Women Make Music Grant

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Huge thanks to the PRS Foundation for awarding me a Women Make Music Grant, in support of my upcoming album ‘Close-Ups’, which will be out on Delphian Records in June 2024. More information here.

Wigmore Hall Associate Artist

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I’m thrilled and honoured to have been appointed an Associate Artist of the Wigmore Hall from next season, for a period of five years. My first concert as part of this journey will be on 2 March 2024 with the brilliant Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano), Mishka Rushdie Momen (piano) and Anne Denholm (harp). More information about the announcement can be found on the Wigmore Hall website here and Rayfield Allied website here.

Phrases

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My debut album Phrases is one of The Times’ ’10 best classical records of 2022′ (link here) and one of The Classical Review ‘Top Classical Albums for 2022’ (link here) – thanks to everyone who has listened to the album so far!

BBC Music Magazine

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‘Phrases’ is Choral & Song Choice in this month’s BBC Music Magazine – read the 5 star review below:

Phrases – latest reviews

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My debut album Phrases is Classical album of the week in The Times (below). It was also reviewed by Andrew McGregor on BBC Radio 3’s Record Review: ‘It will make you rethink the possibilities of writing or voice – virtuosic, tender, surprising, there’s an almost unschooled immediacy of expression at times that cuts to the heart … [a] solo vocal debut like no other’.

Phrases out now

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My debut album Phrases is out now on Delphian Records – available to buy / stream everywhere here. Featuring many wonderful musicians who I feel so honoured and happy to have collaborated with.

Press:

Gramophone Editor’s Choice July 2022 – “lt is hard not to be in awe of Héloise Werner: a soprano of extraordinary range, tone and vocal abilities, possessing a seemingly inexhaustible expressive range (…) Werner is a composer of subtle imagination (…) Delphian’s sound is first-rate, catching the full dynamic range and every nuance of Werner’s voice.”

Presto Classical Editor’s Choice June 2022 – “absolute tour de force (…) there’s real heart and soul alongside the avant-garde pyrotechnics throughout this recital of new works”

“a staggering debut from an imaginative and original new voice (…) she achieves miracles” – Apple Music

Phrases displays her versatility as a singer and composer, but as musical catalyst too (…) distinctive album (…) Werner is joined by her first-rate regular collaborators” – The Observer

“Phrases’ bolsters Héloïse Werner’s reputation as one of the most gifted and versatile vocal artists of her generation (…) this is one of the most stunning debut albums we’ve heard in a very long time, a magnificent achievement by Héloïse Werner and her musical collaborators.” – Europadisc (Disc of the week)

Cover photo by Raphaël Neal

Like Words – out now

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‘Like Words’, the first track from my debut album ‘Phrases’, is out now on Delphian Records as a single, ahead of the full album release on 24 June. I loved writing this piece & recording it with Amy Harman was a dream! Huge thanks to PRS for Music for supporting this commission. I’m delighted that Apple Music have included it at the top of their Women in Classical playlist as well as featured it in their New in Classical Playlist, and Spotify selected it as one of their best of classical new releases. Thanks to everyone who has listened already – it’s available now on all the streaming / download platforms!

Wigmore Hall – Album Launch

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Tickets for my album launch at the Wigmore Hall on 4 June 1pm are now on sale HERE.

I’ll be joined by Laura Snowden, Calum Huggan, Daniel Shao, Emily Hultmark and Colin Alexander. We’ll perform the new duos featuring on the album as well as a new ensemble piece by Zoë Martlew, commissioned especially for the launch, co-commissioned by Wigmore Hall, with generous support from PRSF and RVW Trust. I will also perform some solo voice works by me and Georges Aperghis.

RPS Young Artist Award

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Last Monday, the RPS Awards 2021 were held at the Wigmore Hall and it was a huge honour to receive the Young Artist Award with The Hermes Experiment – more information here. Huge thanks to the Royal Philharmonic Society for an inspiring evening.

SONG out now

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The Hermes Experiment’s second album SONG is out now on Delphian Records – buy / listen here – featuring songs Barbara Strozzi, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Kerry Andrew, Olivia Chaney, Philip Venables, Soosan Lolavar, Jeremy Thurlow, Eleanor Alberga and Emily Hall.

“Britain’s music scene offers numerous dynamic small-sized groups, but The Hermes Experiment, so spellbinding, so imaginative, continue to stand alone” ★★★★ The Times

Debut Album – Phrases, out June 22

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I’m thrilled to have recorded my debut album PHRASES with Delphian Records in Oxford last week at the beautiful SJE Arts, with some wonderful guest players. The album features a mixture of solo voice works by Georges Aperghis, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and me, as well as 6 new duos, commissioned especially for the album, written by Nico Muhly (voice and flute, with Daniel Shao), Elaine Mitchener (voice and percussion, with Calum Huggan), Josephine Stephenson (voice and guitar, with Laura Snowden), Oliver Leith (voice and cello, with Colin Alexander) and 2 duos by me (for voice and bassoon, with Amy Harman, and for voice and violin/viola with Lawrence Power). The disc will be out on 24 June 2022. I’m incredibly grateful to the PRS Foundation, RVW Trust, Ambache Trust, Nicholas Boas Trust and many individual donors who have supported this project. The album launch concert will take place in London on 4 June 2022 – more details soon…

BBC Music Magazine Interview

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It was a joy to chat to the brilliant Fiona Maddocks for the October Issue of the BBC Music Magazine – interview in print below!

Freya Parr at BBC Music Magazine has also featured Heloise in this online article.

Lockdown Commission – Mixed Phrases

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So excited to share the film of my new piece ‘Mixed Phrases’, written for & performed with the amazing Lawrence Power, beautifully filmed & recorded by Jessie Rodger & Brett Cox at The Asylum, Peckham – commissioned by The Viola Commissioning Circle

As a French person living in the UK, I’m interested in the interplay between language and identity, especially in performance. ‘Mixed Phrases’ draws on this dichotomy as it moves between two parallel worlds. In one instance, we find ourselves in a familiar world, right here on Earth, featuring the rich sound of the viola and words by Arthur Rimbaud (a section of ‘Phrases’ from ‘Les Illuminations’). In the next, we are in a more unfamiliar place, somewhere higher in the sky, the ethereal violin lines becoming entangled in a new reconstructed language (Rimbaud’s words again but this time fragmented, internalised and reformed into a new language).

SJSS / BBC Radio 3

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Our concert at St John’s Smith Square with Kit Downes and Colin Alexander was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 last night and is now available to listen on BBC Sounds here. Fiona Maddocks also wrote a lovely review of the concert in the Observer here.

France Musique – coronasolfege

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Delighted that my coronasolfege project was featured on France Musique yesterday morning, on Suzanne Gervais’s show – you can listen back and read more via this link.

64 Variations

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New video: violist Lawrence Power performing Bach’s Chaconne, accompanied by dancer Sharia Johnson and myself on voice – filmed by Jessie Rodger and recorded by Brett Cox. You can find out more about the project here. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with this dream team. Enjoy!

Wigmore Hall Debut

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Our Hermes Experiment Wigmore Hall debut recital is broadcast online next Tuesday 26th January, 7.30pm UK Time – I love this programme and really hope you can join us virtually! Full details here and programme below:

Barbara Strozzi (arr. Werner), Tradimento

Anna Meredith (arr. Schofield), Fin like a Flower

Lili Boulanger (arr. Schofield), Reflets

Alex Mills, Samsara

Freya Waley-Cohen, We Phoenician Sailors

Helen Grime (arr. Pashley), Council Offices

Philip Venables, A Photograph

Misha Mullov-Abbado, The Linden Tree

Emily Hall, I am happy living simply & The end of the ending

Oliver Leith, Uh Huh, Yeah 

coronasolfège – BBC Radio 3

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The video of my piece ‘coronasolfège for 6’ written for and performed by the fantastic The Gesualdo Six is featured on the BBC Radio 3 here . Huge thanks to them for their continued support!

PRSF Open Fund

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I’m so grateful to receive the PRSF Open Fund for music creators in support of my debut album, to be released next year on Delphian Records & featuring some of my favourite musicians! Now lots of music to write, commission, learn & record this year…

10 best contemporary music albums of 2020

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Our Hermes Experiment’s debut album HERE WE ARE is one of The Guardian’s 10 best contemporary music albums of 2020 at number 4 – full article HERE – album available HERE on Delphian Records.

BBC Broadcasts

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Honoured that my #coronasolfege project is featured on both BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service.

Tonight as part of their New Music Show, BBC Radio 3 are broadcasting the recording of my piece coronasolfège for 6 which I wrote for the brilliant The Gesualdo Six. You can listen to the programme here, and on BBC Sounds after.

Last month, BBC Word Service broadcasted an extended feature on #coronasolfege, featuring interviews of people who have followed the project online and taken part in the #coronasolfege course I taught as part of the COMA Summer School 2020. You can listen here at 37’04. The feature is produced by the wonderful Michael Rossi.

coronasolfège for 6

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I’m so excited to share the video of my new work ‘coronasolfège for 6’ written for and performed by the brilliant The Gesualdo Six. You can read more about the project in this Gramophone Magazine article.

Enjoy!!!

New York Times Feature

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I’m hugely humbled and touched that the amazing Inti Figgis-Vizueta has chosen my piece Confessional for this New York Times feature: www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/arts/music/five-minutes-classical-music-sopranos.html Confessional is a reworking of sections from the one-woman opera The Other Side of the Sea I wrote with Octavia Bright a few years ago, in collaboration with Jessie Rodger (visuals), Emily Burns (director) & Zoe Martlew (Snape Maltings residency mentor).

Michael Cuddigan Trust Commissions

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Very grateful to the Michael Cuddigan Trust for commissioning 3 new vocal works from the wonderful Ayanna Witter-Johnson, (voice / bass), Eleanor Alberga (voice / harp) and Raymond Yiu (voice / clarinet). I will be premiering them next Sunday at Blackheath Halls with members of The Hermes Experiment and the concert will be streamed online on 22 November here. Do tune in if you can!

BBC Radio 3

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Very honoured to be one of BBC Radio 3’s 31 under 31 Young Stars – you can catch up on the BBC Radio 3 Breakfast Show feature here.

Tête à Tête/DCMS pilot

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I was incredibly honoured to take in the first public performance of opera in a theatre since March. The performance took place at The Cockpit Theatre on 26 July and was organised by Tête à Tête Opera Festival in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). I performed excerpts from my one-woman opera The Other Side of the Sea, which I wrote with Octavia Bright back in 2018, as well as solo vocal works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Cathy Berberian and Georges Aperghis. I spoke to the Guardian about it HERE – you can also read more about the event on the Tête à Tête website and on The Stage. Photos by Claire Shovelton are also available HERE.

New video

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Our video of Giles Swayne’s ‘Les poissons mélomanes’ is out now – filmed in Edinburgh last year by Foxbrush Films during our album recording sessions with Delphian Records:

HERE WE ARE

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Our The Hermes Experiment debut album HERE WE ARE is OUT NOW on Delphian Records – available to stream / buy HERE.

Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Presto Classical Editor’s Choice & Apple Music 10 Classical Albums of the Month

distinctive, witty, arresting songs (…) An imaginative first disc that mirrors our current musical landscape‘ – The Observer

This British group have released a most enticing calling card, advertising the skills of individual musicians and the liveliness and variety of Britain’s composing scene (…) Héloïse Werner pounces on individual notes and words with a tiger’s tenacity and a kitten’s glee. The other musicians are equally crucial in the album’s tapestry of sounds: the harpist Anne Denholm, marvellously incisive; Marianne Schofield, growling beautifully on the double-bass; Oliver Pashley, mercurial monarch of the clarinet (…) As for the music, nothing is arid, much is juicy … No part of this album slips into a rut; none of the music-making either‘ – The Times

witty and imaginative (…) joyous and heartbreaking‘ – The Guardian

‘as delightful an encounter as the ensemble is in real life (…) so many delights on their album, you never know what’s going to happen – it’s great hearing such a variety of composers finding interesting ways of using this ensemble’s unique resources (…) a uniquely engaging ensemble’ – Andrew McGregor, Record Review, BBC Radio 3

buzzing with invention and shimmering with colour‘ – Apple Music

The rather unusual combination of harp, clarinet, soprano and double bass proves to be quite astonishingly versatile on this rich, strange programme of new commissions by nine composers, Héloïse Werner’s pure soprano taking on an almost instrumental quality at times (though she’s no slouch with text either, particular in Errollyn Wallen’s rapid-fire gun gun gun). Josephine Stephenson’s Between the war and you packs a real emotional punch, and Giles Swayne’s French-language elegy to tinned sardines is another highlight.‘ – Presto Classical, Editor’s Choice July 2020

‘The Hermes Experiment’s main strength lies in its ability to adapt to the particular needs, demands and peculiarities of each piece contained on this deeply engaging collection: harp, clarinet, soprano and double bass locked in dynamic and synergistic fusion.’ Gramophone Magazine, Editor’s Choice September 2020

BBC Radio 3

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I was very honoured to be asked by BBC Radio 3 to record a home session for the New Music Show – I performed a new piece called ‘Inside Shifts’ for voice/cello which I wrote during lockdown and recorded in my flat in London. You can listen to it on BBC Sounds here (at 1:13:30)

Hermes from home

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Here are 2 videos we filmed from our homes during lockdown this year – hope you enjoy x

BBC Music Magazine

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I put together some lockdown recommendations for BBC Music Magazine – music, comedy, films, theatre & more HERE

#coronasolfege

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One of my lockdown projects is #coronasolfege – I’ll be adding all my twitter videos on this new page here  you can also find them on twitter by searching for the hashtag #coronasolfege. Most of them are also on my new facebook page here. #coronasolfege is featured on the Royal Philharmonic Society’s website here alongside some really inspiring projects – thank you RPS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBC Music Magazine

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I had a lovely chat with Rebecca Franks at BBC Music Magazine about music I’m currently listening to (and more…) for their February issue:

 

Soho Classical

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Belated post but it was super nice to be a guest on Harriet Moss’ show Soho Classical on Soho Radio just before Christmas (even though it was a very bleak post-election morning, hence my face on the picture below). I performed excerpts from The Other Side of the Sea (the one-woman I wrote with Octavia Bright, directed by Emily Burns, and featuring visuals Jessie Rodger) as well as Aperghis’ Récitation N.9, and chatted about The Hermes Experiment’s upcoming album Here we are, which is coming out in July on Delphian Records. You can listen on mixcloud here from around 1h06: http://www.mixcloud.com/sohoradio/soho-classical-18122019

 

 

 

New video

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Happy new year! Here’s a new video of my piece “Confessional” – film by Emma Werner, sound by Alexander Barnes. This piece is a reworking of sections from “The Other Side of the Sea”, the one-woman opera I wrote with Octavia Bright in 2018. Hope you enjoy!

 

I Care If You Listen – Interview

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A little bit about recent / current musical things, mentioning lots of my wonderful collaborators – read the interview here.

Aperghis – Récitation N.9

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Here’s a recent performance of Aperghis’ Récitation N.9 – filmed by Emma Werner and recorded by Alexander Barnes – hope you enjoy!

 

This Classical Life

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It was a pleasure to chat to Jess Gillam on BBC Radio 3 last weekend – you can listen to our episode of “This Classical Life” on BBC Sounds here. My choices included music by Bach, Meredith Monk, Mara Carlyle, Mozart & Barbara!

The Other Side of the Sea

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Some seasaw sea news…

An extract from The Other Side the Sea, the one-woman opera I wrote with Octavia Bright in 2018 and performed again at Kings Place last month was played on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction – big thank you to Max Reinhardt for broadcasting it and for the lovely comments! You can listen back here (from 24:53)

My Kings Place performance also received a lovely 4-star review in The Times – link here and picture below.

 

Classical Music Magazine

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Thank you to Classical Music Magazine for featuring me as ‘Artist of the Month’ in their April issue! You can read the online feature here.

 

 

 

 

 

The Other Side of the Sea

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I’m very excited to perform my solo opera The Other Side of the Sea again this month at Kings Place – I did a little interview for the Kings Place Magazine here. The second half of the evening will also feature my quartet The Hermes Experiment – hope you can join us! x

Royal Over-Seas League Competition

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The Hermes Experiment is thrilled to have won the ROSL Competition for Mixed Ensembles earlier this month. We were awarded £10,000 and will go on to perform at the Gold Medal Final on 30 May 2019 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Their full press release is available here.

 

 

Classical Music Magazine

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The Hermes Experiment is featured in this month’s Classical Music Magazine ahead of our birthday concert next week – you can read the feature online here.

Hermes turns 5

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Join The Hermes Experiment to celebrate their 5th Birthday Friday 11th January at Crypt on the Green (Farringdon, London). We will perform works by Giles Swayne, Josephine Stephenson, Emily Hall, William Cole, Misha Mullov-Abbado and Stevie Wishart, alongside our collaborative piece with poet Ali Lewis and two brand new commissions from Errollyn Wallen and Oliver Leith. The event will also feature DJ sets from BBC Radio 3 Late Junction presenter Nick Luscombe, and … plenty of drinks. See you there for a celebration of new music, composers, and the ensemble itself!

This concert is generously supported by Arts Council England and the RWV Trust.
Doors 7.30pm / Live music 8pm
Advance £8 / Doors £10 – book here.

The concert will be recorded by BBC Radio 3 for future broadcast on the Hear and Now programme.

You can also catch us on BBC Radio 3 In Tune this Wednesday 6.20pm – more details here.

BBC Radio Broadcast

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Our Hermes Experiment Open Ear concert at LSO St Luke’s back in June was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 last week and you can now listen on iPlayer HEREwe’re on right at the start (“Double Fiesta” by Meredith Monk, arranged by our harpist Anne Denholm) then at 00:30.28 (Josephine Stephenson’s interview + her piece “tanka”) & finally at 1:21:49 (interview about The Hermes Experiment + Joel Rust’s “Pack of Orders”) – enjoy!

 

The Arts Hour Backstage

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Listen to my quartet The Hermes Experiment on iPlayer HERE as part of The Arts Hour Backstage on BBC World Service presented by Nikki Bedi (17:00 performing & discussing Josephine Stephenson’s piece and 27:24 discussing & performing Joel Rust’s piece). The whole concert will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, 22 September 2018, 10pm.

The Other Side of the Sea – extract

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Hello! I’m excited to share an extract from my new piece « The Other Side of the Sea » – video shot & directed by Jessie Rodger (in her garden!) This section combines poetry by Octavia Bright with a text in which I attempt to explain, using words replaced by a series of abstract sounds, the experience of adopting a new language & culture. Enjoy!

[kad_youtube url=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=BRcB0TmpoJo”]

The Other Side of the Sea premiere

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The Other Side of the Sea is a contemporary piece for solo performer that uses music, poetry, and projection to explore the relationship between language, memory, and identity. The sea provides a central motif through which to consider the way the mind retains fragments of text, image, and sound at different levels of consciousness. The project began its development in residency at Aldeburgh Music last summer, where Héloïse, Jessie, and Octavia took the Suffolk coast and Snape Maltings as inspiration for setting musical, visual, and textual elements. The three parts evolved simultaneously throughout a profoundly collaborative process.

Inspired by Héloïse’s experience of adopting English as a second language, The Other Side of the Sea seeks to articulate the tension of an identity split linguistically, in this case between French and English. It explores the spaces between person/performer and mother tongue/second language, drawing parallels between Héloïse’s identity as a performer, the operatic tradition, and the performed identity of a life lived in a foreign tongue.

With Emily’s direction, the piece evolved to make dynamic the relationship between writer and performer by dramatizing their shared process, which is another kind of translation. The libretto is interrupted by a series of texts which recur and evolve: recorded conversations, Jacques Prévert’s poem Le cancre (which French children are typically taught to recite in school), and a ‘confessional’ text in which Héloïse attempts to explain, using words replaced by a series of abstract sounds, the peculiar experience of adopting a new language and culture. Meanwhile, the projection incorporates footage filmed on the Suffolk and Kent coasts, and images from Héloïse’s childhood. Projected onto a shell-like structure, Jessie’s films identify a physical site for the mental and emotional experience of the piece as the coast of England, looking out to an imagined France.

Act One situates us on the stony shore at Aldeburgh beach, grounding us in a tangible place from which the piece can then move through a process of abstraction. Act Two confirms the mouth of the performer as a portal for the texts of others, and crescendos to a frenzy of frustration, which traces the motion to Act Three, which represents an eventual expression of an integrated self, aided by and discovered through the process of performance.

The Other Side of the Sea is generously supported by the Michael Cuddigan Trust.

 

 

Monday 2nd July, The Cockpit London

Saturday 7th July, Aldeburgh Church

Performer & composer: Héloïse Werner

Writer: Octavia Bright

Director: Emily Burns

Projections: directed & shot by Jessie Rodger

Set: designed by Jessie Rodger & built by Brett Cox

The Other Side of the Sea

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I am thrilled to announce that I am the recipient of a Michael Cuddigan Trust Award 2018 for my new one-woman opera The Other Side of the Sea. All details on their site here. The first performances will take place this summer: in London on 2nd July at The Cockpit Theatre (tickets) and in Aldeburgh at the Aldeburgh Parish Church on 7th July (tickets). I’m so lucky to be working with the most formidable team:

Octavia Bright – writer

Emily Burns – director

Jessie Rodger – filmmaker

I’m also incredibly grateful to Snape Maltings and my residency mentor Zoë Martlew for helping us develop the show last July.

I’ll be performing some excerpts (work-in-progress) next week already at Camden People’s Theatre (Monday 12th) as part of their Sprint Festival (tickets).

Hope to see you in Juy – or even next week if you’re curious! x

 

News + March gigs

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Some news!

1. Some lovely funding news for my contemporary quartet The Hermes Experiment:

-we’re amongst the latest recipients of the PRSF Open Fund – in support of our upcoming collaboration with award-winning artist Mira Calix and composer Alex Mills (premiere at Cafe OTO 24 May 2018).

-we’re also delighted to receive a grant from the Help Musicians UK Transmission Fund in support of our residency in France this summer with composer and cellist Zoë Martlew.

2. I’m delighted to announce that pianist Imma Setiadi and I have been selected as one of the Leeds Lieder Young Artists for the Leeds Lieder Festival 2018. We will perform in masterclasses with both John Mark Ainsley and Sir Thomas Allen, and at the Young Artists concerts throughout the festival. Our programme includes works by Debussy, Poulenc, Britten and Mendelssohn.

3. And finally here’s a list of my performances in March – would be lovely to see you at some of them!

Thursday 8th – with The Hermes Experiment, new settings of poems by Gillian Clarke – Royal Academy of Music, 7pm – link

Monday 12th – performing excerpts from my new one-woman show The Other Side of the Sea (work-in-progress) at Sprint Festival 2018, Camden People’s Theatre, London, 7.30pm – link

Saturday 17th – soprano soloist in Kate Whitley’s new opera The Barrington Hippo for Cambridge City Opera – The Sedwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, 11am and 2pm – link

Sunday 18th – with The Hermes Experiment – The Ascension Church, Plumstead, 4pm – link

Thursday 22nd – soprano soloist with Phaedra Ensemble – Juju’s bar & stage, Truman Brewery, 7pm – link

Saturday 24th – joining vocal trio Juice Vocal Ensemble to perform new pieces written by RCMJD composers – Royal College of Music, 11.30am – link

Thursday 29th – with The Hermes Experiment, performing new works by Trinity Laban postgraduate composition students – St Alfege Church, Greenwich, 1pm – link

Friday 30th – joining Polyphony for Bach’s John Passion at St John’s Smith Square, 2.30pm – link

Jan-Feb projects

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COMPOSITION PROJECTS:

This month, The Hermes Experiment will be working with postgraduate compositions at both The Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, culminating in performances at the respective colleges in March:

16 January: The Hermes Experiment visit the Royal Academy of Music for their first workshop with student composers on the Master’s programme, who are working on new settings for the ensemble of poetry by Gillian Clarke. This project culminates in a showcase concert at the RAM on 8 March 2018.

31 January: The Hermes Experiment visit Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance for their first worhsop with student composers on the postgraduate programme, who are working on new pieces for the ensemble. This project culminates in a showcase concert at St Alfege Church on 29 March 2018.

WORKSHOP & RECITAL WITH HARPIST ANNE DENHOLM:

30 January at Royal Conservatoire of Birmingham – programme including works by Debussy, Darren Bloom and Schumann/Denholm/Werner

JUICE VOCAL ENSEMBLE:

On 3 February, Héloïse joins vocal trio Juice for their first visit to the compositional team at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music (workshops and returning at a later date to perform pieces composed by students).

THE HERMES EXPERIMENT FEBRUARY  2018 TOUR:

6 different locations in Scotland, followed by our St David’s Hall debut in Cardiff & finally a performance at London’s Foundling Museum.

The tour will feature works by Soosan Lolavar, Giles Swayne, Freya Waley-Cohen, Emily Hall, Misha Mullov-Addado, Josephine Stephenson, Kate Whitley, a beautiful arrangement by William Cole and a première by Joseph Davies (in Cardiff). All details can be found on our website www.thehermesexperiment.com

5th – Glasgow University (workshop)
6th – Isle of Skye
7th – Strathearn
8th – Glasgow University
9th – Falkirk
10th – Dumfries
11th – Peebles
13th – St David’s Hall
18th – Foundling Museum

 

Spitalfields Festival Reviews

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Such a fantastic week performing at the Spitalfields Festival – heatfelt thanks to everyone who made it all happen, in particular Artistic curator André de Ridder, producer Rachel Caccia, my partner in crime harpist Anne Denholm, and  composer Josephine Stephenson for writing The Hermes Experiment such a beautiful piece!

“House of Monteverdi” with The Hermes Experiment:

“Written for the Hermes Experiment, its exacting vocal lines were delivered with considerable intensity by soprano Héloïse Werner” – Tim Ashley, The Guardian ★★★★ (full review HERE)

“Schumann Street” with harpist Anne Denholm:

“Some turn out almost as mini-operas; Héloïse Werner and harpist Anne Denholm make a raw lament of Und Wüssten’s die Blumen. (…) The only snag with Schumann Street is how soon we have to leave.” – Erica Jeal, The Guardian ★★★★

“I was particularly struck by (…) the intensity of the young soprano Héloïse Werner (…) Schumann Street was a fascinating idea, beautifully realised.” Richard Morrison, The Times

“But every room presented something magically strange and unforgettable, illuminating the genius of Schumann and Heine.” – Rupert Christiansen The Telegraph ★★★★★

“The audience moved round the venues in random order, stumbling on experiences that were both weird and wonderful. (…) Lisa Hannigan accompanied herself on the guitar, while Héloïse Werner and harpist Anne Denholm created a quasi-operatic heartbreak scene.” – Barry Millington, Evening Standard ★★★★

“soprano Héloïse Werner, amplifying the intensity of “Und wüsstens die Blumen” to operatic proportions: while Werner spoke and sung of her anguished, torn heart, Anne Denholm’s dissected her harp in extraordinary ways, from shivering filigree, to jarring feedback, drooping bent notes and the ghostly wail of metal on strings. Werner ended with a prolonged, sobbing cry of pitches, the harp drifting to nothing.” – Helen Wallace, The Arts Desk ★★★★

 

 

 

 

 

Schumann Street – picture by James Berry.

House of Monteverdi – picture by Robin Savage.

Snape Maltings residency

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Here’s a short film Snape Maltings put together about my residency back in July working on my new one-woman show with the wonderful Octavia Bright, Jessie Rodger and mentor Zoe Martlew:

 

Spitalfieds Festival 2017

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Spitalfieds have just launched their festival programme 2017, curated by André de Ridder, and I’m super happy to be performing at two of their events: “Schummann Street” and “House of Monteverdi”- details below. The whole festival sounds brilliant and I really recommend going to as many events as possible!

Schummann Street, Sat 9 and Sun 10 December 

Schumann Street is an ambitious staging and (re)interpretation of Schumann’s iconic song cycle: Dichterliebe. Set across the stunning Huguenot Houses of Spitalfields, each of the 16 songs in Schumann’s cycle will be performed by a different artist drawn from a wide range of stylistic backgrounds including Bengali folk, rap, classical, soul and jazz.

Create your own path through this immersive song-cycle installation and experience intimate performances close-up. This is house music in its original form.

Performers:
Bryan Benner | Sam Beste | Liam Byrne | Uri Caine | Mara Carlyle | Rahel Debebe-Desselegne | Anne Denholm | Abimaro | Lisa Hannigan | Topi Lehtipuu | Katherine Manley | Phil Minton | James McVinnie | Robert Murray | Alex Reeve | Shapla Salique | Saied Silbak | Aart Strootman | Heloise Werner | Apollo 47 and more…

Tickets

House of Monteverdi, Sat 2 December (with The Hermes Experiment)

Celebrating Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary, a stellar line-up of artists contrast authentic performances of the Renaissance master’s Eighth Book of Madrigals with groundbreaking modern works, premieres and re-interpretations.

Taking place over several hours this extraordinary marathon includes world premieres by French-British composer Josephine Stephenson, London premieres from our featured composer Icelandic Anna Thorvaldsdottir and a UK premiere from American composer Qasim Naqvi.

Performers:
La Nuova Musica: David Bates | The Erebus Ensemble: Tom Williams | Katherine Manley | Ben Johnson | The Hermes Experiment | Liam Byrne | Mayah Kadish | Gavin Kibble | s t a r g a z e | Presenter: Sara Mohr-Pietsch

Tickets

September news

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Hello hello, It’s September 1st (!! how?!) – I’ve come back from my holiday last night and started my day by going to the gym at 8am, soooo you know, I’m now on an admin roll and it’s time for that little blog post… Here are some recent bits of news + a little summary of what I’ve got coming up this month gig wise:

Firstly, I did a little interview for The CUSP Magazine, which you are welcome to read HERE.

Other than that – well lots happened in the summer. I’m not going to take you through it all, but maybe one thing to mention is that my new show The Other Side of the Sea, which I started to develop at Snape Maltings in July with 3 wonderful humans – writer Octavia Bright, filmmaker Jessie Rodger and mentor Zoë Martlew – is now well underway, and I have some very exciting news to reveal soon re future developments for the show / performances – so watch this space!

Recent The Hermes Experiment news:

-BBC Radio 3 Broadcast: Our live recording of Emily Hall’s beautiful song ‘The end of the ending’, premiered at Kings Place last February was broadcast on the BBC Radio 3 Weekend Breakfast show hosted by Elizabeth Alker – you can listen back on iPlayer here – we’re about 25 minutes in to the show.

-Composition projects with the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance: we are very happy to have been invited by both institutions to work with their postgraduate composition students this academic year. Workshops + concerts will take place in January-March 2018 (details on the Hermes site here).

Coming up this month:

I’ll be travelling to Berlin to take part in Loré Lixenberg’s PRET A CHANTER, a real time opera. We’ll be performing it on 23 September at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin.

I’ll also be spending a few days in Porto to start rehearsing Harrison Birtwistle’s The Moth Requiem for 12 voices, conducted by Gregory Rose, which we’ll be performing later in November at Casa da Música, Porto.

Other than that, The Hermes Experiment are returning to Rambert Dance for another day of workshops with composers & dancers, and are also performing at the Colourscape Festival on 16 September, Clapham Common 1-5pm. Our programme will include music by Stevie Wishart, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Josephine Stephenson, Darren Bloom, Ewan Campbell, Anna Appleby, Ed Scolding and William Marsey.

Finally, on 8 September, I’m singing with SHARDS for a Lunchtime Concert with composer Michael Price as part of Erased Tapes 10th anniversary festival at Southbank Centre, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, 1pm.

 

Voilà!

 

Héloïse x

Summer shows

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Hi internet world! Here’s what I’m up to in the next few weeks, in case anyone’s interested:

On Sunday, I’m off to Snape Maltings for a week to write my second solo show with some amazing people – I’m both terrified and very very excited! The show will explore themes linked to language, memory and identity. Octavia Bright is writing the words & I’m writing the music + performing it (eventually) – mainly voice & cello. Cellist / composer Zoë Martlew will be my mentor during the Snape Residency and Jessie Rodger will create visuals for the show. We’ll be doing a work-in-progress performance on 8 July in Snape Maltings, 6pm – you are all welcome to come! Tickets HERE.

Week after that, my quartet The Hermes Experiment is doing a Nonclassical night in Dalston on 12 Juy, curated by composer Freya Waley-Cohen. Our sets will feature Freya’s song cycle We Phoenician Sailors on poems by Octavia Bright (which we premiered last November at new dots) as well as works by Josephine Stephenson, Darren Bloom and Meredith Monk. I’ll also perform Aperghis’ Recitation N.9 for solo voice. Tickets HERE.

13-14 July: I’ll be in Berlin recording with SHARDS for Nils Frahm’s upcoming album.

15 July – very excited about this one: film composer David Julyan and I have been writing music together in the past weeks and we’re doing our first gig at my favourite London venue, the Union Chapel; him on synths & me on vocals/cello. Midday at the lovely Daylight Music event – more details HERE.

After that, I’ll be doing 5 festivals:

23 July: Nozstock Festival (in Herefordshire)- performing Scenes from the end, a one-woman opera about grief by Jonathan Woolgar, which I premiered last year in London & Edinburgh – more details HERE and HERE

28 & 29 July : Fishguard International Music Festival (in Wales) with my quartet The Hermes Experiment, performing works by Meredith Monk, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Emily Hall, Gareth Wood & more – tickets HERE

30 July: Port Eliot Festival (in Cornwall), performing in Darren Berry’s new opera The Crocodile of Old Kang Pow – more details HERE

6 August: Wilderness Festival (in Oxfordshire) – celloing with the Wilderness Orchestra. The Orchestra will be joined by artists including Laura Mvula, Will Young and Liane Carroll – more details HERE

11 August: Tête à Tête Opera Festival (in London!) – my quartet The Hermes Experiment is reviving their production of The Winter’s Tale. I’ll be singing + playing Perdita. Tickets HERE

Finally, on 1 August, I’ll be also be playing with The Amazing Devil at Gerry’s Club in Soho & on 2nd August, singing with Philharmonia Voices at BBC Proms.

 

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading and hopefully see you at something! Héloïse x

 

LSO Soundhub

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Super excited to give the 2nd performance of Glynde for solo voice by Ewan Campbell at LSO St Luke’s on 27 May at the LSO Soundhub Associate concert (tickets here). I premiered the piece at Blackheath Halls earlier this year and the score looks like this…

 

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RPS Music Awards

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I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve been shortlisted for a RPS Music Award 2017 in association with BBC Radio 3, in the Young Artist category, along with conductors Andrew Gourlay & Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and pianist Joseph Middleton.

The annual RPS Music Awards, presented in association with BBC Radio 3, are the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. Awards, in thirteen categories, are decided by independent panels consisting of some of the music industry’s most distinguished practitioners. The awards honour musicians, composers, writers, broadcasters and inspirational arts organisations. The list of previous winners reads like a Who’s Who of classical music. This year’s RPS Music Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in 2016.

The Awards Ceremony will be on 9 May!

www.rpsmusicawards.com

RPS_Awards_BBC_logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest Hermes news

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Lots happening with my contemporary quartet The Hermes Experiment in the next few weeks 🙂

NEXT WEEK:

Tues 14 Feb

-Composers’ Workshop, Faculty of Music, Cambridge – details here
-Recital at Newnham College, Cambridge, 7.30pm – details here

Thurs 16  Feb

Kings Place, Hall Two, 8pm – tickets here

To mark the centenary of the Russian Revolutions, we have collated a programme of musical responses to these historic turning points, featuring works by major Russian composers of the early 20th century alongside three especially commissioned pieces by contemporary composers – Emily Hall, Joel Rust and Timothy Salter.
Our debut performance at Kings Place will also include our own response to the revolutionary theme with free improvisation, a new piece inspired by the early electronics of the Russian avant-garde devised in collaboration with Jethro Cooke, a graphic score by Deborah Pritchard (based on a Kandinsky painting) and new arrangements of works by Mosolov, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff.
We are extremely grateful to have received funding from the Oleg Prokofiev Trust, RVW Trust and Arts Council England in support of this project.

Poster by my amazing lil sister Emma Werner:

 

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MARCH:

We are delighted to announce that we will be performing at Tallinn Music Week, Estonia, on 31 March. We are one of the chosen artists to represent Nonclassical at this wonderful festival. Tickets can be purchased here.

 

TMW-HERMES Publicity Group Shot

 

 

Arts Council Funding

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I’m delighted that my contemporary quartet The Hermes Experiment has just been awarded another grant from the Arts Council England, this time to support our Russian programme which we are premiering at Kings Place on 16 February. The project is also supported by the RVW Trust and the Oleg Prokofiev Trust. The programme will feature new commissions by Emily Hall, Timothy Salter and Joel Rust, a new devised piece with Jethro Cooke and brand new arrangements of works by Prokofiev, Mosolov and Rachmaninoff (all written by Hermes members)! You can get tickets HERE  – hope you can make it x

January events

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19/01: Soloist Competition Semi-Final

Semi-Finalist in the Trinity Laban Soloist Competition

Great Hall, Bleackheath Halls

Berg, 5 Orchesterlieder op.4

Stravinsky, 3 Japanese Lyrics 

Debussy, Yniold’s aria from Pélleas et Mélisande

accompanied by Imma Setiadi

20/01: Rambert Connects

The Hermes Experiment

Rambert, Southbank

Rambert Connects – a new initiative with the aim of bringing composers and choreographers together to share their work.

Performing works by Anna Appleby and Deborah Pritchard.

22/01: Composers’ Workshop – PRS for Music

Guest speaker for panel discussion on score writing and working with performers

PRS for Music, 2 Pancras Square, London, 11.15am

27/01: Showcase Series Recital

Recital Room, Blackheath Halls, 6pm

Soprano Héloïse Werner presents of programme of works written for unaccompanied solo voice by living composers, including George Aperghis, Jonathan Woolgar, Ben Gaunt, Ewan Campbell*, Henry Palmer*, as well as her own compositions. The programme will also feature award-winning guitarist Laura Snowden, playing new pieces for solo guitar by Philip Cashian and herself, and will culminate in a final set with Laura and Héloïse performing together.

*world premieres

As part of the Trinity Showcase Series

Admission free but ticketed – reserve here

The Winter’s Tale – reviews

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We had a wonderful time performing our Winter’s Tale to a sold-out Cockpit Theatre last week. The project was generously supported by Aldeburgh Music, Arts Council England, the RVW Trust, Hinrichsen Foundation and Britten-Pears Foundation. Some photos are available on our facebook page HERE and below are some lovely reviews (videos to follow!).

★★★★½ “groundbreaking” The Reviews Hub full review HERE

★★★★ “wonderfully appropriate and left me with a nice warm feeling as I departed the theatre” London Theatre 1 – full review HERE

★★★★ “The musicians were excellent” Everything Theatre – full review HERE

“I was (…) delighted to have been there” Boulezian – full review HERE

“makes this production so successful (…) resourceful and inventive” The CUSP Magazinefull review HERE

“Hopefully, this viewing of The Winter’s Tale won’t be the last. The Hermes Experiment is an ensemble that seems to tirelessly look forward, and reimagining Shakespeare in this way is an exciting trend to start” Schmopera – full review HERE

“This was a most impressive production that gripped the capacity audience from beginning to end” Andrew Benson-Wilson – full review HERE

Scenes from the End – London run reviews

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Below are a few quotes / reviews from my London run of Scenes from the End written by Jonathan Woolgar and directed by Emily Burns:

“sombre and powerful, it’s a tour de force for its sole performer, the 25-year-old soprano Héloïse Werner, a rising figure on the contemporary music scene. (…) she makes great use of her considerable vocal and acting range (…) Like the soprano Cathy Berberian, whose vocal acrobatics and theatrical prowess fascinated Luciano Berio, Werner must have been a pleasure to write for.” ★★★★ The Stage  Full review HERE

“Werner delivers a striking vocal performance that oscillates between pure, perfect musical notation, guttural cries of misery and mantra-like chanting” ★★★★ London City Nights Full review HERE

“sublime soprano Heloise Werner (…) This is a production of rewarding complexity and beauty, showcasing the brilliance of Miss Werner and Mr Woolgar. Scenes from the End is your opportunity to follow these talents forwards from here.” ★★★★ London Theatre 1 Full review HERE

“With extraordinary skill, Werner morphed into countless people, some of them archetypes, and some who felt specific and familiar. Her voice holds huge power and broad options; though it was entirely enmeshed in what we saw, Werner’s singing left a deep impression. (…) Scenes from the End is a dense, exhaustive evening, beautifully wrapped in a clean, mobile performance” Schmopera Full review HERE

“Héloïse Werner had captivating stage presence as the opera’s anonymous protagonist. (…) Werner used her versatile voice creatively, displaying consistent flair in operatic, avant-garde and bluesy styles. She is surely one of the most exciting young sopranos emerging in the industry.” The Cusp Magazine Full review HERE

“Werner puts body and soul into her performance, and is a name to watch. Stunning.” Fairy Powered Productions Full review HERE

“Werner’s impassioned and masterful performance (…) superbly performed” The Upcoming Full review HERE

“using impressive range of her vocal and acting skills” UK Theatre Network Full review HERE

 

 

 

The Winter’s Tale

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We are so excited to be premiering our interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale on Tuesday 13 December at The Cockpit, London. We developed the work during an Aldeburgh Music Residency in September. Reducing the play to an hour’s duration in collaboration with director Nina Brazier, composer Kim Ashton and five actors, we (The Hermes Experiment) become integrated into the drama alongside our wonderful group of actors, to create a wholly new interpretation of the play.

Tickets are now on sale here and our first bit of press coverage, from the online magazine Culture Whisper is here.

For this project, we are thrilled to receive support from Aldeburgh Music, Arts Council England, the RVW Trust, Hinrichsen Foundation and Britten-Pears Foundation.

Below is our brand new trailer and poster for the event – hope to see you there!

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Scenes from the End – London run

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After successful runs at the Camden and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, Scenes from the End returns to London for a run at the Tristan Bates Theatre this December. Tickets are available here.

 

RECENT PRESS: 

“The ten hottest tickets in town” Evening Standard

“extraordinary” Classic FM

INTERVIEWS

Evening Standard interview here

London Live interview here

Resonance FM interview here

Wandsworth Radio interview here

Schmopera interview here

LaLaLa records interview here

Music Musings and Such interview here

REVIEWS

“Scenes From the End. A powerful solo opera performed with precise movement & subtle acting by the virtuosic Héloïse Werner” ★★★★ Fringe Biscuit

“Exceptional and breathtaking” ★★★★★ Mumble

“It really is hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck stuff, and her wonderfully expressive face means that 45 minutes of operatic singing remains engaging (…) It is undeniable that Werner has immense talent” ★★★★ Edfringe review 

“Werner’s well-supported voice is powerful, it’s quality sweet and clear (…) remarkable vocal range. Impressive too was her agility, switching from a fragmented spoken to sung language.” Thoroughly Good

“Werner moves on to explore so brilliantly the human apathy that we have for our own life (…) putting you at ease with her theatrical charm. (…) wholly eye opening” ★★★★ The Metropolist

“powerful and thought provoking (…) incredibly strong voice, haunting stage presence and overwhelming physicality” A Younger Theatre

“arresting and very powerful” (…) Heloise’s voice has a piercing clarity and depth, one moment beautiful, the next visceral and freighted with distress.” The Cross-Eyed Pianist

“remarkable, with some exquisite acting, singing, speaking and physical theatre” Andrew Benson-Wilson

“This (…) sees Héloïse Werner display extraordinary uses of the human voice with great versatility (…) well-acted, quirky and charming production” ★★★★ London Theatre 1

“Heloise Werner is an extraordinary performer, combining a versatile and powerful operatic voice, with the expressive theatricality of mime and movement. Through fractured fragments of percussional sounds and the words of Shakespeare and Eliot for literary insight, it is the sparse minimalism of this one woman Opera, which creates a pure, profound interpretation of human emotion – the raw sense of grief and loss.” Vivien Devlin

 

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Resonance FM Interview

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Hello! The live interview I did on Resonance FM “The Opera Hour” last month is now available on mixcloud here. Feel free to give it a listen (37′ onwards) – I’m discussing Scenes from the End, which I’ll be performing again in December at Tristan Bates Theatre (more info here).

new dots Playlist

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I’ve made a little playlist for the lovely people at new dots – you can take a look HERE. (My quartet The Hermes Experiment will be working with new dots in November).

Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to discover and perform lots of amazing music, new and old (mostly new!) and so when compiling this playlist, I thought it would be interesting to talk about pieces and composers that I’ve discovered through performance that have really stayed with me. I always find that there’s something very special about discovering an artist or piece of music through performing, and then ending up listening to their music or the piece on repeat on your iPod afterwards! This playlist also outlines some of my current musical interests: vocal music as drama, the use of vocal effects, and minimalism.

Hope you enjoy and discover some new composers / artists!

Heloise x

 

Scenes From The End – reviews & videos

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You can watch back my London Live interview here and my Evening Standard interview here.

CAMDEN & EDINBURGH PRESS

“The ten hottest tickets in town” Evening Standard

“extraordinary” Classic FM

“Scenes From the End. A powerful solo opera performed with precise movement & subtle acting by the virtuosic Héloïse Werner” ★★★★ Fringe Biscuit

“Exceptional and breathtaking” ★★★★★ Mumble

“It really is hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck stuff, and her wonderfully expressive face means that 45 minutes of operatic singing remains engaging (…) It is undeniable that Werner has immense talent” ★★★★ Edfringe review 

“Werner’s well-supported voice is powerful, it’s quality sweet and clear (…) remarkable vocal range. Impressive too was her agility, switching from a fragmented spoken to sung language.” Thoroughly Good

“Werner moves on to explore so brilliantly the human apathy that we have for our own life (…) putting you at ease with her theatrical charm. (…) wholly eye opening” ★★★★ The Metropolist

“powerful and thought provoking (…) incredibly strong voice, haunting stage presence and overwhelming physicality” A Younger Theatre

“arresting and very powerful” (…) Heloise’s voice has a piercing clarity and depth, one moment beautiful, the next visceral and freighted with distress.”The Cross-Eyed Pianist

“remarkable, with some exquisite acting, singing, speaking and physical theatre” Andrew Benson-Wilson

“This (…) sees Héloïse Werner display extraordinary uses of the human voice with great versatility (…) well-acted, quirky and charming production” ★★★★ London Theatre 1

 

 

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Summer 2016 – news

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Some nice bits of summer news…

 

KOMMILITONEN!

I’ve spent most of July in sunny Cardiff rehearsing for & performing in this year’s WNO Youth Opera production of Kommilitonen! (music by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies & libretto by David Poutney). I’m still reeling from it all and feel so lucky to have been part of such an amazing production. We’ve had some fantastic reviews which you can read here: 5 stars in The Guardian, 4 stars in The Times, and a really lovely write-up in Wales Arts Review.

 

SCENES FROM THE END

I’m now looking forward to performing Scenes from the End, a new one-woman opera / solo show about grief, written for me by the amazing Jonathan Woolgar and directed by Emily Burns. Classic FM recently featured a video about it on their Facebook Page, which has been viewed 166K times (!) – it’s so great to see that new music has reached so many people!! I’m doing 2 London shows as part of the Camden Fringe – opening night has sold out but there are still a few tickets left for the 11th. I’m then heading to Edinburgh Fringe, performing 22nd-27th. Would be great to see you there!

 

THE HERMES EXPERIMENT

So excited to announce that we have secured Arts Council Funding for our upcoming Winter’s Tale project at Aldeburgh Music. We’ve now cast almost all our actors (Louisa Hollway, Sadie Parsons, William McGeough & Finlay Cormack) and I cannot wait for our residency in September!

 

THE COACH HOUSE COMPANY

We’ve just finished recording our 2nd EP Maiden Tales – it’s being mastered at the moment and I cannot wait to share it with you all soon. EP Launch will take place on 25 September at The 100 Club in Soho.

 

THE AMAZING DEVIL

I’ve recently joined The Amazing Devil (on cello + backing vocals) and their debut album LOVE RUN + single & album launch gigs have just received some lovely reviews in Folk Radio UK, Tribune & For Folk’s Sake. You can watch our first video KING here & buy the album here.

 

More soon… Thanks for reading!! Héloïse xxx

Winter’s Tale – ACE Funding

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I’m really pleased to announce that my contemporary quartet The Hermes Experiment has secured Arts Council England funding for our upcoming ‘Winter’s Tale’ project in the autumn. This is in addition to our existing funding from the Hinrichsen Foundation, the RVW Trust, and the Britten-Pears Foundation. We are extremely grateful to all these sources.

The project officially begins with a residency at Aldeburgh Music in early September, during which we will develop our new interpretation of Shakespeare’s timeless play. Reducing the play to an hour’s duration in collaboration with director Nina Brazier and composer Kim Ashton, the quartet of musicians will become part of the drama alongside a group of actors. An Open Session will explore the progress we make during the residency, and is a chance to take constructive feedback from a local audience.

Actors auditions have now taken place, and the full cast will be announced very soon. The first ‘official’ performance of our ‘The Winter’s Tale’ project is on Tuesday 13th December (19:30) at The Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone.

Show this summer + Hermes reviews

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Tickets for Scenes from the End at the Camden & Edinburgh Fringe Festivals this summer are now on sale!

Camden Fringe 10 & 11 August: www.camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=617

Edinburgh Fringe 22-27 August: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/scenes-from-the-end

Really hope you can join me!

(Edinburgh poster below).

 

In other news, here are some lovely reviews from our Hermes Experiment gig at Nonclassical last week:

The virtuosic skill of each member of the group was on display from the start, with a short piece of collective improvisation. Building in intensity, with dense harmonies always verging on dissonance, Werner’s ethereal voice blended beautifully with Pashley’s clarinet melody, before breaking into chaotic vocal effects and hand clapping over turbulent pizzicato bass, all finishing abruptly yet perfectly in sync” London Jazz News  //  full review HERE

” ever-strengthening set from the Hermes Experiment” – The Prickle  // full review HERE

 

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Wild Kat PR

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Very pleased to announce that I have joined Wild Kat PR! wildkatpr.com/news/blog/2016/04/28/welcoming-heloise-werner/

Wild Kat will be working on my solo show “Scenes from the End”, which will premiere this summer at the Camden & Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, and run at the Tristan Bates Theatre (Covent Garden) in December.

 

About Scenes from the End:

Young soprano has world on her shoulders as she explores themes of death and grief in contemporary one-woman opera.

Explosively expressive, yet deeply intimate – Scenes from the End is a tour de force showcase for performer Héloïse Werner.  Together with composer Jonathan Woolgar and director Emily Burns, Héloïse explores a multitude of genres and techniques to offer poignant and dramatic reflections on grief.

In three parts, Scenes from the End begins with the end of the universe, moves through the end of humanity, before finally addressing the end of the individual.  What is grief? How does society perceive death and grief, and how does this affect your own experience of grief? At times reserved and reflective, at times unashamedly direct, Scenes from the End challenges the audience to consider their own attitudes towards death and grief.

After a successful preview at the Tristan Bates Theatre in February 2016, Scenes from the End premieres this summer at the Camden & Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, and runs at the Tristan Bates Theatre in December 2016.

 

Jonathan Woolgar (composer)

Jonathan Woolgar is a composer. He is particularly interested in music as drama and music for the stage, and his work draws from a wide range of musical experience, aiming to engage every kind of listener.

Jonathan has had works performed at the Bridgewater Hall and the Royal Albert Hall by ensembles such as Manchester Camerata, Onyx Brass, Aurora Orchestra and the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, as well as broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In 2010 he won the BBC Proms Young Composers’ Competition. His music has been recorded for commercial release by the choir of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, while he enjoys close associations with contemporary music ensembles The Hermes Experiment and Khymerikal. Jonathan is Composer in Residence at Eton College for 2015-17, and will be the Cambridge University Musical Society Composer in Residence for 2017.

Jonathan attended Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester from 2008-10, where he studied composition and conducting with Jeremy Pike and Gavin Wayte. From 2010-13 he read music at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge where he graduated with First Class Honours and studied composition with Giles Swayne, going on to study with David Sawer at the Royal Academy of Music.

Whilst currently based near London, Jonathan originally hails from Pontefract in West Yorkshire. He dabbles in piano and jazz saxophone, and his academic interests include opera and musical theatre.

jonathanwoolgar.com

 

Emily Burns (director)

Emily Burns is a director who works in theatre and opera with a focus on naturalism and new writing in both. Most recently she has been at Opera North assisting on their award winning productions of Das Rheingold and Siegfried. Prior to that she was the assistant director on Chichester Festival Theatre’s productions of Platonov, Ivanov and The Seagull. In addition to Scenes from the End, this summer she is directing comedian Liam Williams debut play, Travesty.

www.emily-burns.com

Park Lane Group concert reviews

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Lovely reviews from our Park Lane Group Young Artists concert at St John’s Smith Square last Tuesday in The TimesThe Observer, The Evening Standard and Seen and Hear International:

“The performance was meticulously nuanced, witty and chic.” **** The Times

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/park-lane-group-at-st-johns-smith-square-sw1-rtx3w6czl

“This clever mix of instruments is more versatile than you might first think” **** The Observer

www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/24/park-lane-group-2016-st-johns-smith-square-review

“The combination of harp, clarinet, voice and double bass is not one you hear every day, but in the right hands it works brilliantly. The Hermes Experiment who sport this line-up have in a short few years commissioned prodigiously for it, opening a whole new expressive world” The Evening Standard

“soprano, Héloïse Werner really used the words performatively: not just their meaning but their sound. (…) Werner was not at all afraid to sound ugly when the text, literally, called for it: ‘Il est trop laid”  “Werner was called upon to imitate the train as well as sing: all carried off with a splendid sense of performance art.” Seen and Heard International (Mark Berry)

seenandheard-international.com/2016/04/rewarding-music-and-performances-in-the-park-lane-young-artists-spring-series

 

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SONIC VISIONS

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This Tuesday (16th Feb), my contemporary quartet The Hermes Experiment presents SONIC VISIONS at The Forge, Camden, 8pm.

The Hermes Experiment will explore ways in which aural experiences have been influenced by visual stimuli. The programme will be led by new commissions that respond to a visual element, as interpreted by composers Kate Whitley and Soosan Lolavar. The concert will also include performances of new graphic scores and the premiere of an animation by Izabela Barszcz based on Ed Scolding’s Black Sea. The programme will be completed by arrangements that explore three very varied composers/songwriters that have been inspired by the world of visual art: Claude Debussy, Richard Rodney Bennett and Don McLean.

We will be repeating the programme at 22 Mansfield Street on 21 March and at the National Portrait Gallery on 6 May. Tickets for Tuesday are available here.

SONIC VISIONS is generously supported by the Britten-Pears Foundation the Hinrichsen Foundation, Britten-Pears Foundation and The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust.

 

 

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The Hermes Experiment – news

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The Hermes Experiment are delighted to announce that we have been offered a residency at the wonderful Aldeburgh Music in September 2016. We will be working on developing a new project with director Nina Brazier, composer Kim Ashton, and actors. This will be our biggest and broadest project so far, and ties in with the big Shakespeare 400th anniversary year. More details (including audition dates for actors) will be announced in the coming months!

 

In other news, tickets are now on sale for our next season concert SONIC VISIONS, taking place at The Forge (Camden) on 16 February; we will be premiering pieces by Kate Whitley & Soosan Lolavar as well as a new semi-improvised piece devised in collaboration with Giles Swayne. Full programme info & tickets available here.

 
Other Hermes upcoming events include:

Zero Wave on 19 January

Bloomsbury Organ Day on 30 January (4pm)

SONIC VISIONS at 22 Mansfield Street on 21 March

PLG Young Artists Spring Series Recital at St John’s Smith Square on 19 April 

 

 

New solo show – next month

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I’m very excited to preview “Scene from the End” next month at Tristan Bates Theatre (Covent Garden). In short, it’s a new solo show about grief and it involves some singing and some acting… Tickets are on sale here (£6 advance / £8 door – and the theatre is small so I’d recommend booking early). Really hope to see you there!

Scenes from the End: A tour-de-force showcase for soprano Héloïse Werner. Using a colourful array of vocal and theatrical means, composer Jonathan Woolgar and director Roxana Haines paint historic, comic and tragic pictures of “the end”, from the heat-death of the universe to the end of an individual life. This is virtuoso music theatre on a scale that is both cosmic and intimate.

Performer: Héloïse Werner
Director: Roxana Haines
Composer: Jonathan Woolgar
Lighting Designer: Oliver Savidge

 

Poster design: Emma Werner

 

scenes 2

 

The Hermes Experiment – news

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I am extremely pleased to announce that the RVW Trust, Britten-Pears Foundation,  Hinrichsen Foundation and The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust are all supporting The Hermes Experiment‘s current and upcoming projects:

The RVW Trust and the Britten-Pears Foundation are supporting our project METROPOLIS, which we premièred at The Cockpit Theatre two weeks ago – more dates for 2016 will be announce soon so stay tuned!
The Britten-Pears Foundation, Hinrichsen Foundation and The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust will be supporting our concert SONIC VISIONS at The Forge, Camden on 16th February 2016, featuring new commissions by Kate Whitley, Soosan Lolavar and Giles Swayne.

rvw trust logo-masterhinrich2BPF-logo

The Coach House Company’s Christmas Concert

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Christmas is approaching (slowly) but tickets are selling fast The Coach House Company‘s Christmas concert on 15th December at Rosslyn Hill Chapel (in Hampstead) – so if you don’t want to miss out on lots of lovely Christmas-themed folk, mulled wine and mince pies, get your tickets now (limited capacity): http://www.wegottickets.com/event/327616

 

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Scenes from the End

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I’m really excited to be performing Part I of my new solo show Scenes from the End at Zero Wave next month on Wednesday 4th November. More details about the event can be found here. I’ll then be doing full previews (all three parts) in February (01/02 at Tristan Bates Theatre and 07/02 at 20th Century Theatre in Notting Hill) and festivals over the summer (watch this space for announcements!).

Scenes from the End: A tour-de-force showcase for soprano Héloïse Werner. Using a colourful array of vocal and theatrical means, composer Jonathan Woolgar and director Roxana Haines paint historic, comic and tragic pictures of “the end”, from the heat-death of the universe to the end of an individual life. This is virtuoso music theatre on a scale that is both cosmic and intimate.

 

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METROPOLIS

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Announcing our next season concert METROPOLIS:

The Hermes Experiment are joined by collaborators Stevie Wishart, Ewan Campbell and Jethro Cooke, to explore the sights and sounds of the city.Through new commissions, arrangements and free improvisation, the uncompromising metropolis will be seen by night and day, as a symbol of progress, destruction, light and dark.

Tuesday 27 October, 7.30pm at The Cockpit
Tickets available here: http://thecockpit.org.uk/show/metropolis

Supported by the Britten-Pears Foundation

 

Metropolis

New song released by The Coach House Company

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My folk band The Coach House Company has just released a new song called “Blackbird” – you can have a listen here:

Video by Lottie Kingslake
www. lottiekingslake.co.uk

Audio recorded at the Institute of Sound Recording at the University of Surrey
Sound engineer: Joe Stansfield

Written and performed by The Coach House Company
Maya Amin-Smith – vocals, violin
Colin Danskin – trumpet
Patrick Milne – guitar
Marianne Schofield – double bass
Héloïse Werner – vocals, cello
www.thecoachhousecompany.co.uk

The Coach House Company @ BUSH HALL

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We’re really excited to share a double bill with The Old Dance School at BUSH HALL on SUNDAY 7 JUNE. Tickets are available HERE.

In other news, we’ll be releasing a new music video before the end of the month, so watch this space!

The Coach House Company – EP review

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Bright Young Folk reviewed our EP :

“Influences come thick and fast from the traditional folk core of jigs, reels, song and beyond into jazz and classical, while the vocal harmonies add a most impressive aspect to this collection”

“There are times when you hear a record and recognise that the musicians involved are revelling in the experience just as much as their audience. Listening to The Coach House Company EP is one of those.”

Read the full review here.

 

CHC EP cover

Soundscapes – Jeremy Thurlow’s blog

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Jeremy Thurlow wrote a blog post about his new piece for The Hermes Experiment which will be premiered at LimeWharf on 15th November (“Soundscapes”) – read it here.

Marianne Schofield’s guest feature for Female Arts

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Marianne Schofield has written a guest feature for femalearts.com about being a woman, a bass player, and part of The Hermes Experiment. Read it here: http://femalearts.com/node/1515

All the Wild Folk

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Tickets for the next Coach House Company London gig are available here – Double bill with the excellent TEYR.

Poster design – Tommie Black-Roff

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The Hermes Experiment at the Wigmore Hall

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The Hermes Experiment have been selected to perform as part of  Wigmore Hall’s ’For Crying Out Loud’ concert series this season – performance date TBC soon. They have also be selected to join Wigmore Hall’s 2014-15 Chamber Tots project. The first workshop will take place on 11th November.