precept.concept.percept XVII.
MENTOR [COMPOSITION]:
Alastair White (1988) is a Scottish composer and writer. His work is characterised by a lyrical complexity which has been described as “a whole exciting new genre of art” (BBC Radio 3) and an attempt “to challenge long-held assumptions about the material world and to illuminate the performative nature of matter itself” (Opera Today). Notable projects include the fashion-opera cycle of WEAR, ROBE, WOAD and RUNE (“excellent" — BBC Music Magazine, “spellbinding” — Boulezian); a string quartet for the Altius Quartet’s album Quadrants Vol. 3; the documentary opera A Boat in an Endless Blue Sea; The Drowning Shore, a Scots-Yiddish cantata; and #CAPITAL, the first opera to be performed in the metaverse ("an impressive Gesamtkunstwerk [which] shows all that the future will make possible” — Schön Magazine). Recipient of the Tait Memorial Trust Award, and shortlisted twice for a Scottish Award for New Music (in 2019 and 2020) a Creative Edinburgh Award (2019), an Ivan Juritz Prize (2023), and The Stage Awards (2024), his music is available on several full-length releases from Métier and Navona, and his scores are published by UMP. He teaches music at the University of Surrey and holds a PhD in Music from Goldsmiths, University of London. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Classical Music Magazine and publishes and speaks internationally on his research interests, which include the theory of contingency dialectics and its methodological implications in fashion-opera.
—
MENTOR [PERFORMANCE]:
Urban Megušar (1997) is a Slovenian cellist and composer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. As a cellist, he is dedicated to chamber music and the performance of new music. He has performed internationally at venues and festivals including the Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wien Modern, Klang Festival, Music Biennale Zagreb, Stift Festival, Festival Ljubljana, Bled Contemporary Music Week, and the .abeceda Festival. As a member of Trio Tempestoso, he won the Boris Pergamenschikow Preis for Contemporary Music in 2019 and received the Dwight and Ursula Mamlok Prize in 2022.
Urban holds Master’s degrees in Music Performance from the Norwegian Academy of Music and in Chamber Music from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. During his studies he worked with mentors including Julian Arp, Tanja Orning, Torben Snekkestad, and Martin Spangenberg. His current mentor in composition and performance is Dré A. Hočevar.
Since 2022, Urban has been a member of the .abeceda [New Music Ensemble] and the .abeceda [String Quartet]. With both ensembles, he has premiered more than seventy new works. Currently, Urban is a mentor in the precept.concept.percept programme, coordinator of the infra.norma.meta programme in Amsterdam, and coordinator of the enuntiatio.praefatio.formulae programme for artistic research in music.
—
ASSISTANT MENTOR:
Niki Zohdi (1997) is a composer, tenor and conductor. His music explores obscuration, re-contextualisation, and the perception of pre-existing materials in his work. Niki's music has been performed and workshopped across the UK and Europe by Achrome Ensemble, .abeceda [New Music Ensemble], Carlos Cordeiro and Rolf Hind amongst others. He has received several commissions across Europe including a 2024 commission by DYCE.
He has received tuition in composition from Roger Redgate, Michael Finnissy, Chaya Czernowin and Pierluigi Billone, and was recently awarded a PhD in composition from the University of Leeds where he was supervised by Martin Iddon and Michael Spencer.
Niki has conducted works from composers ranging from Palestrina and Byrd to Scelsi and Gubaidolina, conducting various choral and orchestral ensembles in workshops, rehearsals, and performances. He is currently in the process of setting up a brand new contemporary music ensemble with the hope of bringing more contemporary music to Northern audiences. He currently conducts the p.c.p. ensembles at the Bled Contemporary Music Festival with Inštitut .abeceda in Slovenia.
As a tenor, Niki sings several professional choirs in addition to being a soloist across the country. In 2022, he gave the premiere of Alastair White's opera, Hareflight alongside flautist Jenni Hogan. He currently sings in Sheffield Cathedral Choir and the professional choir, Luminatus.
Outside of music, Niki is interested in food, wine, travel and red-ball cricket.