Together in Sound: listen now!

Our piece has been written to make the audience think about peace, equality, and resistance. To represent the injustices through music, our piece displays mixed emotions and moods throughout its journey. It starts with lots of conflict between all the instruments, and gradually throughout the piece we move into a more peaceful section; finally, peace overpowers conflict, though conflict is never completely gone. Each instrument displays its own unique sounds and strengths. Thank you, Speak Up.

In this piece, we tell a story of sailors on board a ship in the Arctic Sea. They sing shanties, there is lightning and a storm, and they are heading towards an iceberg… amongst the chaos and panic, the sailors manage to amdsndfnvoid the iceberg. A rainbow appears in the distance, signifying that all is well. By the end of the piece, the sailors have returned to their singing.

This piece is about embracing all of our difference, and expressing tension when people aren’t accepting. To create the music for this piece, we turned the phrase ‘embrace yourselves’ into a rhythm and then composed music together from there. We tried to express different emotions through music and improvisation. During this piece, you will be able to hear every member of the ensemble doing an improvised solo.

When in discussions about what they could all relate to, Obtuse Uncle agreed that a vibrant family life was familiar to them all.

Soon, a fictitious story about a reunion of aunties, children and a grandad was made, arriving, arguing, and making up like all good families do.

The piece is about a journey towards something better. It portrays a change between two emotional states, starting with sadness and growing into joy. The piece is about reflecting on the past whilst focussing on the future. The first part is in a minor mode with melodies which echo throughout the ensemble, portraying anxiety. Then, a transitional section arrives, switching the mood from sad to joyful. The last section of the piece has a bouncy, catchy tune which takes influences from popular music, to accentuate the positivity of the future.

Our ideas originated from themes of identity, friendship, and growth. Our piece is a story of a lone person who meets friends on his journey of self-discovery. Within that there are scenes of happiness, sadness, anger, which eventually lead to an argument. Each person voices their own opinion as a solo, which the others listen and respond to. Collectively, they come to a resolution at the end, certifying their bond. We have used techniques such as call and response, drone, solo, polyphony, and ostinatos, to show the different scenes of friendship.