Lontano Biography

Lontano's impact on the perception of new music has been profound and enduring. Since its inception in 1976 by conductor/composer Odaline de la Martinez and flautist Ingrid Culliford, Lontano has established an international reputation as one of the most exciting and versatile exponents of 20th and 21st century music.

Lontano commissions, produces, performs and records with the primary aim of bringing to the fore the work of contemporary Living composers, Women and Latin American composers. The ensemble's sphere of activity includes contemporary opera, music theatre, concerts, workshops, education projects, tours, broadcasts and recordings. Performances feature some of the most noted, inventive and radical names in contemporary composition including Judith Weir, Martin Butler, Roberto Sierra, Errollyn Wallen, Nicola Le Fanu, Peter Sculthorpe, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Chen Yi, Lindsay Cooper and Steve Reich. Lontano, in collaboration with the BBC Singers, recently recorded for the BBC a programme featuring the music of Brian Ferneyhough, which will be followed by a CD for the Metier Label.

Lontano's global allure has resulted in performances as far a field as Istanbul (residency, Turkish-British Women Composers Week), Zagreb (performance of Jenni Riditi's opera Inanna, at the Zagreb Biennale Festival), USA, Canada, South and Central America.

Recent activities include performances at the Huddersfield and Cheltenham International Festivals, Chard Festival of Women in Music, the BBC Proms, the premiere of Paul Barker's opera Stone Angels at the Bloomsbury Theatre, the enormously successful Émigrés Series on London's South Bank.

An education and community programme is integral to Lontano's performing activity. The ensemble undertakes a diverse range of projects involving a broad spectrum of ages, cultures and social backgrounds. In 2002 Lontano was invited to become ensemble in residence at Kings College, London University. Here, they interact with young composers offering unparalleled opportunity for compositions to be rehearsed and performed by professional musicians. This work is now central to the curriculum.

Always at the forefront of music innovation Lontano was one of the first ensembles to form its own record company when in 1992 it established the LORELT label. Now with a catalogue of twenty three discs, LORELT features soloists as well as other ensembles and is noted for its archive of important and often neglected compositions. Lontano also records for numerous other companies including Albany Records (USA) and Metier Records (UK).

Lontano regularly broadcasts on television and radio and enjoys a close relationship with the British Broadcasting Corporation. The ensemble also featured in a Channel 4 TV series entitled Women in Music - Performance Pieces, including of Joan Tower's Petroushkates.

Performances in 2004 on the South Bank included an American programme featuring the music of Dan Asia and Earl Brown and a concert, with subsequent CD recording, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Jeremy Dale-Roberts. In October 2004, in a BBC Invitation Concert, Lontano premiered several works by the Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin as well as music by the German composer Heiner Goebbels. Projects for 2005 included the All about... series as part of the LA LINEA Latin Music Festival at the South Bank and elsewhere in London, which explored Salsa, Tango and Samba and included new commissions. 2006 events featured a Festival of American Music, Lontano's 30th Anniversary Series, and a visit to Argentina which included concerts and an educational programme. Future projects are Dream-Hunters - a new commissioned opera by Nicola LeFanu, a second festival of American Music and the release of recordings by Peter Child and Dorothy Ker, as well a several educational events in the ensemble's borough of Walthamstow.

top