Nicola Lisle meets a group determined to open up musical experiences to as wide an audience as possible

‘Breaking down barriers’ may be a cliché, but that is exactly what new chamber ensemble Project Instrumental aims to do — both for the musicians and their audiences. They will prove the point next week at the OFS, when they present Sound Emergents, a typically eclectic programme that pushes beyond conventional boundaries and creates as memorable an occasion as possible.

“I don’t even like calling it a concert — I prefer calling it an experience,” says co-founder and leader Lowri Porter, who is also Principal 1st Violin with Welsh National Opera.

“We don’t restrict ourselves to anything in particular. It’s just what takes our fancy when we think how to make a really exciting, inspiring programme for us and for an audience. That connection to the audience is really important.”

“It’s also, quite simply, about the love of music and the wish to share all that it can be with others and nurture the connection that it affords,” adds freelance violinist Harriet Allan, the group’s other co-founder and creative director. “And opening that opportun-ity to all who wish to experience it, not just a privileged sector.”

As its name implies, Sound Emergents includes three newly commissioned pieces, which will be premiered in London just five days before the Oxford gig. They include Finding Kala, by award-winning Irish composer Timothy Cape, Lovely Roof by emerging young British composer Jesse Bescoby; and Night Eternal by the London-based American composer Steven Montague.

These are sandwiched between Shaker Loops, written by another American composer, John Adams, in 1978, and Shotakovich’s Chamber Symphony Op.110a, which premiered in 1960. Completing the experience will be some carefully chosen visual project-ions, resulting in a truly innovative approach to classical music-making.

Formed just a year ago, the 12-strong Project Instrumental is largely driven by a desire for greater artistic freedom for the musicians, and a need to recapture some of the joy that can be lacking in larger organisations.

“I was compelled by the idea of musicians having a really good time,” Harriet says. “Some of the other gigs that I do we’re not really engaged in the joy of playing any more. You can just get thrown together as a scratch orchestra and the conductor has all the say, and I just felt I wasn’t really able to engage fully.”

Project Instrumental started as a conductor-less ensemble, although there is now a conductor-in-residence, Natalie Murray Beale, who will be conducting part of the Oxford concert.

“Certain things work better directed from the violin,” Lowri feels. “And that’s great, because you have a chamber music feel. Other things work better with a conductor, which gives you that added collaboration and added dimension.

“We like the flexibility of being able to fit the piece to the situation, so we try to do every piece in the best way that it can be performed. Everything is tailored to fit what we want the end product to be. In the end it’s about the music and the experience,” adds Harriet. “You have to be versatile and you have to be flexible, and we are. And it works really well.”

Project Instrumental presents Sound Emergents
Old Fire Station, Oxford
Tuesday, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com