Graduate Student, Music
About
Heather performs contemporary chamber music with near-exclusivity, working regularly in chamber music settings with violin, clarinet and piano trio Labyrinth, the duo ‘wake up’ with pianist Kate Ledger and as a bass clarinet duo with Sarah Watts. She is a fervent advocate of collaboration, and her PhD research at the University of Huddersfield explores the nature of performer-composer relationships. Her practice explores how a dialogue-based, process-focused approach leads to the possibility of a more ‘intimate’ collaboration, and work more integrated with the practices, personalities, aesthetics and goals of both the performer and the composer.
Recent performances include a performance at Toronto’s somewherethere with the ensemble neither/nor, a performance at the TransArt Festival in Bolzano; a short at the 2008 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and a performance of Louis Andriessen’s Double in The Hague as a celebration of his winning the Johan Wagenaar prize, both in her duo with pianist Kate Ledger. Heather has also performed at venues across London including Kings Place, the Barbican, the Space and the Louise T. Blouin Institute. Her trio, Labyrinth, has worked extensively with young composers and has recently completed a residency at Leeds University. She also performs regularly with bass clarinettist Sarah Watts, and will be seen performing with her in Sheffield, Edinburgh and London in the new year.
Heather’s recent interdisciplinary work includes an installation centred around Donatoni’s Soft for solo bass clarinet in collaboration with Dylan Robinson, Karen Schaller and Benjamin Oliver at the University of Sussex. Most recently, she has begun to work on a collaborative piece with performance art company Abyssal.
Heather completed her Masters of Music (Orchestral Training) in 2006 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, studying under Joy Farrall and Laurent Ben Slimane, in addition to conducting with Sian Edwards. Here she began to focus on contemporary music, and was featured two years running in the Guildhall New Music Festival. Following her degree she completed residencies with the International Ensemble Modern Academy, at IMPULS in Graz and with ensemble recherche in Freiburg, and most recently attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music in 2008. She has performed in masterclasses with Michael Collins, Ernesto Molinari and Shizuyo Oka, to name a few. She completed her BMus in 2005 at the University of Victoria, Canada, studying under Patricia Kostek.
Contact Information
http://heatherroche.wordpress.com
skype: hroche83
