Stevie Wishart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stevie Wishart
Background information
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	hurdy-gurdy, violin
Labels	Decca

Stevie Wishart is a talented musician who creates, performs, and makes up music on two special instruments: the hurdy-gurdy and the violin. She is known for her work in modern music. She also plays very old music from history.

Stevie has even studied and recorded all the songs by a famous medieval composer named Saint Hildegard of Bingen. She also performs music from medieval troubadours and trouvères, and songs from the Cantigas de Santa Maria. She does this with her music group called Sinfonye.

Stevie's Musical Journey

Stevie Wishart studied music at some well-known universities. She went to Cambridge and Oxford. She also studied at the Guildhall School of Music.

She learned about composing music and electronic music at the University of York. Her teachers there were Trevor Wishart and Richard Orten. Later, she learned about making up music on the spot, called improvisation. She also studied "aleatoric music," which means music that uses chance or random elements. Her teachers for this were famous musicians John Cage and David Tudor.

Stevie was also part of a performance group called Machine for Making Sense. In this group, she worked with other artists like Chris Mann, Rik Rue, Amanda Stewart, and Jim Denley. They created unique and experimental performances together.

Composing Music

Stevie Wishart is a composer, which means she writes her own music. She has created many different pieces for various groups and events. Here are a few examples of her compositions:

• "Last Dance" a Baroque Tango was played at the BBC Proms. This is a very famous music festival in London. The Dunedin Consort performed it for the first time.
• “Voicing the Dawn” was written for a choir called Ex Cathedra. It was first performed in cathedrals in Hereford and Birmingham.
• Out of the Mists is a tone poem for two instruments: the harpsichord and the piano. A tone poem is a piece of music that tells a story or describes something. This piece was inspired by the mists around the River Dart.
• A journey between cities in sound – Eurostar was written for several instruments and a singer. It was commissioned by the Hermes Ensemble and first played in London.
• Rough with the Smooth – Concerto for double bass was written for an orchestra. A concerto is a piece of music where one instrument plays a solo part with the orchestra. This piece was performed in London in 2015.
• The Seasons – Cantata is a piece for a choir. A cantata is a vocal piece with different movements. The Ipswich Choral Society asked her to write this music.
• Out of this World was written for the BBC Singers, a famous choir. It was performed at the BBC Proms and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Musical Recordings

Stevie Wishart has also made many recordings of her music. A recording is when music is captured so people can listen to it later. These recordings include her own compositions and improvised music.

Compositions on Record

Some of her recorded compositions include:

• Strahlender Himmel which means "Radiant Sky." These are songs for a soprano singer and piano.
• Three carols, which are special songs often sung around holidays.
• Happy Song.
• Vespers for St Hildegard, which is music inspired by the medieval composer.
• The Sound of Gesture for violin, sensors, and a computer. This shows how she uses technology in her music.

Improvised Music on Record

Stevie also records music that she makes up on the spot, called improvisation. Some of these recordings are:

• VIOLET..
• The Act of Obsession Becomes the Object Itself with her group Machine for Making Sense.
• The Compass, Log and Lead which she composed and performed with Fred Frith and Carla Kihlstedt.
• She was also a guest musician on a track called "Aquatic" with the jazz trio The Necks.