Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival has announced the line-up for its 2018 festival, with over 50 events taking place between 16 and 25 November. 

The Composer-in-Residence for this year’s festival will be Swiss-American artist and composer Christian Marclay, who will explore the connections between visual art and audio culture in six events across the festival. These include performances of his work by Thurston Moore, Shelley Hirsh, Okkyung Lee and more, as well as the world premiere of a new work, Investigations, for 20 piansts who will transcribe and interpret a score made of 100 photographs (4pm, 18 November).

Cologne-based Ensemble Musikfabrik will give the UK premiere of a number of works by Rebecca Saunders: the ensemble will be joined by soprano Juliet Fraser for the James Joyce-inspired Yes on 16 November, and by soloists Carl Rosman (bass clarinet), Richard Haynes (bass clariet) and Dirk Rothbrust (percussion) for aether and dust on 18 November. 

Highlights
Other highlights of the festival include clarinet player and composer Lori Freedman, who will play a programme of her own works and music by Paolo Perezzani, Martin Arnold and Paul Steenhuisen, marking the UK launch of two of her recent albums, Solor and Excess (22 November). Supriya Nagarajan’s Pleiades Ne Maia will be given its world premiere by a choir from the regufee and asylum seeker community with Peyee Chen and University of Huddersfield’s a capella group (24 November). Pianist Zubin Kanga will perform three world premieres, including a new work by Scott McLaughlin, titled In the unknown there is already a script for transcendence.

Vocal group HYOID Ensemble will premiere Jennifer Walshe’s A History of the Voice (22 November), while pianist Philip Thomas will perform Christopher Fox’s senza misura across five different performances. The Arditti, Bozzini and Ligeti Quartets will join forces for a reworking of Julius Eastman’s Evil Nigger for a late-night event on 24 November. 

See the full line-up at www.hcmf.co.uk.