Biography
SAM WILSON
JAN BRADLEY
SOPHIE HASTINGS
MARK NORMAN
4-MALITY is one of the world's most compelling and innovative percussion quartets focusing on new works and commissions. They are renowned for their unique ability to generate energy and vigour of rhythm with the skill and artistry of dedicated chamber musicians within spectacular performances. 4-MALITY was formed by Adrian Spillett, the first percussionist to win the prestigious BBC Young Musician Competition. At the beginning of 2015, 4-MALITY welcomed a new member of the Quartet, Sam Wilson. Sam is highly committed to the performance of new music and studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Sam has taken over from Aidy Spllett which is now Principal Percussion with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and professor at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Jan Bradley, Sophie Hastings and Mark Norman play across the UK for orchestras including The Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, English National Ballet, Northern Sinfonia and Manchester Camerata. Together, the 4-MALITY artists have command of over eighty drums, gongs, cymbals and tuned percussion.
...4-MALITY perform with a flamboyant theatricality...as much performance art as it is music.
The Guardian
4-MALITY have performed in prominent venues and at renowned festivals across the world. 4-MALITY’s BBC Proms performance of Iannis Xenakis’ Pleiades received accolades from The Guardian’s praise of ‘a truly epic performance of a truly epic work’, to the Evening Standard’s admiration for a ‘thrilling display of pulse-quickening virtuosity’. Their abilities were lauded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with the Edinburgh Evening News writing 'good percussion quartets are a rarity. 4-Mality is one of those rare gems.’ Other performances have taken place at the Berliner Philharmonie, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, Snape Proms, Rhythm Sticks, Cheltenham Festival, and Bath Festival. International tours have taken the group to Australia, Taiwan, Turkey, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Finland.
Commissioned works are at the heart of 4-MALITY's unique identity. Composers who write for the group include 4-MALITY performer Jan Bradley, whose compositions play a vital role in the quartet. Bradley’s works embody the 4-MALITY ethos, demanding high energy, great dexterity and showcasing unorthodox percussion instruments resulting in virtuosic, flamboyant and un-missable performances. Writing from within the group, Bradley’s works synthesize perfectly with the ensemble’s style; 'For breathtaking ensemble skills, visual display and sheer bravado, Jan Bradley's stunning ‘In-Line’ was appropriately reserved for the finale of this exhilarating, liberating presentation' (Birmingham Post). Jan has composed a song cycle with Sarah Castle (mezzo soprano) based on the words of three female WWI poets for performances in 2015. Other composers closely connected to 4-MALITY include Ian Vine (Siri2 premiered at Newbury Spring Festival), Benjamin Wallfisch (Apex commissioned by the Bath International Music Festival), Russel Du Plessis, Julian Warburton (Jugalbandi premiered at the Purcell Room, London), Eric Sammut (Extreme Ice Cream premiered at the Stratford English Music Festival and Lost in the Ocean premiered in Turku, Finland), Dinuk Wijeratne (Octet premiered at the Chelmsford Festival) and Geir Rafnsson.
With influences from around the world including Japan, Africa and the Caribbean, to the minimalism of Steve Reich, 4-MALITY concerts always appeal to a wide audience. The programming emphasis lies with providing the audience with comparisons between a sense of familiarity and the excitement of experiencing something new. 4-MALITY is a group not to be missed.
Representation: General Management
Contact: Laura Tear
Reviews
BBC Proms
...4-MALITY perform with a flamboyant theatricality...as much performance art as it is music.
The Guardian
Art Gallery of Western Australia
...as soothing as Valium... drum surfaces are relentlessly attacked by the seemingly tireless quartet... superbly virtuosic!
The Western Australian Times
Music Network Tour, Dublin
...Think of Liszt putting pianists through their paces in his operatic paraphrases or fantasias and you’ll be on the right track. The 4-MALITY players take the theatricality of percussion performance as a gift to be seized on, and their show runs with a slick, well-oiled purr behind the blur of mallets and the finely co-ordinated drills.
Irish Times