 In Britain, in the not-too-distant past, going to a percussion concert was an act of extreme masochism. The emergence of ensemblebash in 1992 put paid to that very quickly. Using the music of West Africa as both the core of our repertoire and a guiding spiritual influence, we mix contemporary, classical, theatrical, jazz and traditional African music into unforgettable performances. Composers who have written for us include Stewart Copeland, Keith Tippett, Nitin Sawhney, Graham Fitkin and around fifty more. Collaborators include Joanna MacGregor, Nana Vasconcelos, Madeleine Mitchell, Django Bates, Piers Adams, Evelyn Glennie, Chick Corea, Stewart Copeland, The Pan African Orchestra, The National Dance Company of Ghana and Steve Reich.
In 1997 we played in Hong Kong to mark the handover of the island to the Chinese in 1997 and performed for The Queen and Nelson Mandela at the 1998 Commonwealth Heads of Government conference in Edinburgh. We've toured Europe extensively and in 1999 made a much acclaimed appearance at the Sydney Festival. In the past couple of years we've also played two BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 2003 saw our 10th anniversary tour of the U.K. closely followed by the Light and Shade tour with Joanna Macgregor and the Britten Sinfonia.
We’ve made four tours of Italy since November 2002, with a whole host of artists including Stewart Copeland, Radiodervish, Joanna MacGregor, Oficina Zöe, Ensemble Notte della Taranta and Raiz. On 1st May 2004 we performed La Notte della Taranta in Piazza San Giovanni, Rome to an audience of more than 500,000 to celebrate Labour Day. This was followed by a two week stadium tour of Italy and Greece with Stewart Copeland. The album of this tour has been nominated for a 2006 Grammy. July of 2005 saw us playing with Nana Vasconcelos at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and in October we spent three weeks in Australia culminating in an appearance in the Melbourne Festival. 2006/7 will see the ‘Fiddlesticks’ UK tour with the internationally renowned violinist Madeleine Mitchell. We’ll also be making a return visit to Italy in February followed by appearances at the Bath International Festival, Henley Festival amongst others and a featured artist slot with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra. ensemblebash are Chris Brannick, Joby Burgess, Stephen Hiscock and Andrew Martin www.ensemblebash.com |
