A walk by the River Lea

Viv Corringham is based in London and has performed internationally since the early 1980s, recording eleven albums. She works with improvisation, listening, Mediterranean music and soundscapes. Her solo project, Vocal Strolls, in which she sings live with the London soundscape, has been broadcast on radio and TV - BBC Radio 3's Mixing It, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, weekly on London Resonance fm, and Channel 4's Richard and Judy Show. A Vocal Stroll piece performed by a construction site was selected for the 2003 Australian sound symposium, Hearing Place and is featured on the CD that promoted this event. Other pieces have been programmed for New Media Scotland's 2004 Drift festival and for the CD that accompanies the Spring 2004 issue of soundscape journal Earshot. An article about the artist and this work appears in the June 2003 edition of Musicworks magazine, published in Canada. Recent soundwalks, Urban Song Paths, have involved the collection of found objects and the creation of texts and photographs. Some of these were displayed in January 2004 at London Freeform's Hothouse studios, as part of a Landscape and Arts exhibition. Current collaborations include a longstanding performance duo with electronics/environmental sound musician Peter Cusack, explorations with sound sculptor Derek Shiels and phonographer Dallas Simpson, and performance/installation work using the resonant characteristics of drain-pipes with Dave Lawrence. Recent improvisation projects have involved Pat Thomas, Charles Hayward, Gino Robair, Torsten Muller and Paul Burwell. In 2003, work included a site-specific environmental sound project with children of Greenwich Millennium primary school, funded by London International Festival of Theatre, participation in the Leleg symposium of Live Art in Turkey, and residencies with Colourscape, the multi-chambered walk-in sculpture of colour and light, creating improvisations and electronic soundscapes with early years pupils. There were also performances and festivals in USA, Britain and Switzerland. Scheduled work for 2004 includes concerts in Sweden and North America, leading workshops on "The Listening Body" with dancer Rachel Gomme, and a seminar and residency for the Cork Soundworks festival, in which she will work with local inhabitants to create new sound pieces. She has an MA Sonic Art with Distinction, and is currently studying under American composer Pauline Oliveros for a certificate in "Deep Listening". She has received awards from the Arts Council, Jazz Services and Awards for All. Recordings: Urban song paths- A Walk by the River Lea Blue Camel Vocal Strolls- solo improvisations in location Blue Camel Around the room, out the door, down the stairs- solo Artship Glimpses of Recognition-with Rick Wilson Third Force Operet-with Peter Cusack NoMansLand Babaye Selam- Shimal ARC Music Avant Roots- with Mike Cooper MASH Popular Turkish Folk Songs- with George Hadjineophytou ARC Music Keep it Clean- National Gallery with Mike Cooper Rhiannon Talking to Charos; Rembetika ARC Music Where Africa Meets the Orient- Noor Shimaal ARC Music (+ on compilations by Move, Emanem, ARC Music, NoMansLand, Jungle Records and Slam). Selected recent work: 2004 Solo tour - North American West Coast 2003 San Francisco Alt festival 2003 Switzerland- tour with Stefan Wyler & Brigitte Meyer 2003 Freedom of the City festival, London 2003 Residencies for Colourscape and LIFT. with young people 2002-3 Jazz Services-funded UK tours with Pat Thomas and Peter Cusack 2002 Tours and CD recordings in US and Italy- solo and with Peter Cusack. 2002 -3 Weekly Resonance FM radio shows: Vocal Strolls, (improvisation on London streets) & All Ears 2001 Festivals & concerts in Prague, San Francisco and Switzerland 2001-2002 Projects in schools for the Haringey Music and Performing Arts Centre 2001,2 +3 Blue Camel concert series- curator and performer 2000 Queen Elizabeth Hall, LMC Annual Festival: The Viv Corringham Project. 2000 Pauline Oliveros' Lunar Opera, Lincoln Center, New York as a diva of "Diva Nation". 2000 US WFMU and WMSE radio stations: featured guest on "London Underground".

Copyright: Viv Corringham PRS London 2003.