Philharmonia & Artists In Residence House of Absolute present Absolute June Weekender

• House of Absolute – first public & industry events as Philharmonia Artists in Residence
• Absolute June Weekender includes masterclass, workshops, films and talks 18-20 June

House of Absolute, a company of vocalists, poets, choreographers and composers and the Philharmonia’s first ever Artists in Residence, will present their first public event as part of the residency in June.

A combination of panel discussions, workshops and performance, the event will combine streamed and live events kicking off on Friday 18 June with two free online industry events under the banner Absolute Truth Talks the first of which looks at PR. Presented as a workshop, Helen Oldfield (Affinity PR) will explore how to build reputation and profile and tell stories through the media. The second Absolute Truth Talk tackles mental health and arts ecology. Specialist, founder of The Creative Genius and Co-Director of The Artist’s Safeguarding and Well Being Hub Nicolette Wilson-Clarke will lead the panel discussion with House of Absolute’s Julia Cheng. Panelists include multi-faceted creative producer Nike Jonah, psychotherapist and arts therapist Imi Lo and performer and performing arts manager Michelle Norton (Breakin Convention), alongside Philharmonia and House of Absolute artists.

Saturday evening’s live public event Absolute Live: Future Visions led by Julia Cheng and Jade Hackett, taking place at Streatham Space Project, includes a screening of some of House of Absolute’s work including Warrior Queens, Stardust and Heart Power Magic, before sharing insight into and video from the workshop process they have recently undertaken with members of the orchestra. Performances will follow before the audience gets a chance to participate in live improvisation and enjoy live music from Philharmonia players Sophie Cameron, Daniel Shao, James Buckle, Joe Howson and guest percussionist Beibei Wang to create an event that gives a real sense and flavour of the direction the residency is heading in.

Sunday is Absolute Workshop day with a morning of zoom sessions focussing on well-being, Qigong, breathwork meditation and vocal toning before Julia Cheng leads a dance workshop in Whack/Pose/Punk.

The first residency of its kind – the collaboration envisages a complementary combination of cultures that will generate an energy and excitement across worlds that had previously been mutually exclusive.

Plans for the year are developing as House of Absolute push forward with their vision for the collaboration. The eight-strong company has created performances and events for theatres, exhibitions, festivals, and the fashion industry, built on a foundation of equality, empowerment and inclusivity.
For the Philharmonia, the vision for the residency is to broaden the Orchestra’s artistic relationships, and tap into new ways of creating musically expressive experiences for live and digital audiences.

Ideas in development include creating a new dance film, staging an orchestral club night and more.