Music for the Performing Arts
Previous projects and work portfolio
Ben Mowat has collaborated with contemporary dancers,
puppet theatre creators, story tellers and circus performers.
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Ben says:
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"I absolutely love collaborating with performing artists, whether creating pre-made music for a show or live music during a performance, I find the whole process incredibly exciting and rewarding. There are so many beautiful and creative ways to story tell and the personal relationships are often as important as the work itself."
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November 2020: 'The Fall'
Acrobatics development piece with performers Rachel Baird, Laura Boy and videographer Simon Abel. This is a research test piece choreographed and filmed in just 3 hours whereas he music was created over a period of 3 weeks!
Ben says:
"The music was scored to picture and includes found sound recorded in the forest. I created percussion from sticks collected in the woods and created sample based instruments from the recordings of birdsong I had made during the first COVID lockdown. These can be heard as "bloopy" melodies in the music. All this electro-acoustic experimentation is mixed with synths and a string orchestra which I composed using Spitfire Audio's London Contemporary Orchestra virtual instruments."
2019: 15 minutes of music for Leaving My Trace, a show directed by Rachel Baird at Circomedia Bristol.
Photos from Leaving My Trace, a dance & acrobatics performance by Circus Director Rachel Baird, music by Ben Mowat. Performed in spring 2019
2017: Street PerformanceTour of France: Improvised loop pedal compositions & choreographies.
2018/19: 'Le Chasseur et Le Chassé'
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Music composition & performance by Ben Mowat
Choreography & dance performance by Malena Grilli
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Le Chasseur et Le Chassé is a simple imagined story about a woman-bird who is experiencing the struggles of life. Her task is to feed her infant chicks, but will they be safe in their nest whilst she is out hunting? This is a specially choreographed/composed by Malena Grill and Ben Mowat, who worked together to create a unified piece that exists as dance and music combined. The project was sparked by a seriese of improvisations Malena and Ben worked on over the summer of 2017.
2017: 'Tango Para Tres'
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Filmed in the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with dancers Malena Grilli and Valeria Scheidegger. Ben Mowat recored and produced this version of tango classic Pro Una Cabeza, performing all instruments. He worked with Malena Grilli to edit the film.
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2015: Live violin with Christelle's Puppet show, Le Petit Gitain
2014, 2015, 2017: Music with Christal Ball (Christelle Guilet) in Mirepoix Puppet Theatre Festival.
2011: Points of Ellipsis
Contemporary dance show with choreographer Rachel Scurry, Pegasus Theatre Oxford.
Ben Mowat worked with Rachel to produce the show and music. Coming up with the initial concept through to working with the theatre producers and technicians to put on the show.
Ben brought his ensemble The String Project to play the music for string quartet, piano and drums which he had composed and arranged for the show.
