"Not only is Gavin Bryars one of my favourite composers, but he's now also one of my favourite human beings. Thanks for a life changing experience." (Sunny Lazic, participant in all of Gavin's workshops since 2018)

"This week has been such a nugget of gold. It's a privilege to spend a whole week talking about, thinking about, and writing music with really interesting creative people. Such an inspiring week." (Hayley Jenkins, participant in Gavin's 2018 workshop)

"Gavin provided us with a range of inspiring stories, insights and guidance from his life working as a composer. He was wonderfully down to earth, approachable and encouraging. Words cannot express how happy I am to have met Gavin and formed this connection." (participant in Gavin's 2023 workshop)

Check out the report on Gavin's 2018 session here. As the report shows, this workshop is for all types of people working with sound and music, from trained composers to self-taught producers and visual artists working with sound.

Gavin Bryars has carried out a workshop every year at CAMP since we opened - it's one of the most valued sessions in our program, with composers, producers, musicologists and performers arriving from around the globe to seize the unique opportunity to learn from and work with Gavin. Whatever your discipline or focus, whether you're composing for ensembles, producing electronic music, writing for stage, curating sound, experimenting with field recordings, making music for film or any other field, Gavin's depth of experience and deep musical knowledge will enrich your work and catalyse your practice.

Gavin Bryars is without a doubt one of the world's most celebrated living composers. He emerged to the musical establishment in the early sixties, playing bass with improvisers Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley - his relationship with improvisation, although of some significance, was short lived, and by the late 60's he was working with John Cage, Cornelius Cardew and John White. His first major works - The Sinking of the Titanic (1969), originally released on Brian Eno's Obscure label in 1975, and Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971) - were released in new versions in the 1990s, selling over a quarter of a million copies.

Opera and ballet have formed important strands in Gavin's practice - he has written five full-length operas, working with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Opera de Lyon, English National Opera, Mainz Opera, Long Beach Opera and the Opera de Paris, alongside such renowned directors as Robert Wilson, Atom Egoyan, Georges Delnon and Jean Lacornerie. He has worked with Opera North Projects and the Royal Shakespeare Company since 2006. He has done scores for over twenty ballets and his collaboration with Merce Cunningham, Biped, toured worldwide with the Cunningham Company and subsequently throughout France with CNDC Angers' recreation in Merce's centenary year 2019.

Elsewhere in Gavin's extensive catalogue of works can be found vocal works written for The Hilliard Ensemble, Latvian Radio Choir, Trio Mediaeval, The Crossing, Iarla O'Lionaird and commissions for Bournemouth Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Primavera Chamber Orchestra Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and London Sinfonietta. His background in the visual arts has resulted in works for the opening of the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, an installation in the Chateau d'Oiron, commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture, a work for the Tate Gallery St Ives, and a project for the Valencia Architecture Biennale. This visual arts affinity has also led to highly successful collaborations with David Byrne, Bruce MacLean, Bill Culbert, Juan Munoz, Christian Boltanski, Will Alsop and others.

This course does not take a narrow dogmatic line, but rather will take Gavin's work as a starting point to examine compositional forms and strategies, working closely with the group members' existing practice and methods, and with the aim of each student developing a finished work for performance at the end of the session. Participants from all musical backgrounds are welcome, whether classically trained, improvisors, sound artists, installation artists, conceptual artists or favouring any other approach. Bring works in progress to be developed; or start on something new whether alone or collectively. Develop new projects and ideas using CAMP's resources, or work with the extraordinary natural environment.

Sessions will include:

The sessions will be accompanied by optional outdoors activities led by CAMP crew, including guided mountaineering, visits to local beauty points, and downtime to hang out, relax, enjoy the local food and wine, and learn informally from Gavin, the CAMP crew, and your fellow students. Following the course, further support of the work developed will come in the form of performance and release opportunities via Fuse Art Space and our range of in-house record labels, as well as broadcast opportunities on CAMP Radio.



WHERE AND WHEN?

The course takes place at our residential centre in Aulus les Bains. It's two hours south of Toulouse, high in the French Pyrenees, very near the border with Spain. For detailed travel information, see the transport section. The course starts on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. We advise that you arrive the evening before (13/05/2025) - dinner and accommodation that night is included. The course runs for five days, ending on Sunday night. Accommodation on Sunday night is included, then we leave on Monday morning (19/05/2025). If you decide to take the minibus with us, you will be picked- up in Toulouse at 6pm on 13/05/2025, and will be back in Toulouse at 11am on 19/05/2025.

You'll also have the option to stay at CAMP an additional 7 nights, following the workshop, for an additional cost of $379. Hang out, do some hiking, use our facilities, work on your projects and process the content of the workshop at your own pace. In 2024, just over 50% of participants stayed for the +7. We expect that number to increase in 2025 - don't miss out on the extra fun! Read more about the +7 option here.

HOW TO BOOK

To book your place on the course, click the button in the green section above. You won't pay anything right now - we'll send you a booking confirmation email with everything you need to know next. Your place is reserved without payment for three days.

You'll find a payment link in the booking confirmation email - follow the link to make a payment (either in full, or the first payment of a 4 month payment plan). In the latter case, a monthly payment plan will be put in place, so your card will be charged 1/4 of the fee today, and 1/4 each month (on the same day) for an additional 3 months. All card payments are handled by Stripe, and are extremely secure. We don't store any card data ourselves - all of this is handled securely off-site by Stripe. If you have a discount or grant code, you will be able to add it when you follow the payment link in your confirmation email.

Once you've made a payment, you'll receive another email containing your receipt, links to resources, contact information and access to our group chat to discuss the workshop with other participants.