Michael Bascom
“If you don't know what to do, there's actually a chance of doing something new.”
(Philip Glass, Words Without Music: A Memoir)
Michael Bascom is a British composer, conductor, performer and producer based in Tunbridge Wells in the Southeast of England. Since completing his education in Music (BA, Univ of Cambridge) and Opera Making (MA, Guildhall School of Music & Drama in association with the Royal Opera House - scholarship holder) he has written for stage, film and the concert platform. He has written and produced several shows, including Cathy: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, has performed at numerous venues such as The Barbican Centre in London and the National Auditorium in Madrid, and directed a number of ensembles including most recently at the Pentagrama Academia in Madrid as Director of Choir and Ensembles. A keen advocate of community arts, he helped found the Tunbridge Wells Fringe Festival and currently assists with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival.
Image by Sandra Orrega, courtesy of Orquesta Juvenil Europea de Madrid (OJEM)
Photo: Guildhall School of Music and Drama
COMPOSITION & PRODUCING
I have written and arranged music for film, radio, and stage. I completed my undergraduate at the University of Cambridge (St. Edmund's College) studying Music, with an emphasis on composition and harmony & counterpoint. I went on to pursue postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama on the Opera Making & Writing course (in association with the Royal Opera House, as a scholarship holder) where I studied under Julian Philips and collaborated with writer and poet Clare Best to write the chamber opera TEXT, which premiered at the Milton Court Studio Theatre in July 2021. Upon my relocation to Madrid, I undertook two residencies at the Fundación Valparaíso in Mojácar, one of which was fully funded by Acción Cultura/Española (AC/E) to pursue and develop various compositional projects including Oratorio for Earth (work in progress), and worked as Composer for Echoes of Everything, a feature-length documentary on the concept of 'duende' in music (premiered May 2023 at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, Canada). My other production-side experience includes writing & producing the musical Cathy: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; as a founding member of the Tunbridge Wells Fringe Festival; and most recently assisting with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival. For commissions and collaborations, please use the link below.
Photo: FItz Swing Band
PERFORMANCE
I have performed extensively as a singer and pianist, in both ensembles and as a soloist. During my time at Cambridge, I performed alongside Miriam Shovel as the frontman for Fitz Swing, one of the university big bands, and more recently as a soloist for the Orquesta Juvenil Europea de Madrid (OJEM) for their 2022 Europe Day concert at the National Auditorium in Madrid. With considerable choral experience, I've sung as a member of London-based chamber choir Canticum for several years, with whom I performed at venues such as The Barbican Centre and St Paul's Cathedral, and was a member of several college choirs throughout my time at Cambridge. I have more recently turned to conducting, having lead choir & ensembles at the Pentagrama school of music in Madrid, and deputising for the Orquesta Juvenil Europea de Madrid (OJEM) and for the Lycée Français in Madrid. To hire my services, or for more information, please use the link below.
Image by Sandra Orrega, courtesy of Orquesta Juvenil Europea de Madrid (OJEM)
MUSIC TUTORING
In addition to my other commitments, I run a private studio of students, teaching composition, music theory, piano, and voice, and often collaborating with 1st Act Studios to host performance and musical theatre workshops. For more information, please use the link below or follow the 'studio' tab at the top of the page