Song in the City | Gavin Roberts
Song in the City uses the power of song to change people's lives in all parts of our society. We devise projects that use the talents of classical musicians to make a real difference in the world at large, and to stretch these artists, and our audiences in creative ways.
Our projects include Creative Madness in Song, which sees young composers create new songs from the poems of mental-health service users. The songs are brought to life by singers from Guildhall School in workshops and performances. We’ve already performed in many hospital settings and other festivals.
Another project, One Creation, creates new performance pieces by inviting artists and musicians born into different faiths, but not necessarily practising, to choose secular or religious texts and songs from their own heritage on shared themes. The next phase of the project will premiere a new piece at Southwark Cathedral in early 2020, with musicians from Coptic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu backgrounds, and will also feature the Choir of King's College, London, and The Girls' Choir of Southwark Cathedral.
Our flagship project is Healthy Lunchbreaks; to date we have staged more than 150 FREE lunchtime concerts, bringing talented performers (mostly from Guildhall School) to the heart of the stressful City. The performances are designed around socially engaging themes allowing us to connect with new audiences that might not otherwise attend a song concert. Commissioning is also at the heart of all these projects; in particular, our song-cycle Voices of London was written by four composers setting poetry inspired by London. We have recorded all these new songs for public release.
About Gavin
Gavin Roberts enjoys a varied career as a piano accompanist. He has partnered singers in recital at Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Hall and the Royal Festival Hall, and is Artistic Director of the recital series SONG in the CITY. Engagements have include appearances at The Ludlow Weekend of English Song, The Cheltenham Festival, The Ryedale Festival, The Young Songmakers’ Almanac, and A Soldier and a Maker (Barbican) directed by Iain Burnside. Alongside soprano Lucy Hall, he was the winner of the 2012 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform.
Gavin studied Piano with Andrew West and Eugene Asti at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he is now a Staff Accompanist and a Tutor of Academic Studies.
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