Mic Spencer
Mic Spencer is a Scottish composer born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire in 1975 and based in Leeds. He started composing at a young age and went on to study music and Scottish literature at Glasgow University, where he studied composition with Graham Hair, followed by a Master's and PhD at Manchester University, studying with Geoff Poole and John Casken. Spencer also received regular private lessons from James Dillon, a composer who Spencer has a research interest in; indeed, he has written two articles on his music, "Re-Placing the Dialectic: Notions of Compositional Procedure in James Dillon's German Tryptych" published in British postgraduate musicology online 1 and "Dillon’s L’évolution du vol: an evolution of stylistics or a flight from National identity?" which is due to be published in the journal Scotica. In 2003 he received a stipend to attend the Summer Course at Academie Schloss Solitude where he met other important teachers: Chaya Czernowin, Steve Takasugi, and Richard Barrett.
Spencer is currently the Composition lecturer at the University of Leeds, where he also teaches the post-1900 Aesthetics and Criticism course. He has several PhD students in both composition and contemporary musicology as well as being a co-supervisor for performers.
Spencer's compositions and research stem from his interests in improvisation, contemporary notation issues, microtonal tuning systems and music post-1945, particularly that of Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Morton Feldman, Helmut Lachenmann and Peter Maxwell Davies. He has a keen interest in aesthetics and the philosophy of New Music, along with semiotic analysis. His music has been performed at festivals and events worldwide, including Instal 2002 (Glasgow), Maxis 2003 Festival 2 (Leeds), Darmstädter Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik 3, 2004, International Trumpet Guild Conference, Rowan University, New Jersey, 2006. His piano solo piece The Eemis Stane - Homage to K.S. Sorabji is available on a CD collection of new piano music recorded by Aleksander Szram on the Fonorum label, 2005. Toxic Knuckle Bones, a chamber ensemble piece was performed by the BBC Philharmonic under James MacMillan on Radio 3’s "Hear and Now" programme in 2001. Other groups who have performed Spencer's music include ROUT4, Ensemble Surplus 5 and FOCAM6 along with renowned soloists such as Ian Pace and Richard Casey.
One ongoing project Spencer is working on is his cycle Message from Aiwass, a series of pieces currently numbering around 9, which explore the idea of fragmentation and use musical quotations from the music of Antoine Brumel. Spencer is keen to explore the idea of a cycle and how each of the pieces in this cycle can relate and interlink with each other. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific stylistic aspect of Spencer's work though it arguably shows some influence of Dillon in certain pieces; however, these pieces usually have some formal element that makes the music distinct from his teacher's sound. The music comes from an interest in the instruments themselves, and in some cases in the location in which they are to be performed, and often from his interest in philosophy, microtones and fragmentation.Mic Spencer has also appeared on Eggheads.
Compositions
- Si vous êtes pris dans le rêve de l’autre, vous êtez (7 percussionists) 2008
- Ophelia Fragments (flute, clarinet, percussion, mezzo-soprano, violin) 2008
- Message from Aiwass VII (microtonal trumpet, percussion, live electroncis) 2007-2008
- Delire (string quartet) 2006
- If this be my fate (trombone, percussion) 2006
- Dyptique (SATB choir) 2005
- The Lynx Arc (improvising saxophone soloist and ensemble) 2003-06
- Strike softly, away from body (soprano saxophone, electric guitar, hammond organ, electric violin, double bass, live electronics) — commissioned by [rout] and BMIC [...] Edge
- I built my dreams around you (solo bass flute) 2004
- Message from Aiwass II (violoncello, piano, percussion) 2003
- same ground, once more stirring under our feet– Homage to Foucault (flute, violin, percussion, accordion, live electronics, 2 LP players, video projection) 2003
- You Took My Dreams From Me, When I First Found You (solo violin) 2002
- Sotto Voce (solo organ) 2002
- Une nuit noire, par un calme (24 voices) 2002
- Message From Aiwass (frammenti neri) (two pianos) 2002
- é quella sì lontana (chamber ensemble – 20 players) 2001 [rev. 2002]
- la mer allée avec le soleil (violin, piano, percussion) 2001
- The Eemis Stane – Homage to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (solo piano) 2001
- The Song Mickey Heard at the Bottom of his Pint in the Zodiac Bar (wind orchestra) 2001
- Toxic Knuckle Bones (chamber ensemble) 2000
- Pendule (… de Foucalt) (horn, violin, piano) 2000
- … las Redes de Piedra (alto saxophone and orchestra) 1999 - Commissioned by The Kelvin Ensemble
- DO NOT MACHINE (percussion duo) 1999
- In te si posa nostra ignuda natura (oboe solo) 1998-99
- Über Die Grenzen Des All … (piccolo/alto flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, tuba, piano/harpsichord, violin, viola) 1998
Articles
Spencer, Michael, 'Dillon’s L’évolution du vol:an evolution of stylistics or a flight from National identity?' in Musica Scotica (University of Glasgow), forthcoming.
Spencer, Michael, 'Darmstadt 2008 - A Critical Review' in Search issue 3, fall 20088
Spencer, Michael, 'Re-Placing the Dialectic: Notions of Compositional Procedure in James Dillon's German Tryptych' in British Postgraduate Musicology Online volume 5, 1992.9
Selected performances
The Lynx Arc (2003—2006), Improvising Saxophonist and Ensemble, [30’]
First Performance:
Christophe de Bezenac with LSTwo, University of Leeds (April 2006)
Strike softly, away from body (2005), Soprano Sax, Electric Guitar, Hammond Organ, Electric Violin, Double Bass, live electronics, [10’]
Commissioned by [rout] and BMIC [...] Edge'
First Performance:
[rout], The Warehouse, London (December 2005)
Other performances:
[rout] BMIC [...] Edge tour, including performances in the University of Leeds, Dartington, Glasgow CCA and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (October—November 2006)
Diptyque (2005), Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass [10’]
First Performance:
Leeds University Liturgical Choir, University of Leeds (May 2005)
Other performances:
Leeds University Liturgical Choir, International Choral Festival Universitas Cantat, Poznan, Poland (June 2005)
Leeds University Liturgical Choir, University of Leeds, (April 2007)
Leeds University Liturgical Choir, St Matthew’s Church, Chapel Allerton (June 2007)
I built my dreams around you (2004), Solo Bass Flute, [8’]
First performance:
Richie Craig, Bar Coda, University of Leeds (May 2004)
Other performances:
Richie Craig, Darmstädter Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (August 2004)
Richie Craig, University of Leeds (April 2005)
Message from Aiwass II (2003), Violoncello, Piano, Percussion, [10’]
First performance:
Apartment House, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival(November 2003)
same ground, once more stirring under our feet – Homage to Foucault (2003), Flute, Violin, Percussion, Accordion, live electronics, 2 LP players, video projection, [18’]
First performance:
Owain Sutton, Richie Craig, Andy Bayly, Dominic Halliday and students of the University of Leeds, MAXIS International Festival, ICSRiM/University of Leeds (April 2003)
la mer allée avec le soleil (2001), Violin, Piano, Percussion, [10’]
First performance:
Owain Sutton, Suzy Wapshott, Dom Halliday, University of Manchester (June 2002)
Other performance:
Ensemble SurPlus, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany (August 2003) Ensemble SurPlus, E-Werk, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany (March 2004) Ensemble SurPlus, Staatsoper Theater, Stuttgart, Germany (July 2004)
The Eemis Stane – Homage to Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (2001), Solo Piano, [10’]
First performance:
Peter Mumford, University of Manchester (April 2001)
Other performances:
Suzy Wapshott, University of Manchester (June 2002)
Peter Mumford, St. Cyprian’s Church, London (June 2003)
Richard Casey, University of Leeds (April 2006)
Aleksander Szram, Bush Hall, Shepherd’s Bush, London (September 2006)
Aleksander Szram, Vancouver, Canada (December 2006)
Ian Pace, University of Leeds (April 2007)
Ian Pace, University College Cork, (October 2007)
CD recording:
Aleksander Szram, Into the 21st Century, fonoforum 8003 (2006)
Toxic Knuckle Bones (2000 [rev. 2001]), Chamber Orchestra, [15’]
First performance:
University of Manchester New Music Ensemble, University of Manchester (November 2000)
Other performances:
BBC Philharmonic, conductor James MacMillan, New Broadcasting House, Manchester (February 2001) [Revised version]
LSTwo, University of Leeds (April 2005)
Radio broadcast: Hear and Now, BBC Radio 3, (February 2001)