Waxwings at Tete a Tete

Brothers Mark and Clive (of Woo Music) have been recording since the mid seventies. They combine acoustic instruments, mainly guitars and clarinets, with electronics in ways that often leave the listener wondering how the music was created. Their sound is unique, but has been described as pastoral, ambient and new age, simultaneously Caribbean, Balkan, Parisian, jazz with psychedelic improvisations, and as ‘pop music for another universe’. Woo Music have re-released five albums of their early work within the past five years, receiving world wide recognition for their recordings from the 70s and 80s. The commission to write music for the Waxwings opera is their first collaboration with the English Touring Opera.

Tim read English at Cambridge, then studied singing at the Guildhall and the Munich Hochschule . His performing career included roles in opera and theatre, including work for Opera Factory, Opera 80, ENO, ROH, Opera North and Chichester Festival. His passion for education has led him to devise and direct projects for all the main opera companies, and many others here and abroad. He has led the education work at ETO since 2003, bringing a particular commitment to integrating special and mainstream schools. He has created 3 community operas for ETO: One Breath (Sheffield), A House on the Moon (Wolverhampton) and One Day Two Dawns (Cornwall). He has also written the libretti for several operas for young people, including Voithia and In the Belly of the Horse.