# John Lely

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**John Lely** (born [Norwich](/source/Norwich), England, in 1976)[1] is a British [experimental composer](/source/Experimental_music), [improvising musician](/source/Musical_improvisation) and curator based in [London](/source/London), UK.

His music has been commissioned and performed by musicians including [Apartment House](/source/Apartment_House_(musical_ensemble)), [Quatour Bozzini](/source/Quatuor_Bozzini), the violinist [Mira Benjamin](/source/Mira_Benjamin), the harpist [Rhodri Davies](/source/Rhodri_Davies_(musician)) and the pianist [John Tilbury](/source/John_Tilbury), and has been broadcast on [BBC Four](/source/BBC_Four), [BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3) and [Resonance FM](/source/Resonance_FM).[2]

He is co-curator, with the composer [Tim Parkinson](/source/Tim_Parkinson), of the concert series *Music We'd Like to Hear*, which has run since 2005[3] and co-author with fellow composer [James Saunders](/source/James_Saunders_(composer)) of the book *Word Events: Perspectives on Verbal Notation*, a study of text scores, which was published by [Continuum/Bloomsbury](/source/Bloomsbury_Publishing) in 2012.[4]

## Education

Lely studied at [Goldsmiths, University of London](/source/Goldsmiths,_University_of_London), with [Roger Redgate](/source/Roger_Redgate), [Dave Smith](/source/Dave_Smith_(composer)) and John Tilbury, and privately with [Michael Parsons](/source/Michael_Parsons_(composer)). In 2007, he was a resident student at [Ostrava Days](/source/Ostrava_Days) and from 2008 to 2010 he was a researcher at Bath Spa University. From 2003 to 2008, he taught composition and creative strategies at Goldsmiths, and experimental sound at [Chelsea College of Arts](/source/Chelsea_College_of_Arts).[2] He currently[when?] teaches at [Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance](/source/Trinity_Laban_Conservatoire_of_Music_and_Dance).[5]

## Style

Lely's music is influenced by an older generation of British experimental composers, such as [John White](/source/John_White_(composer)) and Michael Parsons, with both of whom he is friends. Lely's music uses both acoustic and electronic objects and instruments, and is concerned with simplicity and use of [systems](/source/Systems_music) and processes.[6] He has also regularly performed in improvising groups in London, notably with the drummer [Eddie Prévost](/source/Eddie_Pr%C3%A9vost),[7][8] the violinist Angharad Davies, Sebastian Lexer and others.

Notable works by Lely include *The Harmonics of Real Strings* (2006), in which a very slow glissando is performed on one string of a bowed instrument, using light finger pressure to activate [natural harmonics](/source/Harmonic). The piece was recorded by the cellist [Anton Lukoszevieze](/source/Anton_Lukoszevieze) for the record label Another Timbre, in four separate realisations (one for each of the cello's strings).[1][7][9]

*All About The Piano* (2006) is an [open-form](/source/Aleatoric_music) piece, in which the pianist plays fragments from the score in an order of their choosing. Simultaneously, the music is recorded and played back, so the music becomes increasingly dense.[10]

Other works and improvisations by Lely have been released on the record labels Matchless Recordings and Another Timbre, while his electronic album, *Launch of the Red Bird* (2005), was self-released on [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp).[11]

## Selected works

- *E* (2003) for piano, cello, harp, electric guitar and xylophone. Commissioned by [MaerzMusik](/source/MaerzMusik), Berliner Festspiele for Apartment House.
- *Cycling in* [county/region of performance] (2004) for harp. Commissioned by and dedicated to Rhodri Davies.
- *Launch of the Red Bird* (2005) electronic album.
- *All About the Piano* (2006) for pianist with one or more roaming assistants. Commissioned by the [Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival](/source/Huddersfield_Contemporary_Music_Festival) for Philip Thomas and James Saunders.
- *The Harmonics of Real Strings* (2006) for solo bowed string instrument.
- *During* (2013) for three cellos. Commissioned by Tre Voci and nu:nord, with support from the Britten-Pears Foundation.
- *Assembly* (2014) for piano and string quartet. Commissioned by [PRS for Music](/source/PRS_for_Music) and performed at [Spitalfields Music](/source/Spitalfields_Music).
- *First Page for Five* (2014) for any five sustaining pitched instruments. Composed for the *Goldsmiths* CD on Another Timbre.
- *Part Music for Violin* (2015) for violin and mono audio. Commissioned by Mira Benjamin with support from the Britten-Pears Foundation.
- *Line* (2016) for any pitched instrument. Composed for John Tilbury, and recorded for the CD *Seaside* (Another Timbre 2016).

## References

1. Whitehouse, Richard. ["LELY The Harmonics of Real Strings"](http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/lely-the-harmonics-of-real-strings). *Gramophone*. Retrieved 2019-05-02.

1. ["Word Event: a verbal notation symposium | Bath Spa University: Performance"](https://wordevent.wordpress.com/home/schedule/performance/). *Word Event*. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-02. – via WordPress.

1. ["Current Curators"](http://www.musicwedliketohear.com/curators.html). *Music We'd Like to Hear*. Retrieved 2019-05-02. - Wigglesworth, Sam (23 July 2013). ["Music We'd Like to Hear with Anton Lukoszevieze and Tim Parkinson"](https://bachtrack.com/review-music-we-d-like-to-hear-anton-lukoszevieze). *Bachtrack*. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

1. Dbarbiero (2012-06-11). ["AMN Reviews: John Lely and James Saunders – Word Events"](https://avantmusicnews.com/2012/06/11/amn-reviews-john-lely-and-james-saunders-word-events/). *Avant Music News*. Retrieved 2019-05-02.

1. ["Prospectus 2019/20"](https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/sites/default/files/trinity-laban-prospectus_19-20.pdf). Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. p. 73. Retrieved 2019-05-02.

1. Parkinson, Tim. ["A Clear Apparence"](https://www.wandelweiser.de/_texte/texts-parkinson.html). *Wandelweiser*. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

1. Hammond, Matthew (July 2015). ["John Lely: The Harmonics of Real Strings . Anton Lukoszevieze (vc). Another Timbre at80"](https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0040298215000212/type/journal_article). *Tempo*. **69** (273): 48–49. [doi:10.1017/S0040298215000212](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0040298215000212). [ISSN 0040-2982](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0040-2982). [S2CID 147940985](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:147940985)

1. Eyles, John (15 January 2015). ["John Lely: The Harmonics of Real Strings"](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-harmonics-of-real-strings-by-john-eyles.php). *All About Jazz*. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

1. Clark, Philip (2015-03-11). ["The playlist: experimental music – Africa Express, Colin Webster, Rutger Zuydervelt, Laurie Spiegel and more"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/11/playlist-experimental-africa-express-colin-webster-rutger-zuydervelt-laurie-spiegel-etc). *The Guardian*. [ISSN 0261-3077](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 17 January 2024.

1. Saunders, James (2009). *The Ashgate research companion to experimental music*. Farnham, England: Ashgate. p. 96. ISBN 9780754662822. [OCLC 311310354](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/311310354)

1. ["Releases"](http://johnlely.co.uk/releases.html). John Lely. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

## External links

- [Official website](http://johnlely.co.uk)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Lely](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lely) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lely?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.