Inspired by the number of years it takes for each planet in our solar system to orbit around the sun, I transferred each planets’ approximate orbit into a material framework that served as the foundation of piece – chords that invert at different rates according to which planet the chord corresponds to, creating an iso-rhythmic effect. The framework then became the impetus to create additional textural layers, giving the piece small changing and alternating gestures.

Performed by The Spaceship Ensemble (NL)

Conductor: Hardy Li
Piano: Ivan Pavlov
Percussion: João Pedro Borralho
Celesta: Leo Lehtinen
Harp: Liucilè Vilimaitė/Maria Palma
Harpsichord: Christina Kwon
Accordion: Kaat Vanhaverbeke
Guitar: Antonio Peršak

Recorded by Eric Moser and Li Moonyoung

Within an Orbit (2019)

A short study that explores the relationship between two string trios tuned differently – one that is performed live in standard tuning and another tuned down 50 cents (1 microtone) that is pre-recorded.

I wanted the material to be mostly static, allowing the listener and the performers to perceive and experience the tension between the live and pre-recorded elements, with the only movement in the work being the persistent tremolos in both trios as well as the slow swells in dynamics and the gradual harmonic change based around double stopping with the open strings as the basis of the harmony.

Performed by Kirkos Ensemble (Violin - Erin Hennessey, Viola - Ali Comerford, Cello - Yseult Cooper Stockdale)
Live Performance recorded by Darby
Tape Part recorded by Jonathan Nangle

With thanks to Kirkos Ensemble, Paul Scully, Sebastian Adams, Robert Coleman, The Hugh Lane Gallery and Darby

Between Two Trios (2022)

Broken Superficiality (2024) for Ensemble and Fixed Media

Taking influence/inspiration from the 50-year continuation and negative effects of Neo-Liberalism that was first trialled in Chile in 1973, and then widely adopted by the UK and US under Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (and the subsequent leaders), with a lot of other countries following suit. Moving increasingly towards a privatised, individualistic, and ultra-consumerist world with a lack of state-funded/public protected services/amenities, I find that gradually as a society we are losing ourselves, becoming broken and detached from community and instead are pursuing more superficial endeavours and objectives. Taking this into account, I have opted to use effects and timbres that were widely used in the 1970s and 80s as the core of the piece, pairing it with live instruments that sound ‘glitzy’ and techniques to that deviate/distort the instruments' pitch and timbre.

Performed by Ensemble Klang 
Performed at Cloud 9 in Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht as part of Gaudeamus Festival 2024
Recorded by Gaudeamus Festival
Mixed by Peter Bell

Image - 'Metropolis' by George Grosz (1917)


Broken Superficiality (2024)

The Reprise for Chords For Friends which was featured later in the set of the Casa da Música performance as part of the Harmos Plural Festival 2015. Composed for the ensemble Birthday Present (Sam Leith Taylor, Paul Zaba, James Alexandropolous-McEwan, Rob Nettleship and Patrick Ellis, played by Paul Zaba and  (excluding Rob Nettleship) at the Casa da Música, Porto as part of the Harmos Plural Festival 2015. 

Chords For Friends (Reprise) (2015)

Composed for and is about the ensemble Birthday Present (Sam Leith Taylor, Paul Zaba, James Alexandropolous-McEwan, Rob Nettleship and Patrick Ellis), played by Birthday present (excluding Rob Nettleship) at the Casa da Música, Porto as part of the Harmos Plural Festival 2015.

Chords For Friends (2015)

Performed by Decibel ensemble (conducted by Daniele Rosina) as part of Frontiers Festival 2016.

Untitled Ensemble Piece (2016)

Performed by Antony Gray and Morgan Hayes (4 hand Piano Duo)

PJ (2016)

Performed by Thallein Ensemble (conducted by Richard Baker)

Unnamed Ensemble Piece (2016)

Composition Portfolio 14-15

20 Years and 81 Days (2015)

Piano, Alone (2017)

Performed by 315 Ensemble (directed by Chris Cresswell), as part of Frontiers Festival 2017.

315 Ensemble: Live at Centrala

Unbranded Ensemble Piece (2017)

Performed by Lumos Wind Quintet, as part of Frontiers Festival 2017.

Wnd Qntt (2017)

Performed by Georgia Denham
Recorded by Joseph Ockford

Era - Movement 1 (2017)

Era - Movement 2 (2017)

Era - Movement 3 (2017)

Era - Movement 4 (2017)

Era - Movement 5 (2017)

'Unfolding Chamber Piece' is an abstract work characterised by different repetitive sections. Throughout the work, these either move from one to the other or are juxtaposed.

Performed by Kluster 5
Recorded by Oscar Bouwmans

Unfolding Chamber Piece (2018)

Written for the Residentie Orkest as part of the 49th Festival Dag in Branding celebrating the work of Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina. 'As the title suggests, the composition consists of separate motifs that together form a 'homogenous, fluid piece'. Although some motifs recur more than others, they all co-exist peacefully within an ordered framework.

Performed by the Residentie Orkest
Conducted by Otto Tausk
Recorded by Peter Janssen

Components (2018)

The text for the piece is taken from The Ruin, an Old English poem which depicts a fallen Roman city. The poem is part of the Exeter Book, a large collection of verses and riddles which dates from the 10th century. The only existing copy of the book was damaged in a fire, affecting what survives of The Ruin. In light of this, I only used extracts of the poem from which words have been lost. In a similar way, some of the musical material has been dismantled to reflect this.

A huge thanks to Orkest de Ereprijs, Wim Boerman, Ana Maria Lopes, Carolina Luís, Francisca Branco, Rob Vermeulen, Martijn Padding, Richard Ayres, Ed Bennett, Anna Korsun, Silvia Borzelli, Guus Janssen, Georgia Denham, Ryan Probert, Paul Zaba, Robert Crehan, Robin Morton, Celia Swart, Paolo Griffin, Dani Blanco Albert, Hugo Bell, Sam Milan, Joe Rhodes and Stephen Plummer.

Performed by Orkest de Ereprijs, Ana Maria Lopes, Carolina Luís, and Francisca Branco on the 1st of March 2019

Conducted by Rob Vermeulen

Ruin (2019)

In this piece, I explored and incorporated Seufzers, which in a musical context consists of a second step downwards or less frequently, upwards. The first tone is clearly emphasized and the following is tethered, unaccented and quieter. Depending on the musical context, the expressive content can vary from pain, grief and lamentation over distress, fear, despair and nervousness to positive feelings such as bliss or joyful excitement.

Written for and performed by the New European Ensemble in the Korzo Theater Zaal on the 3rd of April 2019, as part of the New European Ensemble's 10th Anniversary Concert and the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague's 51st Spring Festival.  

Recorded and mixed by Arne Bock

Seufzer (2019)

In September 2018, I was approached by cellist Alfian Emir Adytia to compose a new solo piece that would be performed as part of his final Masters recital in June 2019.  

After some initial discussions and workshops with Alfian, I learnt that his Masters research was exploring ways to implement techniques of traditional keroncong cello music into his western cello practice. Traditionally, the former instrument is played pizzicato and serves as part of the rhythm section in Keroncong music. I soon became fascinated with the idea of writing a piece that did the reverse - by using a western bow with the cello and recontextualising it as a solo instrument. 

Between December 2018 and June 2019, Alfian and I worked closely together to develop a new solo study piece for the instrument that explored the use and the sound of the bow on the keroncong cello, utilising various bowing and timbral techniques. 

‘Three Mostly Bowed Strings’ was first performed as part of the Composition Graduation Festival on the 3rd of June 2019 in the Korzo Theater in The Hague, and then subsequently on the 5th of June in the Kees van Baarenzaal at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, as part of Alfian’s final Masters recital.

Three Mostly Bowed Strings (2019)

Patrick Ellis (b. 1994, UK) is a composer, performer and curator based in London. His music has been described as being "focused, intense and unrelenting" (Gaudeamus Jury, 2024), with much of his work utilising limited musical materials, small developments and juxtapositions.

He has worked with many acclaimed ensembles including Terra Invisus (UK), Ensemble Klang (NL), collective lovemusic (FR), XTRO Percussion (NL), the Residentie Orkest (NL), Kluster 5 (NL), Orkest de Ereprijs (NL), The Tantrum Saxophone Quartet (NL), The New European Ensemble (NL), The Spaceship Ensemble (NL), The Hodiernal Quartet (NL), Kirkos (IE), The Fidelio Trio (UK), Decibel (UK), Ensemble KROCK (SE), 315 Ensemble (US/UK) and CHROMA (UK), and has collaborated with soloists such as Laura Sinnerton (viola), Fenella Humphreys (violin), Kathryn Williams (flute), Huw Morgan (organ), Alfian Emir Adytia (cello), Dauphine Van der Velphen (saxophone), Chris Cresswell (electric guitar), Xenia Pestova Bennett (toy piano), Carson Cooman (organ), Fumiko Miyachi (piano) and Benjamin Powell (piano). Upcoming projects include a new multimedia work exploring burnout within the classical music industry for the ensemble Standard Issue, a new piece for electric guitar and fixed media for Chris Cresswell, as well as a long form collaboration with the French-Canadian cellists Laurence Gaudreau and Audréanne Filion.

Patrick's music has been presented at numerous festivals and concert series across the European, North American, Asia and Australasia, including, Gaudeamus Festival (NL), Festival Dag in de Branding (NL), November Music (NL), Rainy Days Festival (LU), Mittelfest and Mittelyoung Festival (IT), De Link Tilburg (NL), Sundays at The Hugh Lane Gallery (IE), AżTak Festival (PL), New Music Now NL's Dag van de Componist (NL), Click Fest (US), Sounding Here (NL), Kirkos Ensemble's Biosphere Festival (IE), Union Musicale (IT), Mainly Slow Organ Music (UK), Kammer Klang (UK), the Frequency Series Chicago (US), the Malaysian Composers Series (MY), the London New Wind Festival (UK), Ideas of Noise Festival (UK), the Stratford-on-Avon Music Festival (UK), Harmos Plural Festival (PT) and The Martin Read Festival (UK).

In 2024, Patrick was nominated for the Gaudeamus Award and in 2022, he was the Artist in Residence for the AMPA Fontys/De Link Residency programme in Tilburg, The Netherlands. He has also been a part of the Psappha Composing For Piano Scheme in 2019-20, the 25th Edition of Orkest de Erepijs’ Young Composers Meeting and Kathryn Williams' innovative Coming Up for Air Project.

His music has been broadcasted on Dutch radio stations, NPO Radio 4, NPO Klassiek, Concertzender and Stranded FM, as well as on the US station WCNY, and has been featured on releases from Birmingham Record Company and Huddersfield Contemporary Records.

Patrick is also the artistic director of Open Union, an electric guitar and modular synth duo with composer-performer colleague Peter Bell. Described by the treasured composer Howard Skempton as being, 'sometimes subtle and unstable; sometimes rich and dense', the duo aims to build up strong collaborative relationships to create new verbal and text based works. Their current collaborators are Christine Cornwell, Wilson Leywantono, May Chi and Paolo Griffin, with a new piece by Seán Clancy currently in the works. The duo have performed across the UK at events such as Ealing Extranormal, AMOK, Don't Mind Control, Birmingham Modular Organisation and CODA Festival. In 2025, they will be co-hosting with saxophonist David Zucchi a double billed event at the Hundred Years Gallery, London which will showcase two works by Paolo Griffin; earlier in the year, they supported Passepartout Duo at Centrala Space, Birmingham as part of their UK Tour, and in 2023, undertook a mini tour of The Netherlands as part of the Sounding Here concert series, where they performed at Splendor in Amsterdam and Batavierhuis in Rotterdam.

Alongside composing and performing, Patrick has been the creative director since 2023, alongside the artistic director Zygmund de Somogyi, of the contemporary music magazine PRXLUDES. Together, they have interviewed and promoted over 125 composers and music organisations from the UK and abroad. Patrick's contributions have included interviews with artists, ensembles and organisations including Ivan Vukosavljević, Avenue Azure, Sylvia Lim, Lise Morrison, Christian Drew, Kirkos, Laurence Osborn, Ailís Ní Ríain, the 2023-24 National Youth Choir Young Composers, Sawyer Editions, Esther Wu, Celia Swart, Mia Windsor, Patrick Giguère, Alex Groves, Bobbie-Jane Gardner, Robert Nettleship, Zubin Kanga, Joanna Ward, Anna-Louise Walton, Emily Pedersen, Bastard Assignments, Hugo Bell and Eden Lonsdale. In June and July 2025, they will be hosting Alex Groves' DANCE SUITE (performed by Zubin Kanga) as part of the PRS Foundation/Southbank Centre's New Music Biennial 2025.

He holds a Masters degree in composition from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag (Royal Conservatoire of The Hague) and a Bachelor's degree from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His principal tutors have included Martijn Padding, Guus Janssen, Andrew Hamilton, Seán Clancy, Ed Bennett, Howard Skempton and Michael Wolters.

Patrick Ellis

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