4/4 Residency for Contemporary Classical Music
Developing a solo bass piece with electronics, Ollie Hawker and Zoe Markle’s collaborative work stems from the duo’s mutual appreciation of classical music: emphasising simplicity and tenderness, with challenging conventional notions of virtuosity.
The Residency culminated in a sharing event and performance on Saturday the 6th of May, where the duo performed their piece and opened up their process through discussion. Guest performance by Oona Lowther and Alexander Papp opened the event, and a tasting menu was prepared by Dante Bishop-Sauve.
A discussion between Ollie, Zoe, Owen from Ensemble Matters and Katrina from Equivalentbehaviour, was held during the afternoon, along with a presentation of the duo's process and a Performance of their new work.
Special guests Alexander Papp (composer) and Oona Lowther (cellist) will prelude the event with a performance, and small plates will be served throughout the afternoon, made by Dante Bishop-Sauve.
The 4/4 Residency is produced in collaboration between Ensemble Matters and Equivalentbehaviour, and focuses on widening audiences and ideologies of Contemporary Classical Music.
OLLIE HAWKER:
Ollie Hawker is a Glasgow-based composer interested in ideas of digital nostalgia and the internet as folk culture.
He uses both acoustic and electronic means to explore fragility and imperfection, and is interested in the combination
of earnest sincerity and ironic absurdism that characterises much of his generation's online discourse and in turn
mediates their experience of the world.
Ollie holds a Masters degree in composition from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Recent projects have seen him
work with Psappha, Köng Duo, Megumi Masaki and Inland Ocean.
ZOE MARKLE:
Zoe Markle is a creative and multifaceted bassist with an adventurous approach to music- making. She is passionate
about contemporary classical music and improvisation, having commissioned composers such as Molly Joyce, John Supko,
and Naomi Epstein. Zoe is also a founding member of piano trio, Else, if Else, and enjoys collaborating through chamber music.
