Smorgaschord

About Smorgaschord

The noun 'Smorgaschord' denotes a cultural feast with numerous concerts in one day. The format of a Smorgaschord goes like this: guests may gorge on music, poetry and art till fully satiated... Smorgaschord was born in 2021 in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. Our motivation was a strong one: young musicians were adversely affected during the pandemic, and needed an outlet for their burgeoning creativity that had built up after months of silence and inactivity. And above all, we wanted to find a way to present music that was relaxed, fun and diverse—all harnessed around a profound love of the new and adventurous! Since then, Smorgaschord has grown and grown. We've had performances of the oldest surviving genres of Hindustani vocal music, worked with György Kurtág on a piece for quartet and electronics, presented premieres from composers raning from Deidre McKay to Thomas Adès, explored the work and life of Jewish artist Eva Frankfurther, experienced the wonders of Mark Padmore singing Birtwistle, performed Mozart in a coffee shop... Smorgaschord has been busy! Alongside the festival, we established Smorgaschord Collective as a way of bringing together a community of like-minded musicians who could take our ideas around to other parts of the country. So far, we've played music by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Donghoon Shin and Mozart, and are looking forward to touring a programme of Claude Vivier, Elisabeth Lutyens, Xenakis and Janáček as part of the Stoller Hall Emerging Artists scheme.

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