Ben Gaunt : Open Fund for Music Creators
Ben Gaunt
Ben Gaunt studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Metropolitan University, and The University of Sheffield. His music has been performed around the world, by many leading ensembles and soloists, and he was shortlisted for a British Composer Award in 2017. He is a principal lecturer at Leeds College of Music, and plays synth in Beyond Albedo.
Spellspheres 2020
In 2019, I began writing a series of pieces I call Spellspheres. Each of these pieces uses circular patterns of pitches, rhythms, events, sections, timbres – every conceivable musical parameter can be presented in a recursive, systematic environment. The ‘sphere’ portion of the title refers to these multidimensional ‘circles’. ‘Spell’ has four meanings which relate to the compositional methods used and the aesthetic aims:
1. Order (as in, the order of letters in a word)
2. Time (as in, a short duration)
3. Magic
4. A splinter of wood (the pieces tend to be short, and often contain disruptive elements)
In 2020, with the support of The Open Fund, I will be collaborating with three amazing ensembles, and writing three new Spellspheres pieces. These will be recorded, released, and performed live. ”