Meet the composers performing at the Great Northern Piano Session II on 10th May

Alice Thompson

Alice is a classically trained pianist and composer. Alice’s next-generation modern, minimal classical piano compositions have been broadcast on the radio in 103 countries worldwide. Alice
released her debut album ‘Solo Piano’ in 2013 and has since gone on to work on a number of interesting and innovative collaboration projects with other notable electronic and ambient artists.

Alice co-wrote, produced and performed on the 2014 EP ‘Tragical Minds’ with France-based Hip Hop Producer XtronX. Alice also co-wrote and performed piano on the track ‘It Ain’t Over’ with critically acclaimed musician and producer Saul Freeman (Thieves, Mandalay), now included on Saul’s album ‘Wait: Speak’.

July 2015 saw the release of the Butterflies EP, a work of piano music augmented with ambient electronic sounds originally generated from the piano itself, followed by the Fables EP, a work for
Solo Piano released in 2016. The musical score for Alice’s album Solo Piano was published by Music Sales Group in Autumn 2015.

During 2016, 2017 and 2018 Alice wrote new material for a second full length album to be called Solo Piano Two, while continuing to perform piano music live. In 2017 Alice began working with PH Pianos as a Brand Ambassador. Solo Piano Two was recorded in Copenhagen in January 2018, mixed in Alice’s studio in London in Spring 2018 and mastered by Simon Heyworth in Devon during Summer 2019. Solo Piano Two was released on 12.12.18, topping the Bandcamp’s Contemporary Classical Bestseller list.

OFFICIAL WEBSITES:
http://www.alicethompsonmusic.com
https://alicethompson.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/MsAliceThompson
https://twitter.com/MsAliceThompson

Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor is an accomplished pianist and keyboard player specialising in improvisation. The music is evocative, alluring and unique; combining unusual harmonies and sonorities with an original and fluid technique.

He is emerging as one of the most consistently interesting and innovative solo pianists in recent years, eschewing the conventional cliches associated with jazz improvisation in favour of an unorthodox, harmonically complex and often compellingly beautiful musical language that is often inspired by the classical tradition. Nonetheless, his playing also encapsulates the restless capacity for invention that is a cornerstone of jazz.

Paul Taylor is a northern line R6 ambassador artist supported by Jazz North using public funding from Arts Council England.

He is also one third of acclaimed improv trio,The Long Lonesome Go, along with Christian Alderson and Jason Etherington. They performed at 2011’s inaugural TUSK Festival for experimental music in Newcastle.

“A rare phenomenon”: International Piano Magazine, Nov/Dec 2016 edition
“A solo improviser of outstanding scope and originality”: Paul Bream’s Jazz Alert
“Now firmly established as the most original improvising pianist in the North East”:
“Gorgeous”: The Guardian

Recent Performances

Paul Taylor performed at St. Bartholomew’s Church for this year’s Marsden Jazz Festival in Yorkshire (October 14th), on the same bill as Keith Tippett and Matthew Bourne. An appearance at the 2019 Hebden Bridge Piano Festival has also been confirmed.

Paul appeared at Transilvania Jazz Festival in Cluj-Napoca in Romania on 6th November 2017 at the city’s Hungarian Opera House. He has released and produced a recording of the concert, which is available on Bandcamp, along with his other major recent releases.

Paul performed two solo sets at last year’s Roland Jazz Festival in Romania in July 2017 and also this year in August. Other recent appearances have included Manchester Jazz Festival on July 23rd this year and Newcastle Festival for Jazz and Improvised Music on 30th September last year.

In addition, he performed at Gateshead International Jazz Festival at Sage Gateshead on April 16th 2016, having appeared at the festival on three previous occasions.Paul also appeared at Sage Gateshead on 19th August and October 7th 2016, as well as supporting Lubomyr Melnyk in March 2016

Steve Luck

Steve is an award winning composer, pianist and producer.

He composes beautiful, compelling, emotional music from his own recording studio in the heart of the Ouseburn, Newcastle Upon Tyne UK.

His latest release is the 73 minute 18 track ‘Collected Piano Solos – Vol.1’ available to listen to or buy from https://steveluck.bandcamp.com/

From simple heartfelt piano solos to large scale bombastic orchestral masterpieces. From glitchy electronica to uplifting, feelgood, folksy instrumentals, you can hear his music on over seventy five professional productions including feature films, TV documentaries, shorts, and animations.

In addition he works with a variety of music libraries. Recent track placements have seen my music used on BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 5, RTL ,Direct Star and TV2 .

In 2007 Steve won two awards from the Royal Television Society for professional excellence in music.He is a member of the music writers committee of the Musicians Union and founder of the Guild of Northern Media Composers.

Atmospherica 2019 Kicks Off Underground

The 2019 line up for the Atmospherica composer concert series is beginning to take shape. Some concerts will take place here in Atmospherica HQ in the Ouseburn but there will also be two further instalments of The Great Northern Piano Sessions happening at Gosforth Civic Theatre. I’m excited to share the details with you about who is playing where and when and and I will do once all of the T’s have been dotted and the I’s have been crossed and everything is confirmed. Look out for announcements very soon.

However one thing that I can announce today is that the first concert in the series has been arranged with the good people of the Ouseburn Trust who so brilliantly take care of the Victoria Tunnel. I will be performing some of my solo piano pieces in (almost) pitch darkness inside the tunnel on Friday April 5th 2019 – with two forty five minute shows on the same evening. The first one is at 7.15pm and the second begins at 8.30pm. This is me playing there at the end of last year in the concert celebrating the winter solstice.

Steve Luck performing inside the Victoria Tunnel in December 2018

Tickets for this first show of the new series are on sale now and can be bought here

GENTLY DOES IT ! THE GREAT NORTHERN PIANO SESSION COMES TO GOSFORTH CIVIC THEATRE.

Whisper it quietly…the next Atmospherica Composer Concert is really something special. 

‘The Great Northern Piano Session’ will take place on Friday 12th October 2018 at 7.30pm at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3HD.

Featuring four leading contemporary classical composers who are all based in the North of England, this concert is a must for lovers of accessible, thoughtful and captivating solo piano music. It promises to be an un-missable evening of lovingly crafted, heartfelt and beautiful original music.

There will be performances from the Newcastle based Steve Luck (award winning composer and founder of the Atmospherica series), Northumberland’s Mark Deeks (vastly experienced pianist and owner of Music Newcastle), Simeon Walker from Leeds (founder of the Brudenell Piano Sessions and fresh from recent performances at the Latitude festival and Late Junction on Radio 3) and Oliver Brouwer from Lancaster (a featured artist on the Swedish ‘1631 Recordings’ label)

Contemporary classical music is on the rise. Big name European composers like Ludovico Einaudi, Nihls Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Max Richter have done much to popularise the genre which has its roots in classical music but is also heavily influenced by pop, folk, world, film and electronic music. You can expect accessible ambient piano music with a meditative, soothing, serene feel to it which is both captivating and powerfully cinematic. The four featured artists have been working together over the last few months to provide more opportunities for live performances and to develop the audience for this music here in the north of England.

Atmospherica founder Steve Luck said “I’m delighted to welcome these amazing pianists to Newcastle for what promises to be a very special evening. All of the artists have played at an Atmospherica Concert in the past year or so and I’m really pleased to bring them all together on one evening for everyone to enjoy. There is nothing like experiencing this music performed live, especially in a beautiful intimate venue like the Gosforth Civic Theatre”

Tickets are on sale for the Great Northern Piano Session on the Gosforth Civic Theatre web site https://www.gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk/great-northern-piano-session