018-09-02.
  3. Web site: Kate Whitley: I Am I Say CD review – unpretentious and appealingly vigorous music. Molleson. Kate. 2017-03-30. the Guardian. en. 2018-09-02.
  4. News: Classical: Multi-Story Orchestra/Stark/Whitley: I Am I Say/ Howard Skempton: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Morrison. Richard. 2017-04-14. The Times. 2018-09-02. en. 0140-0460.
  5. Web site: Kate Whitley About. katewhitley.net. en-US. 2018-09-02.
  6. News: Musical premiere of Malala speech. 2017-03-08. BBC News. 2018-09-02. en-GB.
  7. Sarah Kirkup. 'Kate Whitley: igniting dance with her music', in Gramophone, October 19, 2018
  8. https://buxtonfestival.co.uk/whats-on/our-future-in-your-hands Buxton Festival: Our Future in Your Hands
  9. Web site: Multi-Story Orchestra review – concrete commitment brings car park chorus of approval. Willson. Flora. 2017-08-27. the Guardian. en. 2018-09-02.
  10. Web site: Bold Tendencies Multi Story Orchestra. boldtendencies.com. en. 2018-09-02.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kate Whitley".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.