Alistair Anderson, commissioned by The Sage Gateshead
About the commission
This will be a unique musical collaboration between one of the UK’s most talented Steel Pan musicians, the world’s most respected English concertina player, a DJ, clog dancer and youth steel bands from the UK and the West Indies. The project will create high impact performances which will excite audiences in both the UK and Trinidad.
“I have always loved the joyful dynamic sound of steel pan bands. Working with Wendy Doyle and Steel Quake, the wonderful young band from rural Northumberland, gave me a real insight into their musical potential. With this exciting opportunity to study and perform with some of the world’s great Steel Pannists I can explore whole new soundscapes.” Alistair Anderson
“Being part of New Music Biennial will allow this unique collaboration between our young Steel Pannists, led by the hugely talented Wendy Doyle, and North East traditional music via the composer Alistair Anderson to develop further, and benefit from mentoring from West Indian Steel Pan virtuosi. The outcome is guaranteed to be exciting and will strengthen our musical links with Trinidad longterm.” The Sage Gateshead
More about the composer
As a touring soloist, Alistair Anderson is internationally acknowledged as the master of the English Concertina and a fine exponent of the Northumbrian Pipes. He delights audiences with traditional music from Northumberland and beyond, as well as his own music, which has grown out of his love of these traditions.
He founded Folkworks, an organisation that helped to change the face of folk music, with large numbers of young people discovering traditional music, song and dance through their summer schools, workshops and education projects. Folkworks became one of the two founding partners of The Sage Gateshead and Anderson continued as its Artistic Director until 2008. Working with the Music Department of Newcastle University, Anderson developed England’s first degree course in folk and traditional music launched in Sept 2001.
He has collaborated with jazz musicians and wrote for a mixed ensemble of Northumbrian and Moravian musicians and spent October 2010 touring South Africa with traditional Xhosa musicians, singers and dancers. The success of his varied performance and composing work grows out of his deep understanding of traditional music balanced with an adventurous sense of its constantly changing nature and creative potential.
