Balladeste

Balladeste string duo - Preetha Narayanan & Tara Franks

“defies easy definition … very very special indeed” Katie Derham BBC Radio 3 In Tune

"absolutely stunning" - Anita Rani BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour

ABOUT US:

We have developed a unique musical partnership working closely together for over a decade. Connected through our parallel paths from a classical background to a more recent practice of cross-cultural exploration & improvisation, we met back in 2008 on the GSMD Leadership MMUS. We have since been developing our own collaborative way of co-composing. We write primarily by ear, using improvisation to develop our pieces from small starting points.

Since self-releasing our 1st album of all co-created original music Relic (2017), then 2nd critically acclaimed album Beyond Breath (2021) we have performed/been interviewed on: BBC R4 Woman’s Hour, BBC R3 In Tune, Night Tracks & Saturday Breakfast Show, Soho Radio with Max Reinhardt & Dutch National Radio.

We have performed Nationally and Internationally at: El Chopo Mexico City, Isole Che Parlano Sardinia, CCB Lisbon, Art Night UK, Brighton Festival, OAE Night Shift & Cafe Oto. We have also collaborated/performed with high profile artists incl; Kae Tempest, Jasdeep Degun-Singh, Sam Lee, Anoushka Shankar and Jocelyn Pook.

In 2023 we released Conversations in Ritual challenging ourselves to record an entirely improvised album recorded live at Snape Maltings, supported by Britten Pears Arts/HMUK and Festival of the New.

creative Workshops:

We are advocates for sharing our innovative creative practice with musicians of all ages & stages. With over 2 decades of experience working in a myriad of creative education settings, we have written music with; young musicians, non-musicians, worked with orchestras, in care homes, in prisons, with parents & babies & been commissioned to write music for dance/theatre. Writing music with others is an integral part of our practice and feeds back into our composition/performance work as a duo.

PROJECTS COMMISSIONERS incl:

Aldeburgh music, Sinfonia Viva, Music Masters, Barbican, Britten Peers Arts, Dartington Arts, Saffron Waldon Orchestras for All, SoundsCreative Projects, Korean Arts & Culture Services (KACES), Sunland School of the Arts Mexico, Beit-al Musica Palestine.

As a duo we have a particularly interest in working with young string players from diverse backgrounds to promote embodied musicianship skills, new approaches to string playing and ways into improvisation/group composition using incorporating the strengths of our combined skills.

PREETHA MARAYANAN (London based) - PhD Guildhall School of Music & Drama in Co-Creative Practice - Yoga teacher certification from renowned institution in India, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram specialised in Yoga Therapy.

TARA FRANKS (Hastings based) - Founder SoundsCreative Projects (SCP) - PGCE (Cambridge, Homerton) - Highly experienced (20yrs) Creative facilitator - particular focus collective creativity & collaboration, group vocal practice.

Balladeste MUSIC & ALBUMS:

 “…an extraordinary and beautiful listening experience…” Folk Radio UK