Piano music premieres and BBC broadcast for Doctor Arlene Sierra

Dr Sierra's recent piano compositions, on themes of the natural world, are receiving numerous international performances

A solo album, Birds and Insects, and a composition for three pianists with percussion and electronics, Urban Birds, are among recent titles written by Cardiff University School of Music's Reader in Composition and Director of Research.

Selections from Birds and Insects have had recent performances around the United States and Great Britain by soloists including Kathleen Supove, Clare Hammond, and Xenia Pestova. Most recently, Xenia Pestova included Sierra’s work in her broadcast performance for BBC International Women’s Day broadcast on March 8th.

On May 11th, the piano ensemble work Urban Birds will receive its U.S. premiere at the New Music Gathering with pianists Kathleen Supove, Yu-Lien The and Stephanie Marie Titus. Urban Birds toured the U.K. in 2014 to critical acclaim as part of the New Music Biennial and has been released by NMC Records.

This summer, selections from Birds and Insects will be part of a touring programme by Dr Pestova in New Zealand, featuring performances in six venues across the country.

Dr Arlene Sierra is a composer of chamber, orchestral and vocal music, as well as opera, music for dance, and music for film. She is currently working on a BBC Philharmonic commission to be premiered in November 2017.