The John Armitage Memorial Trust (JAM)
JAM is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation, that was set up to nurture, promote & perform new music in the UK.
Founded in 2000, JAM has an annual ‘call for music’, during which anyone, of any age can submit music. From these submissions & an annual commission, JAM creates a concert series that it tours round the UK.
“Thank heavens for the private trusts that keep the wheels of new music turning. The John Armitage Memorial may not have the commissioning resources of some. But by concentrating on one area it has harvested more than 40 new choral pieces over the past nine years. …lightning flashes of cascading brass into highly charged solo writing… Splendid singing from the Selwyn students… 4 stars” The Times
JAM dates for the diary:
JAM – 10 years on
JAM celebrates its 10th birthday with two concerts featuring the BBC Singers. The programme will include five JAM commissions:
Timothy Jackson – No Answer (2002)
Jonathan Dove – The Far Theatricals of Day (2003)
Tarik O’Regan – The Night’s Untruth (2010)
Hannah Kendall – Fundamental (2010)
Richard Peat – Fiery the Angels (2010)
BBC Singers
Onyx Brass
Stephen Disley, organ
Nicholas Cleobury, conductor
Claire Seaton, soprano
Andrew Watts, countertenor
Richard Edgar-Wilson, tenor
Giles Underwood, bass
25th March at St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, 7.30pm
26th March at St. Leonard’s Church, Hythe, Kent, 7.30pm.
Tickets: £15 – £5
Box office: 020 8764 6147 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
JAM’s 2008 commission wins a British Composer Award.
The Spacious Firmament by Gabriel Jackson, premiered by JAM and the BBC Singers in March 2008, won the choral category at this year’s British Composer Awards on 2nd December. Congratulations Gabriel! Two other composers associated with JAM picked up awards; Adam Gorb and Elizabeth Winters.
‘…Last night’s anniversary concert, conducted expertly by Nicholas Cleobury, featured four JAM commissions and two works submitted to the Trust… The second part of a double commission from Gabriel Jackson, spanning eight months, Yet we who Neither Burn nor Shine was well worth waiting for…’ The Evening Standard
JAM has enabled and performed fifty new works since 2002.
JAM works regularly with world-class musicians and singers such as the BBC Singers, Nicholas Cleobury, Stephen Layton, Onyx Brass and many more.
‘An evocative performance to remember. All in all this was a very impressive musical event. The JAM initiative deserves to be supported.’ Edinburgh Evening News.
Composers commissioned by JAM include: Judith Bingham, Jonathan Dove, Adam Gorb, Gabriel Jackson, Timothy Jackson, John McCabe, Paul Patterson and for 2009, Steve Martland.
JAM’s next Call for Music will be in the Autumn 2010
‘JAM has collected together and commissioned lots of really enjoyable, serious, listenable music for voices & brass, just like Gabrielli 400 years ago. JAM has managed to wisely choose and commission great new music & supports the finest performances of it on a scale that no other group is doing in the UK…’ Hotbrass.com
Recent concerts have been performed at:
Canterbury Cathedral, Chichester Cathedral, Manchester Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge, St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, St. James’s Church, Piccadilly, Hexham Abbey, St. Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh, Great St. Mary’s Church, Cambridge and All Saints Church, Lydd.
‘High praises then for all concerned’ Hexham Courant