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| Jasdeep Singh Degun performing Arya: concerto for sitar and orchestra with Orchestra of Opera North (Photo Justin Slee) |
Opera North’s Resonance residency programme was launched in 2017 to offer funding, space, time and technical support to professional Global Majority musicians and composers based in the North of England and the Midlands. Now the company is seeking applications from music creators from the Global Majority working in any genre for the next iteration of the programme. In 2024-25, six successful artists will be invited into Opera North’s home in Leeds to develop new ideas, collaborate with performers from other disciplines, and take their work in new directions. Each artist will receive up to a week of free rehearsal space in central Leeds between November 2024 and March 2025, a grant of up to £4,000 to cover fees for those involved and other costs, and support and advice from technicians, producers and other specialists. There are also options for a work in progress performance and a short film to document the project.
Many Resonance alumni have continued to work with Opera North. Music Director on the inaugural Resonance residency, Jasdeep Singh Degun, became the company’s first Artist-in Residence in 2022. His work with Opera North has included composing Arya, a sitar concerto for the Orchestra of Opera North, and being the composer and co-Music Director on the award-winning opera Orpheus. [see my 2023 interview with Jasdeep]. 2019 Resonance artist Nishla Smith is now the Programmer for the Howard Assembly Room and, earlier this year, Ladies of Midnight Blue performed A Love Revolution, the family-friendly show they had devised during their 2022 residency, on the Howard Assembly Room stage.
To apply, see the form on the Opera North website.
