Hay Music present a showing of the film by Barrie Gavin about the life and work of the composer Brian Elias:
‘A Passage from India’
followed by a panel discussion between Brian Elias, Barrie Gavin & Sally Groves
on Thursday 22nd July at 6.30pm in The Globe, Hay on Wye, HR3 5BG
Entry FREE – donations welcome on exit
 
Brian Elias was born in Bombay, India, and has lived in the U.K. since he was thirteen years old. After studying at the Royal College of Music he undertook private studies with Elisabeth Lutyens. His first major orchestral work L'Eylah was premiered at the BBC Proms in 1984. He has since had his works performed and recorded extensively by leading orchestras and soloists including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia, Psappha Ensemble, Jane Manning, Roderick Williams, Nicholas Daniels, Natalie Clein, Leonard Elschenbroich, and the Jerusalem Quartet. His monumental Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskya was premiered in 1989 and secured his reputation as one of Britain's preeminent composers. Elias collaborated with Kenneth MacMillan on his final ballet The Judas Tree, premiered in 1992 at the Royal Opera House. The Judas Tree has subsequently been revived on numerous occasions by the Royal Ballet and toured internationally. He has won two British Composer Awards - the first for his 2010 work Doubles, and the second for his 2013 work Electra Mourns. He has taught composition at the Royal Academy of Music and the Purcell School, and his students have included Joby Talbot and Darren Bloom. His works are published by Chester Music.

Barrie Gavin

Born in 1935 and educated at Cambridge. Began directing documentaries on music in 1964. Had a long working relationship with the French composer and conductor, Pierre Boulez. Also directed films on folk music with A.L.Lloyd in the 1970s, visiting the Hebrides, Romania and Hungary as well as exploring the work in North Carolina of the singer Doc Watson. His film on Gaelic music won the Silver Harp at a competitive festival in Ireland and the following year, 1981, the film on Bartok called "The Miraculous Circumstance" was awarded the Golden Harp at the same festival.
Has specialised in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. His work includes portraits of Peter Maxwell Davies, Jonathan Harvey, Harrison Birtwistle, John Adams, Toru Takemitsu and many more. His most recent film is about Brian Elias called "A Passage from India".
He is an honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, the first film-maker to receive this award.

Sally Groves
For many years, Sally played a key role in developing and promoting Schott Music’s international roster of composers.  She now serves as a trustee with a number of the UK’s leading Trusts and ensembles.