Sixteen Thoughts

Concretion/spectrum

Psalm 91

The super sassy Olwen Faulkes shows us a different side to the recorder. So fun working on this piece with her!

'Diva' for Solo Recorder

A stone I died and rose again a plant;
A plant I died and rose an animal;
I died an animal and was born a man.
Why should I fear? What have I lost by death?

A Stone I Died - for Soprano and Ensemble

Melodica Improv 1

The obsessive world of athleticism and the oppressiveness of an abusive relationship merge in this psychological drama about power, envy and control.

Finale: The Deep Dive

Single from my improvised piano album: 'The Key Crack Chronicles'.

The Key Crack Chronicles started in 2016 after a major commission from the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. I'd just finished a massive piece for Orchestra, choir and 3 soloists and I was TIRED. Immediately, I stripped things down, went to the piano, and began recording improvisations since. I now have about 700 of these recordings, and this album takes inspiration from the sonority of those many, many tracks. This album is a reverberation of those years spent alone in my studio. An echo of years of improvised playing. The album takes its' name from the wear and tear of my piano over the years. The keys are cracked, the strings all loose and the stool is sinking. This was not a gentle experience.

Keep an eye out for the album tour. The shows will be improvised, like the Key-Crack days.

Bother My Soul - The Key Crack Chronicles

Piano Trio II

Instagram @kemyusuf 

Kemal Yusuf is 'one of the UK’s brightest young composers’ - M-Magazine

Since the age of seven, Kemal has been constructing sounds on whatever instruments lay to hand. Initially self-taught, he progressed to the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with Simon Bainbridge. He gravitated towards the natural drama and theatre within music.

He was then closely mentored by the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who became one of his biggest sonic inspirations.

Kemal’s unique ear and non-rigid approach to genre has seen him work successfully in musical theatre, jazz, filmscores, large-scale orchestral works, TikTok mashups, Instagram live improvisations, an album of chamber music, and a series of piano improvisations titled 'The Key Crack Chronicles'.

His varied and unpredictable approach has resulted in an output of over 100 works. The most recent is his 17 minute string quartet titled Oyun. This was described by Planet Hugill as ‘A major Coup…a composer who possesses a unique ear’.

Kemal received his first large-scale commission in 2016 from the Norfolk and Norwich Festival: Cain, a 30-minute dramatic cantata. This was performed by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the NNF Chorus and soloists Jeni Bern, Christopher Diffey and Alexander Baker, conducted by David Parry.

His setting of Psalm 91 has been performed by choirs around the country. The BBC Singers gave a live broadcast in a concert curated by Judith Weir.

Other commissions include works for the BBC Singers, The Cheltenham International Music Festival, the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, The Carducci Quartet, The Fidelio Trio and for film Directors Tim Bernard and Nayomi Roshini. Kemal has been a judge for The Ivors and a consultant for PRSF.

He teaches at the Royal Academy of Music.

‘His music is masterly and compelling’ - Eastern Daily Press.

Kemal has been commissioned, as part of ORA Singer’s Emergency Composers’ Fund, to write A reflection on Cildo Meireles’ Babel 2001.

KemalYusuf

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