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Laura Stevens

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Laura Stevens
BornCape Town, South Africa
GenresFilm score, contemporary classical, ballet music
Occupation(s)Composer, arranger, producer
Instrument(s)Piano, cello, keyboards

Laura Stevens is a South African and British composer[1] of music for concert hall, film and media, stage and dance.[2]

Stevens composed the original score for the documentary Elephant Refugees[3] (2022, dir. Louise Hogarth) , narrated by Jerome Flynn; and various ballet music works for the English National Ballet.[4][5]

She is also known for collaborating with living poets on musical settings of their work, among them Katharine Towers[6] and Hollie McNish[7]

Music

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Stevens created the original score for documentary Elephant Refugees[8][9][10] in 2022, directed by Louise Hogarth, an account of elephants fleeing drought in Botswana

In 2016 the English National Ballet commissioned Stevens to compose the music for Unsilenced, the youth ballet accompaniment to their She Said triple bill project.[11][12] The work was danced at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London and the Britten Theatre.

Previously, she had worked with the company on their Choreographics showcase at Sadler’s Wells, collaborating with choreographer Morgann Runacre-Temple on her work Give my Love to the Sunrise[13][14]

Stevens has written in cross-disciplinary genres, having also collaborated with poets Katharine Towers on a musical setting of her poem “the way we go”,[15] for Soprano and Piano, with a subsequent choral arrangement for Swedish choir Linköping Studentssangerer;[16][17] and Hollie McNish on her debut music and poetry album album Versus[18] recorded at Abbey Road.

In 2015, her orchestral work Long Walk[19] an homage to late president Nelson Mandela was performed in South Africa by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra[20][21] under Tokyo Philharmonic conductor and LA philharmonic assistant-conductor Yasuo Shinozaki.

In 2012 Stevens created music for animations produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Central St Martins. These were broadcast on BBC Arts Channel and at the Edinburgh Festival.[22]

Stevens worked with Swiss director Christina Ruloff and artist Beat Toniolo, creating the original music for their TV film Z Kiev redt mer Mundaart,[23][24] about the life and exploits of Swiss dialect poet Albert Baechtold. It was distributed and broadcast on Swiss Channel SRF1 and featured Swiss actor Andrea Zogg.[25]

A frequent musical partner is Turkish composer Nazım Çınar . In 2023 she played and arranged cello on his score for theatre work Imparator[26][27] by Turkish thespian and activist Genco Erkal.[28]

Early life

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Stevens was born in Cape Town, South Africa, lives London, United Kingdom .[29]

She attended the Royal College of Music and the South African College of Music, at the University of Cape Town.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Laura Stevens". Alliance for Women Film Composers. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  2. ^ "STEVENS, Laura". Donne, Women in Music. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  3. ^ "Elephant Refugees - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  4. ^ "Theatre review: Choreographics at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler's Wells". British Theatre Guide. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  5. ^ Marriott, Bruce (2015-06-22). "English National Ballet – Choreographics 2015 – London". DanceTabs. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  6. ^ "Flower power - Katharine Towers, the Hathersage-based poet". Great British Life. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  7. ^ "Hollie Poetry: woman versus world – one poem at a time | Hollie McNish | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  8. ^ "Elephant Refugees - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ^ "Elephant Refugees (2022)". Radio Times. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  10. ^ "Elephant Refugees | Film Threat". 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  11. ^ "She Said review – three steps forward for women | Ballet | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  12. ^ "She Said review, Sadler's Wells, London, 2016". The Stage. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  13. ^ "Sailors and sunrise: Choreographics by English National Ballet – in pictures". the Guardian. 2015-06-23. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  14. ^ Marriott, Bruce (2015-06-22). "English National Ballet – Choreographics 2015 – London". DanceTabs. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  15. ^ "Flower power - Katharine Towers, the Hathersage-based poet". Great British Life. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  16. ^ Tanalys (2019-07-01). "Linköpings Studentsångare hyllar kvinnliga kompositörer | Tanalys". Tanalys | Teknisk analys på aktier, valuta, index och råvaror (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  17. ^ "Linköpings Studentsångare på Spotify". liu.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  18. ^ "Hollie Poetry: woman versus world – one poem at a time | Hollie McNish | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  19. ^ FMR, Andy Wilding (2015-06-07). "Laura Stevens Long Walk". #ClassicalReview. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  20. ^ Andy Wilding FMR. "Laura Stevens Long Walk". #ClassicalReview. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  21. ^ "Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra's winter season honours SA's Klatzow". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  22. ^ Prospero & Ariel by Maxim Northover | Central Saint Martins | Royal Shakespeare Company, retrieved 2023-05-12
  23. ^ "Zürich Schaffhausen - Filmische Hommage an einen Mundartdichter". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  24. ^ "Z Kiew redt me Mundaart - Albert Bächtolds phantastische Reise". swissfilms (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  25. ^ "Literatur - Albert Bächtold – Mundartautor wider Willen". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  26. ^ "Genco Erkal ve 'İmparator'". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  27. ^ "Genco Erkal'dan 'İmparator': Olay Etiyopya'da geçiyor!". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  28. ^ DEMİR (2023-01-31). "Genco Erkal: İktidar huzursuz, korkuyor, sonunun geldiğini de görüyor - Kültür-Sanat haberleri". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  29. ^ "Laura Stevens". Alliance for Women Film Composers. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  30. ^ "Laura Stevens". Alliance for Women Film Composers. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
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