Gallery

   
 

The following pages are dedicated to my varied interests within music and the arts and express gratitude to the people and organisations that have supported my professional development

Festivals
Dobrinka has dedicated much time to promoting contemporary music, which started in her student days at the Guildhall School. As well as conducting a number of premieres and chamber operas there, in 1999 she became President of the Contemporary Music Society. In that role, spanning 5 years, she acted as artistic director of the concerts and Festivals which aim to promote the up and coming composers of this generation The 2002 and 2003 festivals PLAY and Forward were selected to be part of the City of London Festival.

Following on from her post at the Guildhall, Dobrinka was appointed series coordinator of the British Music Information Centre’s Cutting Edge series (2003-2009), which presents post 1960’s contemporary music with a focus on British composers. Notable events there included The Finnissy Weekend- a celebration of Michael Finnissy’s music, as well as over 300 premieres by Bmic Voices, spnm shortlisted composers and established British names like Howard Skempton, Harrison Birtwistle, Graham Fitkin, Judith Weir, Jonathan Harvey and many more.

Presentations
Dobrinka has given a number of presentations (multimedia-type) on the relationship between music and science; the history of the Modes since 200BC and The Music of the Spheres, including samples from NASA’s Voyager missions. The presentations have been given both at the Guildhall School and the Royal College of Art. She is now regularly invited to give presentations about her work.

World’s Sun Songs Project
In 2008, Dobrinka was one of 17 composers invited to write a Sun Anthem for the large project of World’s Sun Songs. Choosing a text from their native lands, each of the composers were asked to write a piece for the Riga youth choir Kamer under the direction of the conductor Maris Sirmais. The project was presented at an elaborate launch in Riga in July 2008, and then featured at the World Choral Symposium in Copenhagen the following month.

The unique nature of this initiative prompted international acclaim and became the subject of a film documentary by Mistrus Media- Sounds that the Sun Makes (Sounds under the Sun).

Full information about the choir and project can be found here
Photos from the premiere in Riga are here
The specially designated site (in Latvian) for the documentary Sounds that the Sun Makes is here
 
The Radiants
The Radiants were formed in 2000, as a group supporting and promoting new music. Conducted by Dobrinka, they have performed regularly at the Guildhall Summer Festivals of New Music, and premièred a number of works including the chamber opera ‘Midsummer Magic’. In June 2002, they made their debut at the Bath International Festival of Music in a collaboration with Prof. Dan Fern from the Royal College of Art.
 
Workshops/ Masterclasses selected:
Dobrinka has attended workshops with the following composers:

Jan 2002-   John Adams as part of the Barbican Festival ’John’s earbox’
Nov 2001-   Prof. Alexander Goehr
Feb 2001-   Olav-Anton Thommassen/Lasse Thoresen as part of exchange to the Oslo Academy
Aug 2001-   Marek Kopelent/ Petr Kotik at the Prague Conservatoire’s Summer Composition Course in Cesky Krumlov
Mar 2000-   Louis Andriessen
July 1997-   Alessandro Solbiati at the Corropoli International Composition Summer Course, Italy
July 1996-   Philip Manoury/ Iannis Xenakis at the 20th Centre Acanthes, Avignon


 

     

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