Partners

Gordon Soames
Gordon Soames
Designated Partner
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Gordon brings a wide range of expertise and skills to the team from his previous employment. For 17 years he worked in all areas of advertising with the East Anglian Daily Times before later training as a Social Worker. Gordon has many years experience of chairing business meetings from his time as Education Chairman of the East of England Co-operative Society. For over 20 years he worked in amateur theatre, directing and producing plays for local companies. As a partner in the LLP he has been responsible for project managing a wide variety of artistic and educational projects, all of which have been successfully delivered. Gordon's love of original music and his belief in art for everyone are his primary motivations for his work with the partnership.

Stuart Stevens, MMus.
Stuart Stevens, MMus.
Partner / Artistic Director
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Composer, ex-punk rocker, one-time radiographer and self-confessed democrat, Stuart is happiest when he is surrounded by people getting something worthwhile out of a new musical experience – whether one of his own experimental works or as a result of his work with this partnership As well as his role as artistic director for the LLP, his past experience in NHS project management (biggest project £18m Treatment Centre in Birmingham), as well as his scientific background, make him a skilled strategist. Stuart thrives on big ideas and grand adventures. He believes that art is there for everyone: with access for all, irrespective of their background – Music not just as a mission, but also a service. You can find out more about Stuart's own music by following this link to his website:

www.stuartstevenscomposer.com

Lyn Jones
Lyn Jones
Designated Partner
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Lyn helped Purple Moments organise the live music stage for the first Suffolk Pride in Ipswich in 2009. Since then she has provided administrative and production support to the partnership. As the other designated partner, she shares legal responsibility for the LLP with Gordon.  Her years of experience of working in the community are a valuable asset to the organisation. Having gained experience of live performance as road manager for her former partner, Lyn often acts in the role of stage manager and artist liaison.

Jane Chambers
Jane Chambers
Partner
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Former Ipswich Borough & Suffolk County Council member, Jane brings a strong emphasis on community and accessibility to the partnership's work. She is a champion of peoples right to reach their full potential, herself having acheived the high honour of being the first disabled female Mayor of Ipswich in 2009/10. Jane is a long-standing supporter of the arts, having commissioned new works and been a patron of several community groups, such as Ipswich Bangladeshi Drummers. Her real skill is in bringing people together and that is her primary role in the partnership - networking and making new friends.

Associates

Jerry Crosson
Jerry Crosson
The Fret Workshop
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Jerry Crosson is a fret-work specialist and undertakes most types of guitar repair including re-fret, fret dress, electrical, adjustment, maintenance and set-up to fretted musical instruments such as guitar, mandolin, banjo etc. Notably, he has to date converted two electric guitars and an electric bass guitar to 31-tone equal temperament. These guitars are unique, and part of our on-going project to help realise Stuart Stevens' ground-breaking research in microtonality.

www.thefretworkshop.co.uk

Dan Watson
Dan Watson
Conductor & Artistic Director
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Dan Watson is a freelance UK based conductor. He has recently completed a postgraduate Masters at Birmingham Conservatoire working with many of the Conservatoire’s own ensembles. He is Artistic Director of Thumb contemporary music ensemble and regularly works with amateur orchestras and ensembles. In addition, Dan teaches woodwind (saxophone specialist) and practices as an instrument repairer. 

www.danwatson.co.uk

Thumb
Thumb
Contemporary Ensemble
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Thumb’s primary aim is simple: to perform new music to new audiences. The ensemble has worked with young and emerging composers, and given over 50 premieres of their works in recent years. Now commissioning new works Thumb recently embarked on an ongoing project featuring new research by composer Stuart Stevens exploring the use of alternative microtonal harmony.

www.thisisthumb.co.uk

Dominic Martin
Dominic Martin
Engineer
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Dom is a motorbike nut and accomplished engineer, who brings a unique twist to our team. He has helped design and build all Stuart Stevens's chime instruments - notably the giant aluminium chimes installation "thirty-one" commissioned by Aldeburgh Music. From our first ventures together building the Waterfront Scrap Gamelan, Dom's skills on the lathe and as a welder have been essential to our work.

Rachel Victoria Smith
Rachel Victoria Smith
Composer
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Rachel is a composer with classical training and rock influences, who has concentrated recently on compositions for contemporary flute, involving electronics and effects. She is currently devising a large-scale project  - The Trip - which will be a collaboration with the Purple Music team. Rachel is the second "composer-entrepreneur" to join the Purple Moments co-operative.

Rebekah Daven Watson
Rebekah Daven Watson
The Actor's Cafe

 

Rebekah Daven Watson is a London-based Yorkshire actress experienced in a wide range of characters, from Alison Porter (Look Back in Anger) to Christine Foskett (Absolute Hell), the comic and silly Carrie de Longue (CSI: London) to the evil and cunning Air Witch (Warrior Sisters). She runs The Actors Cafe, providing mentoring and business coaching for actors. Rebekah is working in partnership with Purple Music on the Close To Home tour, planned for Spring 2015.

www.rebekahdavenwatson.co.uk