Neoclassical Suite is a column that will present 7 recent, distinctive tracks of the neoclassical-modern classical-contemporary -and beyond!- music field. 

The Players

Thomas Hewitt Jones

(neoclassical)

Thomas Hewitt Jones is an award-winning composer of contemporary classical and commercial music. Winner of the 2003 BBC Young Composer Competition, his music has been published by Boosey & Hawkes, Oxford University Press, Banks Music, the RSCM, Encore Publications, Universal Music, and is frequently heard on radio, TV and the cinema in the UK and abroad.

Thomas has written three ballets which toured the UK in 2008–2011 with Ballet Cymru, most notably a dance setting of Dylan Thomas’ masterpiece Under Milk Wood. His choral and instrumental music is frequently performed worldwide. He has also written numerous Christmas carols, including What Child is This? (OUP, 2012). Recent large-scale works include Wildflower Meadows, a song cycle commemorating the First World War, and the Christmas cantata Incarnation, released on Regent Records, both with words by regular collaborator Paul Williamson.

Commercial commissions have included work in America and scores for films in the UK, as well as music for the London 2012 Olympics Mascots animated films, with stories by Michael Morpurgo and narration by Stephen Fry. Thomas has also composed the music for a new musical version of Rumpelstiltskin which premiered at The Egg, Bath in December 2014. Recent performances include the premiere of a new set of songs charting the history of Bath with words by Paul Williamson (Bath Abbey, 2015), and the UK premiere of choral and orchestral work Panathenaia at the British Museum, commissioned by Hugo Ticciati.

Bergi

(neoclassical)

Spanish composer originally born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bergi has been playing guitar since his early youth. He feels more inclined to compose classical music even though this style was barely heard in his childhood home. Usually his music emerges driven by the instinctive force he feels when a melody wants to be alive, and when it pushes hard, that’s when he helps it to exist.

With his first album “Moments”, arising from a mixture of various influences, he opens the door of a world shaped by his memories, experiences and the people who inspired him.

Francois Simitchiev

(neoclassical, contemporary music, minimal)

François Simitchiev, a double bassist trained at the classical school, explores the pathways between contemporary and minimalist, ambient and electronic music. He composes pieces in which he experiments with the sound of the double bass, the fusion of technology and the organic.

Shawn Kerr

(neoclassical, contemporary music)

Singer-songwriter Shawn Kerr grew up surrounded by music in small-town northern Ontario, on the banks of Georgian Bay in Parry Sound. He studied piano from a young age and played drums in hardcore bands in high school before completing a degree in drum set performance and music cognition at McMaster University in 2016. During his time in Hamilton, he played drums in alternative folk band The Human Orchestra. When The Human Orchestra disbanded, Kerr took the opportunity to pursue a self-titled solo project, making the transition to guitar and vocals. He won a recording contest found on kijiji in 2016, which provided him with the opportunity to put together an EP at Hamilton studio Green Room Recording and kick-started a year-long domestic and international tour around Canada and New Zealand.

Thomas Jackson

(neoclassical, ambient, soundtrack)

Thomas Jackson is a musician and filmmaker based in Stockholm, Sweden. His musical output has ranged from wall of sound-rock to electronic music in various constellations. 
 The album Den inre skogen (Inner Woods) is the soundtrack to his documentary film by the same name, released through renowned instrumental music label Flora & Fauna. His films has been shown around the world at festivals such as Berlin Film Festival, Toronto Hot Docs and CPH:DOX, and at art institutions such as MoMA Tokyo and Bonnier konsthall. 
 He currently also makes music as one half of electronica duo Random Notes.

Martin Braekau

(neoclassical, contemporary music, ambient)

Martin Braekau is a versatile german musician, composer and producer of both symphonic and electronic musical worlds with focus on cinematic styles and ambient compositions.

Born in 1991 and raised in south germany where he was involved in classical music from an early age by taking classical guitar lessons. fascinated by music composition and production, he wrote his first songs and pieces at the age of 14, while immersing himself into audio production softwares and music programming.

Being drawn also in modern rock music he founded two rock bands with his friends, Mads 77 and For Alpha & Omega, where he plays lead guitar and serves as main songwriter and producer.

Mainly inspired by modern classicals and film scores, he focuses more on composing his own instrumental music and expanding his musical skills by teaching himself drums and piano.

In 2019 he released his first instrumental song “Lifeline” for the band ‘For Alpha & Omega’. Later that year he startet out as a solo musician for his passion in symphonic/electronic Instrumentals and Contemporary Classical Music.

Michael Logozar

(neoclassical)

Michael Logozar is a Canadian born composer and producer based in the Nashville, TN area. He is a classically trained pianist and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans a broad range of cinematic and focus music including modern and post classical, ambient, minimal and post rock. His solo piano work has garnered him 6 album of the year nominations at Whisperings Radio and his multi-instrumental work has been featured in film and television networks such as TLC, Discovery, National Geographic and the History Channel, and in shows such as America’s Got Talent, Oprah and X-Factor.

The Music

Christos Doukakis