In 2020-21, Miriam worked with musician and actor Aminita Francis and eight classically trained singers from Echo Vocal Ensemble collaboratively in order to ask questions of the classical music industry and celebrate the power of communal singing.
Listening to Lassus is a music-theatre performance that features 16th-century choral performance alongside spoken word, improvisation and original songwriting. Taking the music of composer Orlande de Lassus as its starting point, Miriam and Aminita allow the audience to get to know the eight very different people that make up the choir as they explore their connection to his music, what it means to sing these pieces 400 years later, and how they can sing together and still have their individual voices heard.
Listening to Lassus premiered at Chiltern Arts Festival in May 2021.
Echo is an acclaimed vocal ensemble led by Sarah Latto that stemmed from the Genesis Sixteen Young Artist scheme. They made their St John’s Smith Square debut in 2017, and have since performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, as ensemble-in-residence at Ryedale Festival and live on BBC Radio 3. The group has quickly developed a reputation for imaginative programming and multi-disciplinary collaborations, including with poet Roger McGough, composer James MacMillan, visual artist Polly Apfelbaum and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Aminita Francis is an actor-devisor and vocal artist from London whose practice revolves around using the human voice to tell stories. She specialises in song, beatboxing, spoken word, rap, live looping and vocal processing. Aminita’s training includes the RSC Youth Ensemble, Battersea Arts Centre’s Homegrown programme and The Roundhouse Young Creatives. Since drama school Aminita has collaborated on new devised shows with companies and organisations such as The Old Vic, Complicite, Hot Brown Honey and The British Council. Notably, she co-wrote, co-composed and stars in the multi-award-winning acapella gig-theatre piece Frankenstein - How To Make A Monster, created with the Beatbox Academy & BAC, which is due to tour internationally following its sold-out run as the No.1 best reviewed show at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019 and Adelaide Fringe 2020. A film of Frankenstein starring Aminita premiered on BBC4 in October 2020 as part of the Culture in Quarantine season.
