In collaboration with the City of London, Nonclassical presents 66 Days – a digital multimedia project marking 400 years since the Mayflower sailed to America. Each of our Associate Composers are working with a collaborator to present audio-visual works exploring the themes of journeys, migration and cultural identities.
Nonclassical Associate Composer Yfat Soul Zisso and her chosen collaborator artist Sasha Balmazi-Owen show us a glimpse of their creative process.
Soul and Sasha’s work explores the idea of canals as a symbol of both connection and isolation, relating the themes of journeys, migration and cultural ideas to how we connect to others and to ourselves.
Read more about their concept >>>
We spoke to Soul about her collaboration and the initial stages of creation in the process.
“In the beginning of our collaboration, Sasha and I visited canals in our relevant areas (London and Birmingham), taking videos and images of the water. We then discussed what these canals meant to us (especially during the lockdown), alongside their historical significance, and what we wanted to achieve with this piece (especially what we wanted the audience to feel while experiencing it). These are some early GIFs Sasha has created of both water effects and using moving inkblots, which were of particular interest because of how individual each person’s perception to them is. “
“This video was one I took of the Birmingham canal on a windy day - I’ve always been fascinated with the movement of the water there and was super excited to be able to explore it in this piece!”
About the artists
Yfat Soul Zisso
Soul has had her work performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the Fidelio Trio. Her interests range from the use of different microtonal sound worlds and textures to children’s books and the exploration of various extended techniques. She is currently studying for a PhD that focuses on creating a quarter-tone compositional language suitable for western singers to learn.
Sasha Balmazi-Owen
Sasha Balmazi-Owen is a British film & theatre maker. He has worked across Europe, fusing opera, music and video. During his studies at Kingston School of Fine Art, Sasha collaborated with composer Rolf Hind (Piano/Dance, 2015), and director Loré Lixenberg (The Fool, 2016). He directed a short opera-film for Random Acts in 2018, ‘Death Visits Mererid’, and made his theatre directing debut on ‘Physical Education’ - a collaboration with Robert Reid Allan at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham. Sasha has worked with notable companies and artists, including Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, ICA, Channel 4, Royal Opera House, Copenhagen Opera House, Mahogany Opera Group, St John Smith’s Square, David Toop, Jonathan Goddard and Zoe Martlew.
The four 66 Days commissions will be premiered online on Wed 16 September via Nonclassical’s YouTube channel, marking the date that the Mayflower arrived in America.
Commissioned by the City of London Corporation and in partnership with Mayflower 400 UK and Our City Together.
Watch the works created by our Associate Composers with collaborators for the 66 Days project.