Wednesday 14 January 2026, 7.30pm
Plus Minus Ensemble presents three nights of music, joined by special guests Kaj Duncan David and Danish ensemble Scenatet.
COVERS: WEDNESDAY 14 JANUARY 2026
The final night showcases a project devised and performed by Plus Minus, featuring six works that engage with twentieth-century classics—or with pieces that deserve to be considered classics. Each explores its relationship to the original in a unique way: some make explicit reference through playful arrangements or stylistic transformation, others use the original as a springboard for a new adventure, and in some, the originals linger only as spectral echoes.
PROGRAMME:
- Natacha Diels - Adrift (after Julian Carrillo, Preludio a Colon [1922])
- Alex Hills - Andante and Presto No Longer for String Quartet 2025 (after Ruth Crawford Seeger String Quartet 1931)
- György Ligeti - Atmospheres (1961) - reimagined by Tom Pauwels
- George Antheil - Piano Sonata No.2: The Airplane (1921) - reimagined by Benjamin Oliver
- Lili Boulanger - Nocturne (1911) - arranged by Matthew Shlomowitz
- Hildegard Knef - reimagined by Lisa Streich
Plus Minus is a UK-based group dedicated to commissioning new works alongside modern and landmark repertoire. Formed in 2003, the group focuses on performative, electroacoustic, and conceptual pieces, Plus-Minus explores experimental works, including Stockhausen’s 1963 classic, after which the ensemble is named. The ensemble was resident at University of Edinburgh from 2019 to 2024 and in recent years has performed at Whelan’s (Dublin), BBC studios, Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), MINU festival (Copenhagen) and Klangspuren Schwaz in Austria.
Natacha Diels is a Philadelphia-based composer and performer whose work blends choreographed movement, video animation, instrumental practice, and cynical play to construct worlds that are at once wondrous and unsettling. https://natachadiels.com/
Alex Hills is a London based composer. He has a strong interest in taking experimental approaches to historical materials, and much of his recent music explores the boundaries between transcription, pastiche and original composition. https://alexhills.com/
Tom Pauwels is a Brussels based guitarist and General Director of Ictus Ensemble. His interest in performance has led to collaborations with choreographers as Xavier Le Roy, Andros Zins-Browne and Maud Le Pladec. https://www.ictus.be/pauwels
Benjamin Oliver is a composer, conductor, and jazz pianist based in Southampton. He frequently collaborates with artists from other disciplines, including poet Luke Wright , theatre-maker Rachel Warr, filmmaker and audiovisual artist Moe Myat May Zarchi. https://www.benolivermusic.com/
Matthew Shlomowitz is a London based composer. His most recent work is The Big Idea, a one-hour monodrama for mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean and Rubiks Collective (Melbourne), which he made with librettist Vid Simoniti. https://www.shlom.com/
Lisa Streich is a composer based in Gotland. Her distinctive works often feature stark contrasts, spectral harmonies, and the use of motorized instruments. https://www.lisastreich.se/
