Dawns

(16 May 2020, premier)

Composition for quintet at dawn, 55'

Project website here.
Commissioned by the National Trust and non zero one.

On Saturday 16 May 2020 people were invited to find their own view of the sky and join in a shared witness of dawn, marking everyone's individual experience as daylight swept across the country in a continuous wave across the UK from the North East to the South West.

At 3:43am over 7,000 people tuned into an online broadcast as six performers from six sites across the UK create a live, musical performance that celebrated the darkness turning to light.

This mass-participation artwork by non zero one was made in collaboration with composer James Bulley, commissioned by the National Trust in partnership with Heritage Open Days. It took place live and online - people could find their own view of the sky and then tune in to the broadcast online. During the performance they were invited to take part in collective actions to mark their dawn, from showing their location on a pin on a map, to taking a photo at 4:49am.

Starting at 3:43am on Saturday 16 May 2020, a narrator joined five individual musicians in lockdown across the UK as they performed a newly commissioned work from composer James Bulley. Each performer’s contribution was defined by their own experience of the dawn occurring at their location, building from a solo to a quintet as the daylight swept across the country. The whole broadcast was recorded and mixed live from technicians and specialists also working from lockdown in their own homes.

Excerpts from the premiere performance of Dawns on Elizabeth Alker’s Unclassified on BBC Radio 3 can be heard here.

Credits

Dawns was created by non zero one who are Cat Harrison, Fran Miller, John Hunter and Sarah Butcher.

Project Manager: Katie Welford

Composer: James Bulley
Musicians: Daniel Pioro, Laura Cannell, Manu Delago, Ruth Wall and Huw Warren
Sound Engineer: Simon Hendry
Production Assistant: Greg White

Broadcasting: Streaming Tank and Dave Taylor at 42 Live
Website: Common Works
Social Media: Alex Turner

Dawns was a National Trust commission in partnership with Heritage Open Days.

With thanks to the teams at the Old Coastguard Station, Platform Leeds, Mussenden Temple, Dyffryn Gardens and Gribbin Head.

And thanks to Shoreditch Town Hall, Mountview and Marc Tritschler at the National Theatre for all their support in the development in this work.