Crash Ensemble have announced Dutch violinist Diamanda La Berge Dramm and Irish composer Ann Cleare as the ensemble’s new Artists in Residence. La Berge Dramm and Cleare will work with the ensemble along with current Composers in Residence Andrew Hamilton and Sam Perkin.

La Berge Dramm was born in Amsterdam and is currently based in Utrecht. She studied violin at the New England Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. In 2018, she became the first string soloist to win the Dutch Classical Talent Tour and Award. Other awards include the John Cage Award, the Nicolai Prize, the Kersjes Violin Award, and the Deutschlandfunk Förderungspreis. Her work blends the influences of Dutch classical music, avant-garde and improvisation. 

La Berge Dramm performed with Crash at one of the Seán Ó Riada portrait concerts at the NCH at the weekend and will perform with the group in upcoming performances of The First Child – the new opera by Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh at the Dublin Theatre Festival. She will also feature as soloist with Crash over the next two years. 

Commenting on the news, La Berge Dramm said: 

I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to be Crash Ensemble’s Musician in Residence. Having been a fan from afar, it’s such a pleasure to share real time and start a deep exchange. I feel a profound ally in Crash, both conceptually and in terms of sound sensibility. 

Ann Cleare has been commissioned by Crash, along with Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and November Music, to write a new long-form work for the ensemble. 

She said:

I am thrilled and honoured to join Crash Ensemble as an Artist in Residence. From their performances of Dorchadas in Free State 2010 and in Composing the Island to collaborating on Fiáin for their 20th Birthday, Crash have brought great energy and vision to my work. I look forward to working together over the next years and to making all the exciting plans we have into a reality.

In 2019, Cleare was one of three winners of the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (and the first Irish recipient of the award). Earlier this month, a portrait concert of her work took place at Musikfest Berlin. 

For more, visit www.crashensemble.com/news