University of Birmingham Clocktower Composition

Ever wondered what it's like to hear your music projected out of a clocktower? Me neither, but it was fun to find out! Throwback to writing for Old Joe as part of the UoB 125th anniversary celebrations last summer. It was a real pleasure to be involved with BEAST again, writing music for the campus where I learnt to be a composer.

All the sounds in the piece were created by processing sounds from the clocktower (a mix of contact mics and stereo recordings). Rather than do something traditionally electroacoustic, as it's a party, I wanted to do something more upbeat and fun. And as Elgar was the first professor of music at the university, creating a dance version of Nimrod seemed like the obvious melodic choice.

Below is the piece as written in the DAW- mechanics of the clock meant the actual timings were very different!

BAFTA Crew X BFI Network

I’m very excited to have been accepted to BAFTA Crew X BFI Network 2019! It provides opportunities for mentoring, career development, industry panels, networking, and much more. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I’m very grateful for the chance to be a part of it. More updates on the events soon!

Single Announcement- Ocean, 28.10.16

After a summer of recording and mixing, my new single Ocean will be out on Friday 28th of October! Many hours of work have gone into this project and I'm so excited about how this song is sounding. I'll post again when it's ready, but it'll be up at www.joannakarselis.bandcamp.com and available for the bargain price of £1. Check out the trailer for it below:

The Magnetic Diaries Press Release- Birmingham

Key details:

MAC Birmingham
22nd October, 8pm
£10 (£8)

MAC link: https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/the-magnetic-diaries

‘The Magnetic Diaries’ is an innovative reworking of Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary in a contemporary English setting, by Forward Prize highly-commended poet Sarah James of Droitwich.  The troubled, adulterous heroine, Emma Bailey, battles with romantic idealism, illusions about love, a stifling middle-class lifestyle, boredom and depression; pushing her life and marriage to the brink.

In a year when nearly 1 in 4 English women (24%) report having had depression[1] and while wide misunderstanding still fuels stigma and prejudice, Reaction Theatre Makers’ new show takes a fresh and compelling approach. 

‘Highly Recommended’ by critics at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, ‘The Magnetic Diaries’ was described as “intensely moving” and the poetry as “divine.  Rich, complex, visual, flowing and tumbling out with power and aliveness…” One reviewer wrote that the piece ‘‘shows how wondrous and creative life can be despite living with depression…”

Moving lyrical fragments, crafted poems from Emma’s diary, the warm prose of her husband’s voice and cool rationality of her doctor’s - together with subtle physical language and Joanna Karselis' compelling musical score conspire to make this solo show an immersive experience.

Thanks to funding from the Arts Council England, the atmospherically charged production, completes its national tour in Birmingham and London in October. 

‘The Magnetic Diaries’ is playing at the Birmingham mac, on Saturday 22nd October, 8pm.  Tickets £10 (£8 concs) are available from the Box Office on 0121 446 3232 or at www.macbirmingham.co.uk

Edinburgh Fringe- The Magnetic Diaries

Not long until The Magnetic Diaries hits the Edinburgh Fringe! This one woman poetry play has received great feedback so far, and we're really excited to be bringing up to Scotland.

As you could have guessed, I wrote the music for the play. It's a microtonally-inspired smorgasbord of violin, piano and electronics.

Tickets are at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/magnetic-diaries. I'm going to be heading up for a few days, so see you at one of the performances! And if you have any recommendations of what I should see, let me know!

***DON'T FORGET***- Gig this Friday at MAC Birmingham, from 6-7:30 pm!