Beethoven250

NLCE at 20 / Beethoven at 250!

2020 is a year of celebration! The NLCE is going to be 20, and Beethoven is going to be 250!

To mark our 20th anniversary in 2020, which is also the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, we are producing a new commissioning and research project where we will look at what Beethoven’s deafness meant to him in his life and work, and explore the experiences of current artists and composers working with hearing loss.

We are working with partners such as Dame Evelyn Glennie and Music and the Deaf in researching the stories of people with hearing loss today, and developing a concert and workshop experience that allows the project to be toured in a way that allows as many people as possible to enjoy and engage with the performances (including people with hearing loss). We are exploring techniques for concerts such as live captioning, BSL-based interpretation of the music, and visual effects, and will be offering bespoke pre-concert workshops by the NLCE and Music and the Deaf; we are applying for funding to provide this enhanced, accessible concert experience. The result will be uplifting, explorative, and engaging; bringing the music of Beethoven and his contemporaries to people who might not otherwise have been able to enjoy it, and bringing Beethoven’s story into the context of the present day through interviews and new commissions.

Get in touch if you would like us to bring this exciting new project to you!

katie@newlondonchamberensemble.co.uk