A contemporary composer is very lucky ....
Let's play out the old year with a really positive story. Vanessa Lann (right) graduated from Harvard, and now lives and composes in the Netherlands, check out her excellent web site for a full biography . (Why are there so many exciting women composers around? - I have also written recently about Judith Weir , Jane O'Leary , and Odaline de la Martinez ). Vanessa's compositions include elements of ritual, ceremony or contemplation. She experiments with breaking from the conventional concert-hall approach to the performance and programming of music, and explores alternative ways of sharing sound, media and time with audiences, with the end objective of blurring the boundary between art and daily experience. Earlier this month I previewed the December performances in the Netherlands of Vanessa's new composition for cantor, choir and instrumental ensemble 'Illuminating Aleph'. So I was delighted to receive today this wonderfully positive and appreciative update