Kate Whitley: The Open Fund for Music Creators
Kate Whitley (b. 1989) is a composer and pianist based in London. She runs The Multi-Story Orchestra with conductor Christopher Stark, which performs in car parks around the UK: “forget fusty concert halls, the future of music is emerging in a municipal car park” (The Times). She writes music for concert, ballets, choirs and orchestras and her music has been broadcast on Radio 3 and performed as part of the BBC Proms.
Kate’s piece ‘Speak out’ to words by Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai was commissioned by the BBC for International Women’s Day 2017 in support of the campaign for better education for girls: ‘a powerful statement, full of kinetic energy’ (Wales Arts Review). In 2018 she wrote ‘Sky Dances’ for the LSO, which premiered in Trafalgar Square, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. In 2015, she was the recipient of a British Composers Award for her work ‘Alive’ for children’s choir and orchestra, set to words by poet Holly McNish – “a remarkable feat” (The Telegraph). Winning a 2018 Critics Circle Award, she has been described as a composer with “a strong, distinctive voice who, without compromising, communicates directly to a wide audience, within the concert hall and beyond”.
Composer Kate Whitley, described by BBC Music Magazine as “a fresh and individual creative voice”, will write a new work for solo violin for Eloisa-Fleur Thom. The commission will be premiered online through a video live-stream, making it accessible to a large audience whilst Covid-19 restrictions are still in place.