Emily Burridge

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Emily Burridge is a wonderful ‘cellist and innovative composer. A renowned master of her instrument and unique in her ability to improvise and cross genres of music. She has been at it for a long time! Her career has embraced many aspects of being a professional musician. As a session musician she plays on many productions as a featured player and within string sections and has a long list of credits including Roger Daltrey, Hans Zimmer, George Michael, Chrissie Hind, Jools Holland, Zero 7, Stereophonics. Her current ensemble production is a duo with Pedal Steel Guitarist BJ Cole and together they have developed a program including arrangements of works by Debussy, Copland, Satie as well as their own compositions. They have produced a CD "Into the Blue" - Duets for Pedal Steel Guitar and 'cello which you can purchase from www.emilyburridge.com / www.bjcole.co.uk. She has produced three CDs of her own and her music is also used for soundtracks.Outside of England Emily's experiences of the country Brazil, it's natural environment and it's tribal people has had a major inspiring influence on her productions:
New live solo performance "Bach,Burridge & into the Amazon". Emily innovatively utilises sampling pedals while performing live which enables her to create multi -layered compositions. "The sampling technology has brought an exciting new element to live performance".In this program she commences with selected movements from the Dance Suites for unaccompanied ’cello by J.S. Bach "the root of the 'cello repertoire" and the program develops with her own compositions. ReverieIn “into the Amazon" she has created a magical sound track selected from her own collection of location recordings and re-creates the ambience of the forest and the people that dwell therein. She accompanies with her 'cello sometimes as a single accompaniment or she creates harmonies with multilayered samples. This part of the program is an audible biography of her experiences of living with the Xavante tribe in Brazil. The performance is being very well received with the first performance at the Brazilian Embassy in London. "Into the Amazon" is proving to be an effective "Outreach" production. This following video clip is the opening "Dawn" followed by "Morning Song"."Into the Amazon" "Rain Man Sings" Video features Emily performing her "into the Amazon" live solo production and footage taken by Emily when she last visited and stayed with the Xavante. This video is Emily's passionate response to having witnessed the devastating effect of the Soya cultivation in the Mato Grosso of Brazil and her awareness of it's impact on the indigenous group that she has periodically visited during the last fourteen years. The backing track of "Rain Man Sings" features a Xavante Indian "calling" the rain, a recording made by Emily once when she was staying with the tribe."Bridge between Worlds" is an orchestral work with solo 'cello and is made up of nine tracks with each piece written around a traditional chant of the Xavante tribe.Click on the CD cover to buy "Bridge between Worlds" alternatively download @apple i tunes : Bridge Between WorldsIt was during the times that Emily was staying in the village that she was invited to record the traditional songs of both individuals and groups singing. At the end of the day the Chief takes up his rattle and gathers together the entire community. Men, women and children then sing through a series of songs. Sometimes accompanied by a dance where they stand in a large circle. Singing is central to the Xavante culture. It has many uses in daily life. Recreational and Ceremonial.They "dream" their songs.
.. Support projects for the benefit of the Xavante community when you purchase tracks which feature their singing 15% of sales will go into the Humming Bird Fund and will be channelled through the registered charity "Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust" reg no: 1050461 www.ipcst.org If you would like to learn more about the current fund raising initiatives for the Marimbu Xavante community visit: Xavante Community Health Centre
Keep in touch with the development of this project and learn more about current projects with the Trust at: " http://www.ipcst.org/" "Her second CD production "Footsteps in the Sand" was produced while Emily was resident in the North East region of Brazil. Some of the music includes Emily's own field recordings of the Tremembe Tribe and also features Mannasses a formidable 12 string guitarist from the North East region of Brazil. The music emanates wonderful Brazilian percussion - rhythm being a great source of inspiration for Emily to improvise..Austrian guitarist Gandalf makes a great contribution with his guitar playing on "Black Madonna" and "Dolphin Love". Emily is author of the lyrics and singer on all the songs.Download @ apple i tunes: Footsteps in the SandRead more about the production at www.emilyburridge.com Footsteps in the Sand --
Her first CD production "Earth Songs" is where the link with Brazil commenced. This CD was much inspired by visiting the Mato Grosso and Amazon region of Brazil and interactions with indigenous people of the country. Emily draws together classical harmonies with featured 'cello and singing and integration of sacred and indigenous instruments and singing. Download @ apple i tunes: Earth SongsEarth Songs --"Listen to the Kogi Speak" ~ a track on the "Earth Songs" CD inspired by a message that the Kogi Indians gave through the medium of a documentary "Heart of the World" in 1992. The Kogi indians were talking about climate change way before anyone else!- Jody Linscott on percussion - Phill Brown engineering - we had an inspired time. The song commences with their myth for creation:
In the beginning there was blackness
Only the Sea.
In the beginning, there was no sun, no moon, no people.
In the beginning there were no animals, no plants, only the Sea.
The Sea was the Mother
The Mother was not people
She was not anything, nothing at all.
She was, when she was, darkly
She was memory and potential
She was....Aluna.
Extracts of music from” Earth Songs" have been selected for sound tracks for documentaries including productions by Artists United for Nature in Munich and commercial films.
Through her musical research in Brazil leading to increasing contact with Tribal communities an empathy developed and in 1995 she founded the registered charity "Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust". The object of the Trust is to secure financial support for projects which are developed in consultation with tribal communities and designed to promote as well as conserve their traditional way of life. Through the Trust Emily set up a project with a Xavante community and through receiving charitable donations designed and oversaw the implementation of a solar powered health centre deep within a Xavante reservation which was inaugurated amidst festive dancing (1998).
The new project that Emily is currently co-ordinating is to help the Xavante Indians develop tree nurseries on their reservation so as to regenerate and conserve species of plant and tree. She is employing Brazilians based in the locality who also are working to conserve species of the Cerrado. You can read more about this project by visiting: www.ipcst.orgThe Trust is a small charity which doesn't have employees and Emily ensures with her projects that charitable donations towards the Xavante Marimbu Community reach their intended destination by personally overseeing the payment of bills when she visits.
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