Sound Out! 2026 - Programme

Daniel Bernard Roumain 

Hip Hop Study no. 22 in G minor (2006) 

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) is a Black, Haitian-American composer who combines classical music with jazz, hip-hop and rock. He enjoys working with people to create music, from professional musicians such as Lady Gaga and Philip Glass to young people in a classroom or adults in the community.  

300 years ago, a composer called Bach wrote a piece of music in every scale and Daniel Bernard Roumain explores those same 24 scales with a very different inspiration – Hip Hop! There are three lines of music for each piece, and Daniel encourages performers to simply pick the parts of the music that work best on their instrument, welcoming re-arrangement and remixing of his ideas. In this concert you’ll hear Patrick and the London Sinfonietta ensemble’s arrangement! 

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Vivek Haria 

Dhyāna (2022) 

Vivek Haria is a composer who writes music inspired by his Indian heritage, his family, and the world around him. He grew up loving both Western classical music and Indian classical music. He now enjoys bringing ideas from both traditions into his own pieces and has worked with ensembles such as the BBC Singers and members of the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2026, he was selected by the Royal Philharmonic Society as one of their featured composers. 

When he’s not composing, Vivek is also an accountant — which means he enjoys working with numbers as well as musical notes! He lives in London and loves creating music that tells stories and invites people to listen to music in different ways. 

This is what Vivek says about the piece you will hear in the concert: 

The word Dhyāna means ‘deep meditation’ or ‘focused thinking’ and the music is meant to be thoughtful, peaceful and reflective. This piece is inspired by an element of Indian classical music called a raga. A raga is a special collection of notes that creates a particular mood or feeling. This piece is based on Raga Marwa, which is traditionally played at sunset, when the sky changes colour and the daybecomes calm and quiet. The music begins very gently, with a long, steady sound (called a ‘drone’) that continues in the piano. Over this, the violin explores the notes of the raga, sometimes softly and sometimes more intensely. The piece slowly grows in energy before fading away again, like the sun disappearing below the horizon. 

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Young person tbc

• Composition challenge 1 (tbc) (2026)

John White 

Drinking and Hooting Machine (1968) 

John White was an English experimental composer and musical performer. He experimented with minimalist music (music that uses lots of repetition, simple patterns and slow, gradual changes) and invented his own system of making music which he named Machines. 

In Drinking and Hooting Machine, the London Sinfonietta players are playing something that you might not think of as an instrument. See if you can work out what the players are doing to change the pitch (how high or low a note is) in this piece. 

Rockey Sun Keting 

Steppe – II. Dress Up and Dance (2018) 

Rockey Sun Keting is a creative composer, artist and researcher who was born in China and now lives in London. She loves making music that mixes ideas from Eastern philosophy and memories of culture with exciting, modern sounds. Her music can be played by instruments, sung by voices, or made using electronics. 

This is what Rockey says about the piece you will hear in the concert: 

In 2016, I went on a road trip to Inner Mongolia, a place with huge open land and big skies. While I was there, I saw how people celebrate together with music, dance, and colour. This movement is called Dress Up and Dance. It is inspired by the fun and excitement of getting ready for a celebration. Imagine people putting on their best clothes, meeting friends, and starting to dance as the music begins. 

As you listen, try to imagine: 

• people laughing and spinning 
• feet stomping and jumping across the open steppe  
• a party starting to come alive 

There’s no right or wrong way to listen — just let the music make you want to move. 

Allison Loggins-Hull 

The Pattern (2020) 

Allison Loggins-Hull is a composer, flute player and music maker who creates all kinds of music. When she writes for classical instruments, she loves to try and imitate the sounds that can be made using computers and electronic instruments. Her music is inspired by Black American music and stories about community, culture, and everyday life. As a flute player, Allison has played with famous popular artists like Lizzo. 

In this piece, Allison Loggins-Hull is exploring the difficult relationship there can sometimes be between different groups of people and cultures. See if you can hear how she does this through the speed, texture and timbre of the music. Which electronic instruments do you think she’s trying to represent in the ensemble? 

Ben Nobuto 

Trio (for Ivy House) (2024) 

Ben Nobuto is a British/Japanese composer based in London. Described as ‘utterly contemporary’ (Manchester Collective) and ‘sonically dazzling’ (RPS Awards), his music explores themes of attention and fragmentation, drawing from internet culture and popular idioms in a playful, ironic and surreal manner. He has previously written music for the BBC Proms, Manchester Collective, Nonclassical, National Youth Choir, BBC Singers and Colin Currie Quartet and is currently working on a debut album. 

This is what Ben says about the piece you will hear in the concert: 

I love mixing sounds from everyday life with musical instruments. In ‘trio (for ivy house),’ I combine the flute, cello and piano with the sounds of swords, whips, computer beeps and a little girl’s voice. My first instrument was drums, so I love rhythm and repetition (playing the same idea over and over again). When I switched to piano later on, I was still playing the piano like it was drums, thinking about everything like drum patterns, like bits of musical Lego that you can shuffle around and play with endlessly.   

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Tom Coult 

Abide (2023) 

Tom Coult is a composer born in London in 1988. Composers often work very closely with a specific orchestra, and for four years Tom worked with the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester. A big newspaper describes his music as ‘fierce and funny, magical and precise’. 

Tom wrote this piece of music with some year 5 students at a school in South London, turning their ideas into a piece that could be played by professional musicians and young people, just like the young people you’ll see on stage during this concert. 

Gillian Walker 

Mach 5 (Supersonic) (2026) 

Gillian Walker is a composer from Scotland and is interested in working with different art forms (like dance and visual art) and creating music with communities. She has written music for big orchestras in Scotland like the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Recently she’s been spending lots of time with schools in the area she grew up in, helping pupils write their own music for professional musicians. 

Gillian wrote this piece especially for the concert, this is what she says about it: 

‘Mach 5 (Supersonic)’ is a piece about a rollercoaster. ‘Mach’ is a measurement - it’s a number which compares the speed of an object to the speed of sound. Mach 5 means that you are travelling faster than the speed of sound - otherwise known as supersonic speed! 

This supersonic rollercoaster goes up and down, left, right, side to side. This rollercoaster is one that never stops. It goes around and around and around and around…..  

What will you do? Take a deep breathe in……. and a long breathe out. Make your decision.  

Enjoy the ride!’ 

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Patrick Bailey

Patrick Bailey is a conductor, composer/arranger, workshop leader and presenter. Patrick has worked with famous orchestras in the UK and has shared music with audiences all around the world. 

He also loves teaching and runs fun music workshops for young people, helping them get creative with sound. Patrick arranges music too, which means he changes it so different instruments can play it. At Christmas time, he even leads a special orchestra that tours the UK spreading festive music and cheer!