A composer of ferocious dramatic instincts
— Alex Ross, The New Yorker
Answer Machine Tape, 1987, for piano and multimedia, has two more performances announced this autumn, including the London premiere. Zubin Kanga, who commissioned the piece, will perform the work at the Concertgebouw in Bruges, Belgium, on Sunday 30th November 2025, and then the week later at Kings Place in London on 5th December 2025.
More information about the Bruges performance is available here.
More information about the Kings Place performance is available here.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987, for piano and multimedia, will be performed on 18th October at the Transit Festival in Leuven, Belgium. It will be performed by Zubin Kanga, who commissioned the piece, at STUK in a late-night concert. More information and tickets here.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987 was made in collaboration with Zubin and programmer Simon Hendry, based on a concept developed in collaboration with Ted Huffman. It focuses on New York visual artist David Wojnarowicz and the turbulent period leading up to the death Peter Hujar, his close friend and fellow artist, from AIDS-related illness in 1987. The focal point of the work is Wojnarowicz’s answering machine tape from the days leading up to Hujar’s death, featuring calls from Hujar, other artists, friends and lovers. Using new sensor technology from the Augmented Instruments Lab, the piano is turned into a huge typewriter to transcribe, comment on and illuminate the messages. The result is, I hope, a poignant and intimate exploration of that period of the New York art scene, queer history and the AIDS crisis.
Photo by Robin Clewley, taken at a performance at HCMF, Huddersfield, 2022.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987 has been shortlisted for the Small Chamber Composition category of the 2023 Ivors Classical Awards. The awards ceremony will take place at the British Film Institute on the South Bank in London on 14th November 2023. The other shortlisted composers are Newton Armstrong, Matthew Grouse, Josephine Stephenson and Larry Goves.
Some production images from the Manchester International Festival production of The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions, June 2023 (based on the book by Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta 1977).
Cast: Kerry Bursey, Jacob Garside, Katherine Goforth, Kit Green, Conor Gricmanis, Mariamielle Lamagat, Eric Lamb, Themba Mvula, Meriel Price, Yshani Perinpanayagem, Collin Shay, Joy Smith, Sally Swanson, Yandass.
Text & Direction by Ted Huffman, Music by Philip Venables, Music Direction by Yshani Perinpanayagem, Costume by Theo Clinkard & Sophie Donaldson, Choreography by Theo Clinkard, Sound by Simon Hendry, Design by Rosie Elnile, Lighting by Bertrand Couderc, Dramaturgy by Scottee. All images by Tristram Kenton. They can be used for press purposes with the appropriate credit.
Some production images from the Dutch National Opera production of Denis & Katya, March 2022, on the enormous main stage of the opera house in Amsterdam, as part of the Opera Forward Festival. The singers Inna Demenkova and Michael Wilmering, with cellists of the Residentie Orkest The Hague. Direction by Ted Huffman, Music Direction by Tim Anderson, Sound by Simon Hendry, Video by Pierre Martin, Design and Lighting by Andrew Lieberman. All images by Milagro Elstak. They can be used for press purposes with the appropriate credit.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987, my a new work for piano and multimedia, has more performances announced this autumn. Zubin Kanga, who commissioned the piece, will perform the work at the following places:
12th November 2022 — House73 Courtroom in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, as part of November Music. Click here for tickets and info.
19th November 2022 — Bates Mill in Huddersfield, UK, as part of Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Click here for tickets and info.
4th December 2022 — Espace Cardin in Paris, as part of the Festival d’Automne à Paris. Click here for tickets and info.
The piece was made in collaboration with Zubin and programmer Simon Hendry, based on a concept developed in collaboration with Ted Huffman. It focuses on New York visual artist David Wojnarowicz and the turbulent period leading up to the death Peter Hujar, his close friend and fellow artist, from AIDS-related illness in 1987. The focal point of the work is Wojnarowicz’s answering machine tape from the days leading up to Hujar’s death, featuring calls from Hujar, other artists, friends and lovers. Using new sensor technology from the Augmented Instruments Lab, the piano is turned into a huge typewriter to transcribe, comment on and illuminate the messages. The result is, I hope, a poignant and intimate exploration of that period of the New York art scene, queer history and the AIDS crisis.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987 was commissioned by Zubin Kanga with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Royal Holloway, University of London, in conjunction with Time of Music, November Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Festival d’Automne à Paris. I also received support for research, workshops and software development from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of Neustart Kultur.
Photo by Eeli Järvinen, taken at the premiere at Time of Music, Viitasaari.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987 — a new work for piano and multimedia — has its first performance on 8th July 2022 at Time of Music Festival (Musiikin Aika) in Viitasaari, Finland, given by Zubin Kanga. The festival is programming a small feature on my work, including performances of Illusions and My Favourite Piece is the Goldberg Variations.
The piece is made in collaboration with Zubin and programmer Simon Hendry, based on a concept developed in collaboration with Ted Huffman. It focuses on New York visual artist David Wojnarowicz and the turbulent period leading up to the death Peter Hujar, his close friend and fellow artist, from AIDS-related illness in 1987. The focal point of the work is Wojnarowicz’s answering machine tape from the days leading up to Hujar’s death, featuring calls from Hujar, other artists, friends and lovers. Using new sensor technology from the Augmented Instruments Lab, the piano is turned into a huge typewriter to transcribe, comment on and illuminate the messages. The result is, I hope, a poignant and intimate exploration of that period of the New York art scene, queer history and the AIDS crisis.
Answer Machine Tape, 1987 was commissioned by Zubin Kanga with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Royal Holloway, University of London, in conjunction with Time of Music, November Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Festival d’Automne à Paris. I also received support for research, workshops and software development from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of Neustart Kultur.
Further performances of Answer Machine Tape, 1987 will be happening at the co-commissioning festivals later in 2022.
The Dutch premiere of Denis & Katya took place on Friday at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, as part of the Opera Forward Festival. It was performed by Inna Demenkova and Michael Wilmering, with cellists of the Residentie Orkest The Hague. Here is a selection of excerpts of press reviews for the production (machine translated), including a five-star review in Dutch newspaper, Trouw.
(Photos by Milagro Elstak for Dutch National Opera)