THE RESONANCE ATLAS
James Gardner
Biography
James Gardner (born 1962 in Liverpool) is a composer, researcher, improviser and broadcaster based in Auckland, New Zealand. His musical career initially moved between experimental and popular music: he played keyboards with The Umbrella, worked with Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto's Luxuria, and co-founded the electronic group Apollo 440 in 1990. In parallel he developed a practice in notated composition; his piano piece Shattered Blue Ground was runner-up in the 1991 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival composers' competition.
Gardner left Apollo 440 in 1993 to focus on composition and moved to New Zealand in 1994. He founded the contemporary music ensemble 175 East in 1996, directing it until 2010 and creating performance opportunities for new music. He received the Composers Association of New Zealand Trust Fund Award in 2003 and held composer residencies in New Zealand and Australia. His wider work includes broadcasting and research on electronic music, particularly EMS synthesisers and Peter Zinovieff.
Why this music interests us
Gardner's music brings an adventurous perspective shaped by experimental, electronic and acoustic composition. Nakashima Burl (2016–17), a substantial work of approximately 26 minutes for bassoon, violin, viola and cello, is especially intriguing for Resonance: the bassoon joins a conventional string trio in a scale rarely encountered in this combination. The shorter solo bassoon version of Charge offers a contrasting route into his work. Together they suggest a catalogue in which instrumental colour and formal ambition deserve closer attention.
Selected works & listening
Nakashima Burl (2016–17; bassoon, violin, viola, cello); Charge (solo bassoon version)
Further information