Major new commission from Alex Groves
We are excited to announce the commission of a major new work for vocal ensemble by Alex Groves, to be premiered at Kings Place, London on Friday 20 November.
Alex's new work is inspired by the celebrated British sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth and her friendships with the composers Priaulx Rainier and Michael Tippett.
After meeting in 1949, Barbara Hepworth and Priaulx Rainier became important inspirations for each others' work. Their correspondence contains fascinating ideas about being artists, being human beings, and the affinities between music and sculpture.
Above: Alex Groves discusses his new piece for The Carice Singers, filmed during a residency at
Britten Pears Arts in April 2026. Photography: Matt Jolly
"I want to find out how you produce exquisite music in stone – all your forms sing. That singing caught my breath before I understood it or could see it… I wait with great impatience for the next work."
- Priaulx Rainier, letter to Barbara Hepworth (18 March 1950)
It was Rainier who introduced Hepworth to Michael Tippett. In 1953 they co-directed the inaugural St Ives Festival of Music and the Arts. Following this, Hepworth was invited to design the sets and costumes for Tippett's first opera, The Midsummer Marriage.
Inspired by this remarkable creative partnership, and by his own love for Hepworth's work, Alex Groves will craft his own musical sculpture exploring their friendships within the wider contexts and histories, making their story still very relevant for our lives today.
About the Composer
Alex Groves is an Ivor Novello-nominated composer and curator working across contemporary classical and electronic music. Taking inspiration from queer club culture, abstract artists like Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley and Richard Long, and the natural world, his work often blends classical instrumentalists with live processing to create uncanny soundworlds which blur the line between acoustic and electronic.
Alex's music has been presented nationally and internationally at venues including the Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, Kings Place, soundfestival, Britten Pears Arts, St George's Bristol, The Concertgebouw, Elbphilharmonie, MASS MoCA and MONOM, broadcast on NTS Radio, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music, and released on Delphian, Nonclassical, Cantaloupe and Bedroom Community.
%20Kit%20McCarthy.jpg)
Alex Groves. Image: Kit McCarthy
The commission of Alex Groves' new work is generously supported by the Vaughan Williams Foundation, the Porthmeor Fund, and the Marchus Trust.
