Edward Clijsen @ Bled Contemporary Music Week: Premiere and Book Chapter

 

PhD candidate Edward Clijsen has recently returned from Bled, where he participated in the Bled Contemporary Music Week. As part of the festival, his piece Phi, φ (2025) for flute, bass clarinet, classical guitar, cello and piano was premiered—written during his year-long composer residency with the .abeceda institute.

 

Clijsen also has a chapter in a new book Mikrotöne: Small is Beautiful VI, published by Mackingerverlag. The book’s contents have been developed from selected papers given at the Mikrotöne: Small is Beautiful Symposium 2025 conference in Salzburg. The chapter is titled “Redividing the Octave for Expanded Tonal Spaces: Preliminary Practical Explorations of Formalised Approaches to Polymetric Polymicrotonal Composition”.

 

 

 

Edward Clijsen @ Untwelving, Munich; Prog Rock Conference, Strasbourg; Innovation in Music, Aalborg

 

PhD candidate Edward Clijsen recently delivered a lecture about the position of microtonality in rock/metal music at the Untwelving Convention, Munich. As part of the convention activities, he was also invited to give a talk to students alongside Stephen Weigel, Delores Catherino and Genoël von Lilienstern at Hochschule für Musik und TheaterMünchen (HMTM).

 

Clijsen also recently delivered two more conference papers at the 7th International Conference of the Progect Network for the Study of Progressive Rock, Strasbourg—discussing the position of microtonality in progressive rock music—and the Innovation in Music 2026 Conference in Aalborg, discussing his approach to polymetric polymicrotonal composition in his piece Amsterdamned.

 

 

Prof Landy — Fabled Forest

Prof Emeritus Leigh Landy recently collaborated with his daughter Marissa (actor, writer and composer) on her chamber piece Fabled Forest for marimba, vibraphone, harp and piano. Though the works were written for concert and album, she decided to also have it performed in the form of a soundwalk, with headphones, in the forest which inspired it. She chose a path and asked Leigh to compose ‘Transitions’ based on texts she wrote. Leigh recomposed them, creating varying atmospheres reflecting the different sites in Epping Forest, where the performance took place 18-20 September 2026. It was recently reviewed here.

PhD Student Robert Chafer Awarded for Outstanding PGR Community Impact

At the Sep 22 DMU Research Showcase event, MTI Research Group Doctoral student Robert Chafer was awarded the prize for Outstanding PGR Community Impact and a runner-up prize for Outstanding Contribution to Research Culture. This honours Rob's vision and work in launching the PhD Life initiative to build a sense of community and support amongst DMU's PhD students. PhD Life has now grown to have several people organising and sustaining the project. PhD Life runs one social each month, then various other activities - yoga and creative movement, weekly badminton, and monthly yoga and games nights online. There have been movie nights, Halloween nights and Leicester Tigers events. Chafer has said, "the sense of community and growth as individuals as part of a community is really rewarding."

Battey's 'Estuaries 4' to screen at Texas Inter-Media Experience (TIME Fest)

Prof Bret Battey's audiovisual composition 'Estuaries 4' has been selected to screen at the Texas Inter-Media Experience (TIME Fest), November 5-7, 2026, presented by Texas A&M University's Institute for Applied Creativity.

Battey's 'Estuaries 4' in João Pessoa, Brazil

Prof Bret Battey's audiovisual composition 'Estuaries 4' will screen in João Pessoa, Brazil, on September 25, 2026. The electroacoustic concert, entitled "There Isn't Time for Everything", is presented by the city's new Center for Experimentation in Musical Technologies.

John Young's work 'Flux' to premiere in China

John Young's acousmatic composition Flux will have its world premiere in China at Musicacoustica-Hangzhou in September.