News
Foyle Foundation grant awarded
November 2024
We are extremely grateful to the Foyle Foundation for awarding us a substantial grant towards our core costs over the next twelve months. It is thanks to the support of organisations such as this one that we are able to continue doing the work we love and continue commissioning and creating with musicians, composers and artists we admire. We have wonderful things in the making over the next year and encourage you to keep an eye on our diary for future events and on our Instagram page for current projects, updates, and behind-the-scenes footage.
Sky In A Small Cage
UK Premiere of Rolf Hind’s new opera at Barbican
September 2024
“First of all, I loved it.”
We have received glowing reviews for the UK premiere of Rolf Hind’s new opera “Sky In A Small Cage” (‘…the brilliant instrumentalists of the Riot Ensemble…’—The Stage; ‘…the committed playing of the instrumentalists of the Riot Ensemble whose sonorities echoed around the hall…’—The Telegraph) but nothing quite captures the essence of this intensely magnificent work and its production (a collaboration with Mahogany Opera, and our Barbican main stage debut) as beautifully as Tim Rutherford-Johnson’s write-up.
“Hind’s music and Dante Micheaux’s libretto tied together this (love-like) story with a path towards enlightenment, threading them around each other in both their joys and perils.”
Call for Scores ‘24
Commissions announced!
May 2024
Thank you to all composers who shared their work with us. It has been fantastic listening to all your music and we are thrilled to offer commissions to Sofia Jen Ouyang and Golnaz Shariatzadeh, for our debuts this autumn at MIXTUR Festival in Barcelona and Festival de Música in the Canary Islands, respectively.
Collaboration with Mahogany Opera for the production of Rolf Hind’s new opera ‘Sky in a Small Cage
April 2024
We make our Barbican debut with a new opera by Rolf Hind which is inspired by the life and works of Sufi poet Rumi. With a libretto by Dante Micheaux and translations of Rumi’s poetry, this Mahogany Opera production will be premiered at Copenhagen Opera Festival by Athelas Sinfonietta & Aaron Holloway-Nahum before we give the UK premiere in September, opening the Barbican’s 2024-25 season.
NEW RESIDENCY PROGRAMME LAUNCHED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC
February 2024
This month we launch a bold new contemporary music programme in collaboration with Royal Academy of Music, with support from the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.
'SIDE-BY-SIDE: Developing the Next Generation of Composers and Performers in London' is a programme exclusive to the Academy, which will allow their students to perform with Riot Ensemble in concerts across the UK, as well as providing other bespoke opportunities.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 ROYAL PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY ENSEMBLE AWARD
January 2024
Riot Ensemble has been shortlisted for this year’s Royal Philharmonic Society Ensemble Award, alongside BBC Singers and Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. We are very grateful for this recognition of our work and would like to congratulate all nominees across the shortlists. Thank you to Steinberg’s Dorico for making the Ensemble Award possible.
RIOT ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES NEW ARTISTIC STRUCTURE
January 2024
Aaron Holloway-Nahum – conductor, co-founder and current Artistic Director & CEO of Riot Ensemble will be joined by two members of the Ensemble: Marie Schreer (violin) and Adam Swayne (piano & co-founder) as Co-Artistic Directors alongside their playing roles, and independent Creative Producer Jackie Newbould in an overseeing role, forming a new Artistic Planning Team of four that will lead and continue to cherish the unique ‘artistic democracy’ that gives Riot its strength, and building on the wealth of entrepreneurial skills that exist within its body of players – the ‘Artistic Board’.
RIOT ENSEMBLE WINS ERNST VON SIEMENS FOUNDATION ENSEMBLE PRIZE
The new prize for outstanding young ensembles comes with a cash award of 75,000 euros and will contribute towards Riot Ensemble’s artistic and structural development.
Riot Ensemble convinced the jury “not only through their outstanding musicianship, intuition for contemporary trends and well thought-out programmes, but also through their considerate and sustainable approach to solving ongoing structural and organisational challenges..”.
Riot Ensemble will use the Ernst von Siemens funding to establish and underwrite new core musician-administrator positions within Riot’s Artistic Board, to establish a new international festival in London and to continue the ensemble’s work of commissioning and performing music by the most exciting emerging composers from around the world.
Welcoming the award of the Ensemble Prize, Riot’s Artistic Director, Aaron Holloway-Nahum, hailed it as both a confirmation and a help to overcoming the particular challenges of the current time:
"To be awarded the Ernst von Siemens Ensemble Prize is a moment of reflection and of looking ahead. The things this group of musicians have created – both in terms of collaborative compositional output and concert-based interpretations – is nothing but a joy to me. This Prize is a recognition of that quality, and a hope for the future. That we'll still be here after this disastrous year and beyond, a part of this community, doing what we love. I couldn't be more grateful or more excited."