Our past productions include Secret Chants with Tibetan monks chants, Flying High featuring an outstanding line up of leading Asian and jazz artists and video installations, and Sundance, combining live contemporary and classical Asian dance from the Creative Dance Company with ShivaNova’s unique mix of classical with jazz. We have been engaged in a range of different educational residencies around the country, the most significant being the ‘Girls Only Global Orchestra’ project in Gravesend, London, and Birmingham.
Founded over twenty years ago, ShivaNova has been constantly developing thanks to its improvising musicians and its founder’s vision of a creative force that went beyond everyday fusion. During the 1990s dance beats went into the mix – an offshoot called SugarNova had a hit in the club charts with Over and Over.
In recent seasons ShivaNova has toured with dancers and visual projections, and has also created cross-artform programmes like Bananas which featured the Gandini Juggling group as well as carnival artists, storytellers and visual artists.
ShivaNova has commissioned many composers for its own ensemble including Nicola Lefanu, Gary Carpenter, Anthony Gilbert, David Lumsdaine, Helen Lee, Eleanor Alberga, and electro-acoustic composers – Tim Souster, Simon Emmerson. Some of these works have been recorded on commercial CDs including Simon Emmerson’s and Tim Souster’s. The spread of new work goes beyond composed pieces. Jazz musicians Orphy Robinson, Jean Toussaint, Rowland Sutherland, and Robert Mitchell have worked with the group in new pieces as soloists and with other classical musicians including Alex Balanescu, Helen Crayford, Nancy Ruffer, Neil Heyde, Clive Williamson, Ros Stephen. A host of world musicians have worked with us including Dharambir Singh, Sarwar Sabri, Chartwell Dutiro, Tunde Jegede, Li Lisha, Xu Pingxin, M Yogeswaran, Alex Housego, RN Prakash, Chandrasekhar, Jyotsna Srikanth, and Vayu Naidu amongst others. It has been a performance ensemble since 1988 and has promoted and organised a range of concerts, performance and education projects. It has worked in partnership with French and Belgian partners in European Intereg project including JUPO music organisation in Le Havre and Compagnie Myriam Dooge.
In 2007 it set up EQUATOR as a promotional wing and has promoted over several events and concerts and funded over 700 professional musicians to take part. It has received renewed funding from the Arts Council for its work in Kent and London and at the moment is committed to organising events on an annual basis. Since 2008 it has been promoting Equator events in London and in the South East having received strategic touring funds as well as Equator’s Women of the World (WOW) Festival at Kings Place and RichMix from 2011. In 2009 it launched the Equator Choir Competition for schools and amateur choirs from Kent, and in October 2010 it launched the Equator Music Competition for Kent.
Past performances have taken place at:
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre
Purcell Room, South Bank Centre (many times)
Jazz Cafe, London (3 times)
Wiltshire Music Centre
Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton
Dorchester Arts Centre, Dorchester Festival
Nottingham Lakeside
Bridport Arts Centre
De La Warr Pavilion
Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury
Pestalozzi Festival
Trinity Arts Centre, Tunbridge Wells
Shrewsbury Music Hall
The Stables, Milton Keynes
Phoenix Arts, Leicester
World Beat Festival, Morecambe
Assembly Rooms, Derby
CBSO Centre, Birmingham
Contact Theatre, Manchester
Forest Arts Centre, New Milton
Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham
Chipping Norton Theatre, Oxfordshire
Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham
The Bull Arts Centre, Barnet
Blackheath Concert Hall, London
Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton
Colston Hall, Bristol
Pegasus Theatre, Oxford
Luton Music Club
Cranleigh Arts Centre, Surrey
X-trax/Decibel Fesitval, The Lowry, Salford