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11 Sept 2019

Two new tracks recently released by NYCGB bring alive the words of people living with dementias as part of the Created Out of Mind residency at Wellcome Collection, with pieces commissioned by BBC Proms Inspire

Young composers James Chan and Morgan Overton were commissioned in 2017 by BBC Proms Inspire to write for the NYCGB Fellowship Octet.The composers, both winners of the BBC Proms Inspire competition for young composers, were asked to set words of people living with a dementia as part of the Created Out of Mind residency at Wellcome Collection, which focused on dementia and the arts. The words were selected by the composers from the Living Words anthology ‘The Things Between Us’ and reflected the experiences of those living with a dementia with an aim to creating greater public awareness. Living Words is an arts and literature charity that transforms the lives of people with late stage dementias and how society perceives them - through listening, writing, speaking and the arts.

The resulting pieces – ‘Speaking’ by James Chan and ‘I’m making a statement’ by Morgan Overton – were premiered on Radio 3’s ‘The Choir’ programme as part of ‘Why Music?’ - a BBC residency at the Wellcome Collection. Subsequent recordings were made at Snape Maltings by members of the National Youth Chamber Choir during a residency which included research on the neuroscience of choral singing. More information and a short video about the residency is available to view on Snape Maltings website here.

The composers and singers have all spoken about their increasing sense of connection to the subject matter throughout its duration, which has deepened their own understanding of what it means to be human.

Esther Jones, NYCGB Deputy Music Director said:

I am thrilled that we can share publicly the fruits of this exciting collaboration between artists, scientists, young composers and singers, in addition to those living with dementia. Often we listen to choral music simply for the love of beautiful sounds but the genesis of these pieces provides an underlying gravitas and profundity as well as artistic integrity. One of the key aims of NYCGB is to be a pioneering and innovative youth arts organisation and I believe this forward-thinking project is an embodiment of just that.

The composers, both winners of the BBC Proms Inspire competition for young composers, were asked to set words of people living with dementia as part of the Created Out of Mind residency at Wellcome Collection, which focused on dementia and the arts. The words were selected by the composers from the Living Words anthology ‘The Things Between Us’ and reflected the experiences of those living with dementia with an aim to creating greater public awareness. Further information about Living Words can be found at www.livingwords.org.uk

Listen to a sample of Morgan Overton – ‘I’m Making A Statement’  here and James Chan's 'Speaking' here

Performed by the NYCGB Fellowship Octet

Find the full tracks on Spotify and Apple Music