Alt-win.ning | Peter Gregson

Peter Gregson

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Thursday 2nd July 2009, 8pm. £5
CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD

We are delighted that cellist Peter Gregson played four pieces from his new work 'factory' at our Cryptic Nights event. Commissioned by New Media Scotland, this premiere performance of the work accompanied a networked dance piece choreographed by Sue Hawksley in response to Distance Lab's Mutsugoto. Peter wore Aeolia stretch sensor wearables developed for him by Sarah Kettley.

Peter Gregson has reinvigorated the classical genre by embracing contemporary culture and technologies. From concerts in churches, to web-based recitals and free-standing events in warehouses, his aim is to find the pulse of contemporary music and engage the “born digital” generation. This was recognized in November 2008 by being awarded the prestigious Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland award.

He has collaborated with many of the most exciting composers writing today, including Martin Suckling, Monica Max West, Artem Vassiliev, Patrick Nunn, Milton Mermikides, Joby Talbot, Howard Goodall, Richard Sisson, John Metcalfe, Max Richter, Philip Sheppard, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Nigel Morgan and Jenny Olivia Johnston.

Peter was the cellist on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s revolutionary HyperBow project, a part of Tod Machover’s HyperInstrument group, for which he recorded a CD/DVD of new works. During 2009, he will be participating on Stanford’s SoundWIRE project with the CCRMA lab.

During February and March 2008, he was in residence at the Banff Centre in Canada recording his debut award winning CD, SPEM. Featuring five new works alongside the first solo cello recording of Thomas Tallis’s 40 part motet, Spem in Alium, the CD was released at a sell-out showcase concert at Greyfriars Kirk, and was simultaneously broadcast online to an audience across the world. Peter will be touring the SPEM programme as part of the Eclipse Masterclass series in America. Recently, the CD was used for BBC Radio 3’s evening play, Alone Together. His second album, factory, was commissioned by New Media Scotland for our 10th birthday party in conjunction with the Distance Lab's Mutsugoto project, it features music written by Peter and Milton Mermikides.

Peter is currently collaborating with London based digital communications agency Outside Line to create a series of concerts called The Words on The Wall, which focus on new ways to engage the audience by using new tools and spaces. The first of these critically acclaimed events, which encouraged SMS, Twitter and Flickr integration from the audience, was presented in January 2009, with a further four planned for the coming season. He presented the first of his MicroConcerts live from the Twitter offices in San Francisco to a worldwide audience.

Peter Gregson is a co-founder of the production company Coffeeloop, plays a 1987 Colin Irving acoustic cello and a blue five string electric cello made for him by Eric Jensen in Seattle. He uses Apple technologies and Eclipse speakers.

www.petergregson.co.uk

Attached Images

Peter Gregson