We are thrilled to be celebrating a decade of music on San Juan Island by a commissioning a new work for a seven person ensemble by British-American composer Freya Waley-Cohen. She has an “instinct for colour” (The Arts Desk), writing music that can move from “a bubbling, popping, feathered array of orchestral sounds” to a “quiet, eerie, interior world” (The Guardian). Her music music is characterized by contrasts between earthy rhythmic play and fragility, luminous spaces, and a sense of the otherworldly.

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About her new work celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Archipelago Collective she writes:

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"It’s so meaningful to return to writing for Sophie Baird-Daniel and this ensemble of world class musicians. I first wrote for Sophie when we were fellows at Tanglewood together, and have since written her a solo work. I’m looking forward to deepening this musical friendship through writing for her and the ensemble, treating the seven players of the septet as equal musical voices. 

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