A CREATIVE ENGINE BASED IN CUMBRIA

Soloists, writers and ensemble players have come together from a diverse range of backgrounds to create immersive live experiences through combined art forms.

Our journey started back in 2017, on the Suffolk coast...

Propellor was forged over two exploratory years at Snape Maltings (home to Britten Pears Arts) where we developed the ensemble's sound, creative focus, refined our extra-musical roles within the group and created our first project, Loom, which premiered at Snape's Festival of New in 2018.

Following on from this we had a short summer residency at The Glasshouse in Gateshead and then toured Loom around the UK with support from Arts Council England. The Loom tour involved workshops that developed the ensemble’s use of found sound with participants, and side-by-side performances.

Our second project, Flight, was also supported through ACE and Help Musicians. Flight allowed Propellor to explore new mediums, collaborate with well-known writers, musicians and acoustic ecologists, as well as working closely with dramaturg Annie Rigby (Unfolding Theatre) to present various touring chamber ensemble iterations of the project. We developed the accessibility of our work alongside Audiovisibility who champion the deaf perspective in music.

Now based in Cumbria…

Propellor’s Artistic Director Jack McNeill grew up in Cumbria, and since being Artist in Residence at Brewery Arts in Kendal, has brought the ensemble’s creative engine back to this incredible part of the UK.

Back in Cumbria Propellor performed alongside Robert MacFarlane and Hayden Thorpe, helping to curate the Kendal Mountain Festival’s flagship Music on Nature event since its inception. This led to a new work in Ness - a reframing of MacFarlane and Donwood’s epic prose poem and album release on Domino Records supporting the inimitable voice of Hayden Thorpe and vocal harmonies of Kerry Andrew.

Propellor’s current project Air Songs has been made possible by Jack’s Catalyst Creative Residency in Cumbria and Full of Noises (Barrow-in-Furness). The Catalyst Partnership Team are: the University of Cumbria, Cumbria Arts and Culture Network (CACN) and Art Gene. Air Songs workshops were a key feature of the inaugural in-person Aerial Fesitival, and presented as part of the culmination of Mahogany Opera’s Great Learning project in Cumbria. Mahogany Opera are collaborating on the live elements of Air Songs.

Propellor are excited about continuing to become a creative engine in the region, sharing work made here, far and wide.

  • Jack McNeill (AD)

    CLARINET / BASS CLARINET

  • David Le Page

    VIOLIN

  • Catherine Leech

    VIOLIN

  • Kay Stephen

    VIOLA

  • Louise McMonagle

    CELLO

  • Charlotte Wild

    FIDDLE / HARDANGER

  • Sebastiano Dessanay

    DOUBLE BASS / ELECTRIC BASS

  • Delia Stevens

    PERCUSSION

  • Stuart Brown

    DRUMS / ELECTRONICS

  • Aaron Diaz

    TRUMPET / ELECTRONICS

  • Martyn Sanderson

    TROMBONE / SACKBUT

  • Robin Beatty

    ELECTRIC GUITAR / ACOUSTIC GUITAR

Join the team

Propellor are open to expressions of interest from anyone interested in being part of our future production company journey.

PAST PLAYERS AND COLLABORATORS

Propellor's line-up has been made even more colourful over the years by wonderful guest collaborators we've had the pleasure of working with on different projects.