Time Dreaming - Microtonal Trumpet and Flugelhorn with electronics
Time Dreaming - Microtonal Trumpet and Flugelhorn with electronics
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Churchill Music Society are delighted to welcome Stephen Altoft on tour from Germany with his microtonal trumpet project.
The Microtonal Trumpet project began as a collaboration of over twenty years between Stephen Altoft (UK/ Germany) with the composer Donald Bousted. Initially focussing on quarter-tones, increasingly, the project has concentrated on developing new repertoire in 19-division ( 19 divisions of the octave ) tuning on trumpet and flugelhorn, but with a special focus on harmony. The current programme addresses a few areas of current interest alongside microtonality: contemporary brass techniques, electronics, and improvisation. The 19-division tuning is related to the quarter-comma meantone tuning of the early Baroque period. The programme includes a premier by Cambridge composer, Paul Rhys, London-based composer, HIlary Robinson as well as work by Stephen Altoft, Donald Bousted, Richard Whalley.
Stephen Altoft is dedicated to the creation of new repertoire for the trumpet. As a solo artist, and with percussionist Lee Ferguson as duo Contour, he has given concerts throughout Asia, Europe, the United States and Canada. For over twenty years he has been researching the microtonal possibilities of the trumpet with composer, Donald Bousted, and has developed a fourth (rotary) valve mechanism to enable the conversion of his existing trumpets into microtonal instruments (a 19-division B flat trumpet and quarter-tone C trumpet). More recently, he has also been developing programmes for flugelhorn in 12-, 19- and 24- divisions of the octave.
Initially coming from Brass Bands, including the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, Stephen studied at the University of Huddersfield (1991-5) where he was awarded a B.Mus Honours (in performance and composition), a Masters degree (in performance) and the Ricordi Prize for Contemporary Performance. This was followed by periods of private study with Markus Stockhausen (Cologne) and, with assistance from the Music Sound Foundation, with the Ensemble Modern trumpeter, William Forman (Berlin).
Stephen is co-director of Microtonal Projects, and Manages the EUROMicroFest. He teaches trumpet and improvisation at the music school in Waldkirch.
Location
Churchill College Music Centre (Black glass building on Churchill Road), CB3 0DS