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This is the website of Elizabeth Purnell, a Bristol-based composer & sound designer working in theatre, film, tv and radio.

Originally from London, I have been based in Bristol since completing my M.A. in musical composition at Bristol University in 1995. I have been widely commissioned, having written a major song cycle for the Brunel Ensemble and two South West Arts commissions. A fruitful ongoing association with the Bristol Brass Consort has resulted in many pieces and arrangements, the latest of which is Duke Ellington’s ‘Sacred Concert’.

I mainly work in the field of incidental music, having a strong association with the BBC and the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol.

..STOP PRESS..  my radiophonic work ‘A Season in Hell’ is to be broadcast on Radio 3 Sat November 14th at 9.45pm. I am delighted and humbled that the legendary Robert Wyatt agreed to sing the 3 songs in this prose poem. More info on the BBC Radio 3 website under ‘Between the Ears’ and on the BBC blog.

As an orchestrator with over 40 film and TV projects to my name, I am in demand for feature films, pop arrangements and BBC natural history series, including the BAFTA winning ‘Life in Cold Blood’ David Attenborough series, and have worked with Peter Gabriel and Jethro Tull.

You can contact me by email at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

orchestrations

With over 40 feature film and TV projects, including a Novello Award winner and Oscar nominated score, I have had a busy few years, having my arrangements played by the Philharmonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Philharmonic,  Munich Symphony Orchestra, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

In the area of natural history music, I have orchestrated the music for the latest three David Attenborough ‘Life of..’ groundbreaking series and conducted two concerts of live music to film featuring these scores, plus veteran Bristol composer Edward WIlliams’ music for the original ‘Life on Earth’.

I conducted and arranged music for the Colston Hall ‘INVADA’ night featuring my orchestrations for the band Crippled Black Phoenix, as part of a festival to mark the opening of the new foyer.

I have arranged many pieces for other ensembles, including the Bristol Brass Consort, the latest being Duke Ellington’s ‘Sacred Concert’ and movements from ‘West Side Story’.

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    Conducting Credits

  • Living with Elephants - (BBC)
  • Big Bear Week -
  • Life in the Undergrowth -
  • Life in Cold Blood -
  • SWRDA commercial -
  • Wild Caribbean -
  • Honey Hunters -
  • INVADA NIGHT Colston Hall, featuring Crippled Black Phoenix -

    • Pop

  • Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson - orchestrations, European Tour and DVD play
  • Peter Gabriel - OVO brass arrangements
  • Piers Partridge - Snow Song, Christmas Single
  • Peter Gabriel - Jools Holland Show, string arrangements play
  • Crippled Black Phoenix - live concert arrangements -

    • Feature Films

  • The Meerkat - music Sarah Class
  • Manolete - music Dan Jones
  • Moliere - music Federic Talgorn
  • Lilacs - music Dan Jones
  • In Tranzit - music Dan Jones
  • Brave Story - music Ben Watkins
  • Jericho Mansions - music Dan Jones
  • Four Last Songs - music Dan Jones
  • Max - music Dan Jones (winner 2004 Novello Award for film music)
  • Earthling - music Dan Jones
  • Shadow of the Vampire - music Dan Jones play
  • Lazarus Child - music Jack Lenz
  • Trance - music Dan Jones
  • Tomorrow La Scala - music Dan Jones
  • Olympic Spirit - music Jack Lenz
  • Sahara - music Dan Jones
  • Salgado - the Spectre of Hope - music Dan Jones
  • Anazapta - music Dan Jones

    • TV / Other

  • Harry Potter computer game - music James Hannigan
  • Honey Hunters - (BBC), music Will Slater play
  • Fable II - computer game
  • Living with Elephants - (BBC), music David Poore
  • Nature of Britain - (BBC)
  • Inspector Linley Mysteries - music Andy Price
  • WIld Caribbean - (BBC) music David Lowe
  • Standard Music Library - music Ben Salisbury and Tim Saul
  • Tonto Woman - music Dan Jones (Oscar nomination for short film)
  • Life in the Undergrowth - BBC David Attenborough Series, music Ben Salisbury and David Poore
  • Catwoman’ computer game - music James Hannigan
  • The Life of Mammals - BBC David Attenborough Series, music Ben Salisbury and Dan Jones
  • South West Development Agency commercial - music David Poore
  • The Grand - (Granada TV series) music Roger Bolton
  • Strange - (Granada TV) music Dan Jones play
  • Congo - (BBC) music Ben Salisbury
  • The Edge of the Sea (C4) - music Roger Bolton
  • Sacred Concert - music Duke Ellington
  • Humpback Whales (BBC) - music Roger Bolton
  • Kosovo - music Dan Jones
  • Music for the Bath Youth Olympics - Roger Bolton
  • Movements from ‘West Side Story’ - for Bristol Brass Consort
  • Enterprise Culture - BBC Features
  • Streets Apart - BBC Features
  • The Antiques Show - BBC Features
  • The Aristocracy (BBC) - music Roger Bolton
  • Antiques Roadshow Collection - music Paul Reade
  • Life in Cold Blood - BBC David Attenborough Series, music Ben Salisbury and David Poore
  • The Perfect Predator - music Ben Salisbury

theatre music & sound

Have just finished the music and sound design for the ecstatically reviewed A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the award-winning Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory - this is my 11th production with them.

Currently working on music and sound installations for Full Beam’s ‘Lesser Spotted Collector’s Club’ from 4th-9th May at Explore@Bristol, Bristol Harbourside - an interactive show about birds, extinction, Darwin, technology, and destruction…..

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    Show of Strength Theatre

  • The Camp - sound design
  • The Wills’ Girls - sound design

    • Barbican BITE Festival

  • Macbeth - (MD) - music and sound design

    • Aberystwyth Arts Centre

  • Kindertransport - music and sound design

    • Tobacco Factory Productions

  • A Christmas Carol - musical director, composer. 2008 play
  • School for Wives - music and sound design (MD)
  • Topless Mum in Dead Hero Shocker - sound design
  • Robin Hood - music and sound design play
  • Treasure Island - music and sound design
  • Secret Garden - sound design
  • Searchlights over Bemmy - sound design
  • Woyzeck - music and sound design play

    • The Bristol Do -  Portland Square

  • Ghosts of Portland Square - Surround soundscape - outdoor theatre event

    • Angle Theatre - Hackney Empire

  • Khadija is 18 - music and sound design
  • The Sea at Night - music and sound design
  • Commercial Road - - music and sound design

    • The Place, London

  • Dr. Faustus - music and sound design

    • Kaos Theatre

  • The Tell Tale Heart - music and sound design
  • Virtual Morality - music and sound design
  • Dr. Faustus - music and sound design
  • Medea - music and sound design

    • Rondo Theatre, Bath

  • Searchlights Over Bemmy - Sound design

    • Ustinov Theatre, Bath

  • Knives in Hens - music and sound design play

    • Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream - - music and sound design
  • Anthony and Cleopatra - music and sound design
  • Hamlet - sound design (Dir: Jonathan Miller)
  • Othello - music and sound design
  • Much Ado About Nothing - music and sound design play
  • Love’s Labour’s Lost - music and sound design
  • Three Sisters - sound design
  • Macbeth - music and sound design
  • Troilus and Cressida - music and sound design
  • Twelfth Night - music and sound design
  • Coriolanus - music

film - radio - tv

I have just finished a delightful commission for Radio 3’s experimental ‘Between the Ears’ programme - it is a realisation in sound of Rimbaud’s epic prose poem ‘A Season in Hell’ abridged by the producer, Sara Davies, who I have worked with many times before on Radio 4 dramas.  See blog….

To be broadcast on Sat November 14th 9.45pm Radio 3 and on iplayer for a week after that.

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    BBC Radio 4 Drama

  • A Triton Amongst the Minnows - play
  • The Element of Water - written by Stevie Davies play
  • She - (Classic Serial) play

    • BBC Radio 3

  • A Season in Hell - 'A Season in Hell' - Between the Ears featuring Robert Wyatt

    • Short Film

  • Murmuration - music play
  • Billy’s Day Out - Film play
  • Mindgames and Playgrounds - (Zagreus Films)

    • TV

  • A Bitter Inheritance - BBC Features play
  • Wiildlife on One - BBC Natural History play
  • VATV - Granada TV
  • The Roadshow Collection - stings (BBC)

concert works

With my origins in the area of contemporary classical music, I have had commissions from a variety of different groups, and my interest in acousmatic music has resulted in many works including ‘Homage to an Industrial Past’ which was constructed from recordings made from the ship’s bell in Bristol Industrial Museum, became a finalist in the BBC TALENT competition and was premiered on Radio 3 and at UNESCO in Paris.

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previous work

  • Fanfare for the Matthew - Bristol Brass Consort commission play
  • Sanctus - for SATB, 3 trombones and organ
  • An Arundel Tomb - for soprano, piano and cello
  • Horn Concerto
  • Palindrome - for solo piccolo
  • For Gabriel - electroacoustic piece (broadcast on R3)
  • Murmuration - for string trio, video and soundbeam play
  • Homage to an Industrial Past - electroacoustic piece, (finalist in BBC talent competition and broadcast on R3) play
  • String Quartet - Finalist in Gregynog Festival competition
  • Plant Magic Dust - for soprano and string quartet
  • Wetland Water Wings - for ensemble and soundbeam
  • Not Waving but Drowning - Brighton Festival commission
  • Such Furious Fires - song cycle (Brunel Ensemble Commission) play
  • And You, Helen - for soprano and piano
  • Music for Metal Instruments - Bristol Brass Consort commission
  • Careless Talk Costs Lives - for brass ensemble and tape (South West Arts Commission)

performance

I am a trombonist and hammer dulcimer player.

Electric Water Bristol

This is a South West Arts project exploring new electroacoustic sounds and how they work when presented live to early underwater natural history films. The musicians are the duo of Elizabeth Purnell on hammer dulcimer and electronics, and Andy Keep on feedback electronics, sometimes augmented with other members according to the project. For this set of concerts we accompany films from the 1930s to the 60s by Jean Painleve. Some of these films were originally scored by such electronic music innovators as Pierre Henry, and the modern electroacoustic sounds we create today also marry particularly well with these grainy images of strange underwater worlds. Plans are to expand the ensemble to make site-specific large scale outdoor performances with newly commissioned film.

Bristol Brass Consort

I play trombone in the Bristol Brass Consort, who are entering their 25th year, and a fruitful ongoing association has resulted in many pieces and arrangements, the latest of which is Duke Ellington's 'Sacred Concert'.

The group has a lottery-funded CD 'Music for Metal Instruments' available from their website, featuring my commission of the same title, and my 'Fanfare for the Matthew' written to celebrate the launch of the ship in 1997.

Other Projects

Brandon Hill Orchestra, Resonation Big Band - contemporary jazz ensemble

education

I am involved in various education projects including the acclaimed ‘Sound Inventors’ programme under the SPNM.  Another recent project involved storytelling and music workshops with accordionist Richard Hughes and storyteller Martin Maudsley as a 10 week residency at the Bristol Children’s Hospital, resulting in a permanent sound installation containing the children’s stories from the sessions.

  • ELEKTRODOME - commission for Caldwell School, Walsall: Forest Song - Primary School piece derived from sounds and recordings made by the students, performed using Soundbeam technology.
  • Part time Lecturer - Orchestration, Bristol University
  • Assistant Compose - Sound Inventors (SPNM): Cornwall Schools
  • Lead Composer - Sound Inventors (SPNM) residential course
  • Brass Teacher - Avon Music Service, 1993-1997
  • Lead Composer - Sound Inventors (SPNM): Bedford Schools

my blog

STOP PRESS - Radio 3 broadcast November 14th

I have just finished a delightful commission for Radio 3’s experimental ‘Between the Ears’ programme - it is a realisation in sound of Rimbaud’s epic prose poem ‘A Season in Hell’ abridged by the producer, Sara Davies, who I have worked with many times before on Radio 4 dramas.  I set three of the verses to music and had a fantastic trip to Lincolnshire for a couple of days to record Robert Wyatt at his house, singing the songs in French and having lots of cups of tea and chats. What great hosts they are, and it was lovely to meet his wife Alfie who is an amazing artist and lyric writer and cook.  Anyway, I hope the piece hangs together and MIRRORS the mad words - this is what I intended - a sort of stream of consciousness. I’ll put a few clips up when I get round to it.  It contains big band jazz, field recordings, distorted bitcrushed sounds, evolving textures…..

To be broadcast on Sat November 14th 9.45pm Radio 3 and on iplayer for a week after that.

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