Recipient of the 2013 Genesis Fellowship, Natalie Abrahami’s production of Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal has opened at London’s Almeida Theatre to a wave of critical acclaim. The 1928 American play is inspired by the real-life case of convicted and executed murderer Ruth Snyde.

“Admirably faithful to the play’s expressionist origins” The Guardian ☆☆☆☆

“An impressive, powerfully disconcerting production of Sophie Treadwell’s remarkable Expressionist drama” Independent

“Abrahami’s production is panic-attack intense, rumbling with the mania of urban living” Time Out ☆☆☆☆

“Captivating, resonant and fittingly intense” The Stage ☆☆☆☆

Previous successes for Abrahami include the hugely successful run at the Young Vic in 2014 of Happy Days which was revived the following year.

The Genesis Fellowship is a two-year grant that enables its recipient to work at the Young Vic alongside its artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah as they continue to develop their craft as a theatre director.

Find out more information on the Genesis Foundation’s partnership with the Young Vic here.

Machinal is open until 21 July, for booking information click here.

TheSixteen has announced the new cohort of Genesis Sixteen singers and the appointment of current Royal Academy of Music conducting student, Harry Bradford, as Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar for 2018-19. The new cohort are:

Sopranos
Hannah Cox, Sofia Kirwan-Baez, Margaret Lingas, Hannah Littleton, Ellen Mawhinney, Kirsty O’Neill, Ella Rainbird-Earley
Altos
Lewis Cullen, Hannah Robinson, Anna Semple, Elena Stamp, Alice Webster Tenors
Phil Durrant, Alexander Hume, Matthew McKinney, Zahid Siddiqui, Christopher Willoughby
Basses
Freddie Crowley, Sebastian Johnson, Johannes Moore, Oliver Neale, Colum Donovan-Paterson

Genesis Sixteen, supported by the Genesis Foundation, is currently in its seventh year and has worked with over 150 participants. The UK’s first ever fully funded programme of its kind, Genesis Sixteen is The Sixteen’s free young artists’ scheme for 18-23 year olds, which aims to nurture the next generation of talented ensemble singers. During the course of a year, a series of week-long and weekend courses are led by key figures from The Sixteen, including founder and conductor Harry Christophers CBE and Associate Conductor Eamonn Dougan. Participants receive group tuition, individual mentoring and masterclasses run by some of the world’s top vocal experts. Support from the Genesis Foundation means participants receive free tuition and a bursary to cover all additional costs. The Conducting Scholarship is fully funded and currently offers young conductors, between the ages of 21-26, the opportunity to be mentored by Harry Christophers and Eamonn Dougan, as well as the chance to work with some of the best young ensemble singers in the country. The Scholar is given the chance to observe each course, sing with the choir, lead their own rehearsals and conduct several pieces in concert.

Harry Christophers CBE, Founder and Conductor of The Sixteen commented: ‘All of us at The Sixteen had to navigate starting out in the music profession and we are most grateful to the Genesis Foundation for enabling Genesis Sixteen to learn from our experience. Genesis Sixteen has far surpassed our expectations. Both Eamonn and I are looking forward to working with this new group of singers and Harry Bradford, our new Conducting Scholar, over the next year and seeing them grow into fine musicians.’

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, commented: “The last month has seen Harry Christophers present alumni and current members of Genesis Sixteen in our concerts with The Sixteen in the Sistine Chapel and Eton College Chapel. The way in which Harry Christophers includes these young singers in such landmark concerts illustrates the unique opportunities given to everyone fortunate enough to be part of Genesis Sixteen. Genesis Sixteen reflects the core values of the Genesis Foundation that focus on enabling great artistic leaders to mentor young talent who in turn go on to mentor others thereby continually transforming the lives of young artists.”

Genesis Sixteen alumni are continuing their successful careers with chorus and solo roles at Glyndebourne and performances alongside a range of renowned ensembles including The Sixteen, British Youth Opera, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Gabrieli Consort, Tenebrae Choir and many more, with regular appearances on BBC Radio 3 and various festivals across the UK and beyond. This year sees current alto Katie Jeffries Harris being appointed as the new first Alto in VOCES 8, beginning in September: the first time the group have had a female alto. Five out of the eight current National Youth Choir of Great Britain Fellows are also Genesis Sixteen alumni: Lizzy Humphries, Eleanor Partridge, Emily Hodkinson, Tom Brooke and Nathan Harrison. Tristram Cooke, countertenor of the fifth cohort of Genesis singers, has recently been installed as Lay Vicar with the professional choir of Westminster Abbey.

Applications for the 2019-20 choir will open in November 2018, with applications for conducting scholar opening in April or May 2019.

Sounds Sublime FestivalThe Sixteen presents its annual Sounds Sublime Festival which showcases the cream of the UK’s young choral talent on Saturday 14 July at St Clement Danes Church on The Strand. The festival includes a lunchtime recital by this year’s Genesis Sixteen cohort which is the culmination of the programme, an afternoon community come & sing workshop led by educator and conductor Libby Crabtree, and a drivetime recital by Gesualdo Six, a vocal ensemble directed by Owain Park including three Genesis Sixteen alumni: Joseph Wicks, Joshua Cooter and Samuel Mitchell. The day will also include pop-up performances in The British Museum by a varied range of young upcoming a capella choirs.

And three other new Genesis Foundation commissions from Philip Cooke, Marco Galvani & Joseph Phibbs

Harry Christophers & The Sixteen to premiere these new Genesis Foundation commissions at Eton College Chapel, Tuesday 22 May

Concert to be streamed live on www.classicfm.com and made available on their website for a month

The Genesis Foundation continues its commissioning and mentoring programme featuring a landmark faith text or artifact. At Eton College Chapel on Tuesday 22 May, The Eton Choirbook will receive its world premiere of newly-commissioned music by Sir James MacMillan and emerging composers Phillip Cooke, Marco Galvani and Joseph Phibbs.

All four pieces will use texts from the Eton Choirbook, an iconic music manuscript which features a collection of English sacred music composed by around twenty different composers during the late 15th century. A magnificent artefact, two feet tall and over three feet from side to side, it is one of the three collections of Latin liturgical music (with the Lambeth Choirbook and the Caius Choirbook) to survive the systematic destruction of Catholic religious imagery during the Reformation. The Eton Choirbook will be on display during the evening, a rare occurrence that will add to the uniqueness of the occasion.

The concert will be led by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen including eight Genesis Sixteen alumni who will also be joined by Eton College Chapel Choir under Tim Johnson.

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation says:

“The Eton Choirbook reminds us of man’s ability to both create and destroy sacred texts and objects. Sadly, such abilities are today as evident as they have ever been so as we celebrate the Eton Choirbook’s treasures and enable young composers to write in response to it we’re mindful of both what we’ve lost but also mankind’s constant need to respond to the sacred.

“The Genesis Foundation has to date commissioned 21 pieces of choral sacred music to ensure new music of faith is constantly created and renewed. These latest commissions reflect our core beliefs in enabling artistic leaders to mentor younger talent and continuing our long-standing relationship with James MacMillan and Harry Christophers. I am also delighted that we are able to draw attention to the importance of the Eton Choirbook and its place in British history.”

Harry Christophers commented:

“John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation share a passion with The Sixteen to nurture young talent and we are so grateful to them for the support and opportunities they give young composers and artists. Our longstanding relationship with both the Genesis Foundation and James MacMillan is one we treasure and I am so looking forward to performing four Genesis Foundation commissions which are inspired by The Eton Choirbook. A miracle both physically and symbolically, we are so fortunate that The Eton Choirbook survived the Reformation so that we can enjoy its extraordinarily complex works whose legacy continues to inspire new sacred choral music in the 21^st century.” 

Sir James MacMillan commented:

“My collaborations with John Studzinski through the Genesis Foundation and Harry Christopher’s great choir The Sixteen have become some of the most fruitful artistic experiences in my life. A major part of this is being able to talk with, and mentor, some younger composers on their journey into sacred choral music. This new Eton Choirbook project, where we have all engaged with the deep musical past to inform our musical present, has been fulfilling and enjoyable.”

Through workshops with Genesis Sixteen led by Harry Christophers and Sir James MacMillan, the three composers created new pieces in response to the Eton Choirbook which will be performed with music from the Choirbook by Walter Lambe, William Cornysh, Charles Parry and Robert Wylkynson, often based on the same text.

John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation are the most prolific commissioners of sacred choral music today. Recent commissions include MacMillan’s Stabat mater which was recently performed by The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia under the baton of Harry Christophers in the Sistine Chapel. The concert was the first ever live-streamed concert from this iconic venue and reached several million people worldwide.

The partnership between the Genesis Foundation, Sir James MacMillan and Harry Christophers has focused on the mentoring of young composers. Previous projects include the commissioning of three new Stabat mater in 2014 by Alissa Firsova, Tõnu Kõrvits and Matthew Martin, new music to poetry of the Spanish Mystics by Ruth Byrchmore, Tarik O’Regan and Roderick Williams in 2011 and, in 2008, James MacMillan, Roxanna Panufnik and Will Todd wrote music to settings of Padre Pio’s prayer Stay with Me, Lord.

Harry Christophers and The Sixteen have performed and recorded the Genesis Foundation’s sacred music commissions these past ten years, including James MacMillan’s Stabat mater, and will also be recording the Eton Choirbook for future release on its own record label CORO.

First ever British female dancer to join the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and whose time there was funded by the Genesis Foundation takes up her position this month

In 2011, Natalie Carter and Hayley Stobo became the first British female students to be admitted to the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy in order to train for a full diploma. Both had their fees paid for by the Genesis Foundation.

Natalie Carter became the first ever female British graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 2013, after having successfully completed her first year of training at the Academy, taught entirely in Russian, where she was awarded the highest possible mark.

Natalie now joins the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company which relaunched in 2007 and is going from strength to strength, acquiring star dancers such as Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, lured from the Bolshoi in 2011 by ballet master Mikhail Messerer. The company is well regarded at home and in London, where it has presented several seasons, and opened for the first time in New York City to glowing reviews in 2014.

John Studzinski, Founder of the Genesis Foundation, comments,

“It is absolutely crucial that the exceptional talent of girls like Natalie is recognised in order for them to gain the necessary support to become independent artists. The sheer dedication of such artists is amazing and we are delighted to see how their hard work and dedication has reaped rewards. For many young, aspiring artists it is incredibly difficult for them to fulfil their dreams without any assistance and we are very proud to see the Genesis Foundation’s commitment pay off.”

Natalie starts working with the Mikhailovsky Theatre Company in May 2018, whilst continuing to study for a degree in Business Studies & Law, in which she graduates next year.

The Genesis Foundation congratulates Natalie on her appointment.

Debbie Hannan has been awarded the second 2018 Genesis Future Directors Award winner by the Young Vic. She will direct Things of Dry Hours in The Clare at the Young Vic this summer, as part of Kwame Kwei-Armah’s first season as Artistic director.

Debbie Hannan trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and currently works as Trainee Director at the Royal Court Theatre. She was chosen by the Young Vic and the Genesis Foundation committee after an intense and challenging selection process, which saw her stand out from hundreds of playwrights pitching their idea to the panel in three minutes for a play at The Clare.

The award, created in 2012, was designed to support and nurture emerging directors by providing them with an opportunity to explore and develop their craft, as they create their first fully-resourced stage production at the Young Vic. Recipients of past Genesis Future Directors Awards include John Wilkinson (2018), Lucy J Skilbeck and Nancy Medina (2017), Ola Ince (2016), Bryony Shanahan (2016), Rikki Henry (2015) Finn Beames (2014), Tinuke Craig (2014), Matthew Xia (2013) and Ben Kidd (2012).

A celebrated piece of radical theatre by American radical playwright Naomi Wallace, Things Of Dry Hours, was produced at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre in 2007 after a run at the New York Theater Workshop. Set in the Southern US state of Alabama during the 1930s, the play explores race, class and the impact of the Communist Party on the lives of ordinary working people. Weaving the spiritual into the political, Things of Dry Hours interrogates the idea that humans cannot change; are we really all that black and white?

To read more about Debbie and past productions she has directed click here

For more information about the Genesis Foundation Future Directors Award, click here.

Things of Dry Hours

Wednesday 15 August – Saturday 25 August 2018

The Clare, Young Vic, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8LZ

Performances: Monday – Saturday at 7.45pm | Matinees on Wednesday 22 and Saturday 25 August at 2.45pm 
Tickets: Previews 15 – 18 August £15
Concessions available.

Box Office: www.youngvic.org | 020 7922 2922

Continuing its programme of commissioning sacred music, the Genesis Foundation premiered its latest work, by Stephen Hough, at the British Museum on Tuesday 13 March in a concert celebrating the exhibition Living with gods: people, places and worlds beyond.

Hallowed was the focal point of a concert designed to complement the British Museum’s Living with gods exhibition, supported by John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation. Presented by the Genesis Foundation, the programme of sacred music was performed by its long-term partners Harry Christophers and The Sixteen in the Parthenon Gallery of the British Museum.

Click here to read an interview with Stephen Hough in the Catholic herald

Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond closes on 8 April 2018. Click here to book tickets.

For more information on the Genesis Foundation’s commissions, click here.

Vatican premiere of Sir James MacMillan’s masterly Stabat mater to be available free to audiences worldwide for a month Harry Christophers, The Sixteen and Britten Sinfonia to perform this Genesis Foundation commission

On 22 April audiences around the world will be able to watch the performance of James MacMillan’s Stabat mater from the Sistine Chapel as it becomes the first ever concert live-streamed from the Vatican.

Available for one month on Classic FM’s website, the concert is a rare honour, bestowed on the Genesis Foundation, as few performances are given in the Sistine Chapel and even fewer are given by ensembles not based in the Vatican. The Sixteen will become the first professional British choir to sing there in over 20 years.

The much-lauded choral setting by Sir James MacMillan of the Stabat mater, was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen. This world renowned choir will be joined by Britten Sinfonia, as they were at the work’s world premiere in October 2016 at London’s Barbican Centre, in a continuation of the ensemble’s close relationship with the Genesis Foundation and MacMillan. Greeted with a standing ovation at the Barbican, the 55-minute work has since been hailed repeatedly as a masterpiece. A recording, released on The Sixteen’s own label, CORO, was shortlisted for a 2017 Gramophone Award.

MacMillan followed such composers as Pergolesi, Rossini, Dvořák, Szymanowski and Poulenc in setting the stark and searing 13th-century liturgical text, which meditates on the suffering of Mary standing at the foot of the Cross. It is therefore especially apt that the Vatican performance will take place just three weeks after Easter, on Sunday 22 April.

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation says:

“I’m delighted that many hundreds of thousands of people will experience James’ Stabat mater direct from the Sistine Chapel. It is rare for a new, hour-long work of sacred music to move audiences across the world as soon as it has been premiered, but James MacMillan’s Stabat mater is that rarity. A masterpiece, it has instantly connected audiences to the timeless story of Mary’s suffering as she observed the suffering and death of her son Jesus and simultaneously rose to become the Mother of Mankind.

“All of us at the Genesis Foundation have been touched by the way people have reacted so powerfully to the Stabat mater. To join our long-term collaborators, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, in bringing this great work to one of the world’s most sacred sites will be an unforgettable experience, and the performance will reaffirm music’s capacity to reinforce the spiritual power of words. I wish to extend my thanks to the Papal Household for its gracious permission in permitting this performance to take place in the Sistine Chapel, and to Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, for his commitment to this entire undertaking.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster says:

“The Stabat Mater is a remarkable prayer. It expresses a burning desire for a share in the sufferings of Mary and Jesus. In this it stands in sharp contrast to our contemporary reaction to suffering, which is to flee whilst tossing blame over our shoulder. But this prayer begs for an active share in this suffering. It cries out a willingness, out of love, to stand by those who are suffering, taking their pain into our hearts. It is, radically and remarkably, a mother’s prayer. The composition of James McMillan powerfully explores the intensity and drama of this prayer. Its performance in the Sistine Chapel will be an experience never to be forgotten.”

Harry Christophers, Founder and Conductor of The Sixteen, commented:

“James digs deep underneath the surface of this 13th century Marian hymn meditating on Mary’s suffering as she stands at the foot of the cross. He speaks of ‘a painful world of loss, violence and spiritual desolation’ and the score is packed to the full with those intense feelings. We are so grateful to John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation for its support and cannot wait to perform this masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel.”

The Stabat mater marked the culmination of a project run by the Genesis Foundation over a period of three years, Stabat mater: Spirit, Strength & Sorrow. James MacMillan and Harry Christophers had already mentored three outstanding young composers – Alissa Firsova, Tõnu Kõrvits and Matthew Martin – as they prepared their own, a cappella choral settings of the Stabat mater, premiered at LSO St Luke’s in London in June 2014 and subsequently recorded for the CORO label. Genesis Foundation commissions prior to Stabat mater: Spirit, Strength & Sorrow include choral works by British composers Ruth Byrchmore, Roxanna Panufnik, Will Todd, Tarik O’Regan and Roderick Williams.

Following outstanding critical acclaim, and a sold-out run at the Young Vic, Good Chance Theatre have announced the West End transfer of The Jungle. Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, the play is set in Europe’s largest unofficial refugee camp, the Calais Jungle which, in 2015, became a temporary home for more than 10,000 people.

The Jungle will open at the Playhouse Theatre on 5 July. The Playhouse Theatre’s auditorium is to be completely reconfigured to accommodate Miriam Buether’s set design from the original production. The show, a National Theatre and Young Vic co-production with Good Chance Theatre, is presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, Tom Kirdahy and Hunter Arnold in the West End.

Playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson based The Jungle on their experiences in the Calais camp, where they founded the Good Chance Theatre for refugees.

They were awarded the Genesis Prize in January 2018. The only prize recognising outstanding mentoring of artistic talent, giving winners the opportunity to develop their work as mentors, the Genesis Prize will allow Murphy and Robertson to focus on their playwriting and to develop new projects which currently involve work in the UK and at the main centre for refugees and migrants in Paris.

Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy said: “We’re thrilled to bring this play to new audiences and to the West End, in a totally transformed Playhouse Theatre, a stone’s throw from Parliament. The metamorphosis of the Playhouse is a bold statement: that we need new spaces for this conversation to happen, and that the stories of the people in this play belong on our most significant stages.”

For every performance, 40% of tickets will be priced at £25 or under and a proportion of tickets will be reserved for refugees and targeted groups to “maximise diversity and accessibility”. The majority of the original cast will transfer with the production, including actors from refugee backgrounds.

First tickets will go on general sale on 15 March.

Continuing its programme of commissioning sacred music, the Genesis Foundation will premiere its latest work, by Stephen Hough, at the British Museum on Tuesday 13 March in a concert celebrating the exhibition Living with gods: people, places and worlds beyond.

Hallowed is the focal point of a concert designed to complement the British Museum’s Living with Gods exhibition which has been supported by John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation. Presented by the Genesis Foundation, the programme of sacred music will be performed by its long-term partners Harry Christophers and The Sixteen in front of an invited audience of 200 guests.

Stephen Hough, one of the world’s greatest pianists, is also a gifted composer whose new composition, Hallowed, is a sequence of sacred settings celebrating the universality of the human experience. Following the exhibition’s much celebrated exploration of religious beliefs in communities across the world, Hough’s work examines the expression of religious wonder and awe, spanning from the book of Genesis – Abraham as the common father for Jews, Christians and Muslims – to an 8th century Chinese poem, a joyful Navajo text and finishing with the Lord’s Prayer from the New Testament.

Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond opened at the British Museum on 2 November to great critical acclaim:

“This show suggests that the things which, in today’s world, so often seem to divide us, are in fact the things that we share.” (The Times, ☆☆☆☆☆),  “so powerful it makes you cry” (The Daily Telegraph, ☆☆☆☆),  “full of surprises” (The Evening Standard, ☆☆☆☆)

Best Exhibition, The Times’ Arts Awards for 2017: “It’s not just the divine. This exhibition tells us why believing in gods makes us human.”

Click here to read an interview with Stephen Hough in the Catholic herald

Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond closes on 8 April 2018. Click here to book tickets.

For more information on the Genesis Foundation’s commissions, click here.

The Genesis Prize is the only prize to reward the mentoring of artistic talent

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, directors of Good Chance Theatre, are today announced as the winners of the 2018 Genesis Prize. Worth £25,000, the Genesis Prize is the only prize which recognises outstanding mentoring of artistic talent and gives winners the opportunity to develop their work as mentors.

Few young playwrights have made such an impact as Murphy and Robertson whose play The Jungle, supported and directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin and produced by David Lan for the Young Vic and the National Theatre at the Young Vic, originated in a specially built temporary theatre in the Calais refugee camp. The Jungle was a transformative experience for everyone involved as it gave residents of the camp, so often depicted as third class citizens, a chance to tell their story and to be involved in the creation of something positive. When the play came to the Young Vic, it earned them a host of five-star reviews with leading figures of the theatre world lining up to work with them.

The Jungle is now being prepared for a transfer in London where it’s set to repeat the universal acclaim the Young Vic performances achieved. The Financial Times described it as “an important and deeply moving piece of theatre” and the Guardian: “This devastating, uplifting show is beady-eyed even as it celebrates the human capacity to build something out of nothing, to work together and try to make a difference. Good Chance…is doing just that. Let’s listen and learn.”

The Genesis Prize allows Murphy and Robertson to focus on their playwrighting and developing new projects which currently involve work in the UK and at the main centre for refugees and migrants in Paris.

John Studzinski, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:

“What Joe and Joe have achieved in Calais, then in London and now in Paris is inspirational. Wherever they’ve been, they have created a beacon of hope in a zone of crisis and misery. They’ve built structures enabling refugees to tell their stories, express their creativity and build a community. Their mentoring and transformative work with these refugees make them the ideal recipients of the Genesis Prize. Such work nurturing artistic talent is at the core of the Genesis Foundation’s activities and our trustees were unanimous in awarding the Prize to Joe and Joe. We look forward to watching them use the Prize to develop further spaces for people without access to artistic expression and pass on their message of hope, humanity and empathy.”

Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson said:

“We are honoured to receive the 2018 Genesis Prize. It will help us to continue our work as playwrights, to develop further projects with refugees in theatres of hope and welcome in cities across the country. Such work will allow us to continue learning how theatre and art can create new dialogues between different refugee and local communities.”

Previous winners of the Genesis Prize are Hadrian Garrard (2016), director of Create London, Polly Staple (2014), director of London’s Chisenhale Gallery and Hamish Dunbar (2012), artistic director of Café Oto in Dalston, East London.