Press Release - Philharmonia Orchestra announces Vidya Patel as Artist in Residence for the 24/25 Season

[Jan McNulty]

Press Release 13 June 2024   Philharmonia Orchestra announces Vidya Patel as Artist in Residence for the 24/25 Season Vidya Patel photographed by Marina Vidor The Philharmonia Orchestra announces today that Vidya Patel will be its Artist in Residence for the 2024/25 Season. Now in its fourth year, the Artist in Residence initiative has previously featured House of Absolute (21/22), Love Ssega (22/23) and Soumik Datta (23/34). Vidya will be working with the Philharmonia and a group of musicians over the next 12 months to develop a new project that blends together her practice of dance, movement and choreography with classical music. Vidya is keen to explore Philharmonia archival material, to bring together original scores with new existing scores, exploring themes of belonging, identity and global humanity, as well as cultural and historical influences. This will all be explored through collaborative creative sessions and performances with Vidya, the musicians and other practitioners. The aim is to create a work that celebrates the South Asian and global diaspora: to bring to audiences an experience which incorporates music, dance, storytelling, and set design. Through this collaboration Vidya hopes to question and challenge the relationship between audience and performers, exploring the connection between dance artists, musicians, stage design and the space around us. Vidya Patel said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be able to be on this journey with the Philharmonia Orchestra and begin this residency. Coming from a dance and choreographic background- there are lots that I’m keen to investigate and discover about the music and orchestral industry, especially about collaborative working methods and how we can create something valuable of our own which can continue to inform future creative processes for musicians and dance artists. My goals are to learn as much as possible as well as to have a really generous exchange in order to create something unique for performers and audiences. My work draws upon themes of identity and belonging- I hope to create something which speaks about our interconnected relation to one another, nature and the world around us.” Thorben Dittes, Chief Executive at the Philharmonia Orchestra said: “I’m looking forward to seeing how Vidya and the Philharmonia musicians will work together during her year as Artist in Residence. Building on the experience with Soumik Datta this season, it will be fascinating to experience the coming together of different art forms and cultural traditions – for us, the audience, and for our musicians.” Vidya Patel is a UK based dance artist, choreographer, performer and collaborator. Her work merges influence of Kathak, one of the major classical Indian dance forms with contemporary dance, whilst working collaboratively with music, poetry and visual arts to draw on social/ political and autobiographical themes relating to identity, belonging, nature, well-being and empowerment. Vidya has performed nationally and internationally with several companies, artists and organisations, including Sir Richard Alston, Gary Clarke, Thick & Tight, Hetain Patel,Orchestral Qawwali, and Sujata Banerjee. She also performed in the late Pandit Ravi Shankar’s opera “Sukanya” and has collaborated with artists including Shammi Pithia, Connor Scott, Zia Ahmed, Sarathy Korwar, Shankho Chaudhari, Ryan Stafford, and many others. Her performances have received recognition, leading to three National Dance Critics Circle Awards nominations. In 2023 she received The Michele Fox Choreographic Award and the Vic Wells Award which have contributed towards developing future choreographic works. Since representing the South Asian category in BBC Young Dancer 2015 which was broadcasted live on prime time TV, she has premiered her own choreographic and collaborative work in India and throughout the UK including Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House, and Sadler’s Wells Theatre where she was a Young Associate choreographer 2020-22. She has been commissioned to create work for dance conservatories including Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Emergence and Northern School of Contemporary Dance and most recently the Ballet Boyz. Last year, she was commissioned by Tate Modern to create participatory work and live performances for the Turbine Hall in response to visual artist and activist Cecilia Vicuña’s installation, The Brain Forest Quipu, which was shared to over 12,000 members of the public. She is actively involved in various boards and advisory groups, advocating for accessibility and equality within the arts whilst mentoring young choreographers through programs like One Dance UK’s Young Creatives Programme. Additionally, she founded the community network South Asian Dance Artists UK and is developing her own dance agency. Find out all about Vidya Patel at her website vidyapatel.com Notes to editors Biographies Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is made up of 80 outstanding musicians of 17 different nationalities. Every one of us is dedicated to bringing orchestral music of the very highest standard to the widest possible audience - in the world’s top concert halls, in our residency communities and in your own home. Founded in 1945, we quickly established our reputation as the leading recording orchestra, our unparalleled catalogue growing as fast as the global market for LPs. We’ve continued to embrace the use of cutting-edge technology to share the orchestral experience around the world and beyond - our recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is travelling through interstellar space on board the Voyager spacecraft. In the last two decades our pioneering immersive installations and VR experiences have introduced hundreds of thousands of people to the symphony orchestra, and our streamed performances have been enjoyed by listeners from Fiji and Indonesia to high above the Arctic Circle in Norway. In 2021, Santtu-Matias Rouvali took up the baton as our Principal Conductor. He follows in illustrious footsteps: Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Carlo Maria Giulini, Arturo Toscanini, Riccardo Muti and Esa-Pekka Salonen are just a few of the great conductors to be associated with the Philharmonia over the years, honing the celebrated Philharmonia sound. Trailblazer Marin Alsop is our Principal Guest Conductor, and charismatic violinist Nemanja Radulović is our Featured Artist for the 2024/25 season. The Philharmonia regularly tours throughout Europe, performing in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Further afield, the Orchestra has performed in China, Japan and Colombia. In 2024 we returned to China, and we were the first major international symphony orchestra to tour Mauritius. You’ll also find us playing in some unexpected venues, from the Apple Store in Berlin to a barbershop in Bedford or a multi-storey car park in Peckham. Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, in the heart of London, has been our home since 1995. Across the UK, we have residencies in Bedford, Leicester, Canterbury, Basingstoke, at Garsington Opera and at the Three Choirs Festival. Our established and award-winning Learning & Engagement programme is embedded in our residency communities, and delivers experiences that empower people to engage with and participate in orchestral music. Our Emerging Artists Programme develops the next generation of instrumentalists, composers and conductors, with a focus on increasing diversity within the classical music industry. The Philharmonia commissions new music every year, and we have premiered works by Richard Strauss, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Errollyn Wallen, Kaija Saariaho, Anna Clyne, Laufey and many others. Our film credits stretch back to 1947, and the Orchestra is in demand among film and videogame composers in the UK and Hollywood. We have recorded around 150 soundtracks, bringing the Philharmonia sound to millions of cinema-goers and gamers. philharmonia.co.uk