“Sound and Vision:” A collaboration between Chetham’s and Venture Arts
Composition students from Chetham’s School of Music have found inspiration in the work of artists from Venture Arts, a Manchester based charity supporting artists with disabilities. This project, ‘Sound and Vision’, is a wonderful example of communities coming together to bond, share skills and learn from each other.
Chetham’s students have written and recorded original compositions in response to artwork produced by Venture Arts and each track beautifully reflects a unique interpretation, resulting in an imaginative blend of visual and auditory art. The work they produced together is on display at our Haworth Gallery in the Atrium of Stoller Hall, with visitors being able to listen to the pieces through Soundcloud.
We spoke to Luke, a Chetham’s Composition student who created the piece ‘Snapshots of Nature’ in response to a photographic series of dreamy natural environments by Francesca Sabor. We were eager to find out how he created his composition and what this collaboration meant to him.
What draws you to this collection of photographs?
“This [series] really inspired me because I have a particular interest in writing for images or a landscape or a scene, and I thought that this would be a great first start into that type of writing”
What did you learn from this project that might influence your future compositions?
“I think being able to work well with other musicians, being able to work to a deadline as well, but more specifically about the style of writing – it’s the skill of trying to capture something that’s quite abstract and put it into the form of music.”
Would you encourage other young musicians to study composition at Chetham’s?
“Absolutely, I think it’s a necessary skill, even if you’re not very good! It’s understanding how writing music works and how other instruments can work with each other, because with that you have more understanding of musical instruments, how they operate and how they interact with each other.”
We also caught up with Dr Jeremy Pike, the Head of Composition here at Chetham’s, to understand the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and what this can mean for Greater Manchester communities and our students.
“We have a history of working with the city […]. But I think what has made perhaps a special impact with this project and which we need to take forward, is the idea that our composers write not just for the very able musicians that we have here in the school, but that they also learn to write music for the community.”
“We had a wonderful concert performing the works that our composers had written, and we had the artists and members of the Venture Arts community here. It was absolutely wonderful to meet the artists, and it was great to see the works of art which are now displayed around the atrium.”
We are grateful to the Haworth Trust for their support in helping this project come to life.
The ‘Sound and Vision’ exhibition is available to view in Oglesby Atrium until January 2025. You can listen to our students’ incredible compositions here.
