Concert: Rosie Middleton: Palimpsests, Bodies and Imprints

As part of the 2026 SPARC Symposium, Rosie Middleton presents two new palimpsests created at City with and for p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r. alongside other work for voice, body and flute including a virtuosic new piece for voice and bass flute by Diana Soh.

Palimpsest is an iterative multi-year experiment for voice, recordings, and other improvisers, exploring the transformation of memory over time. It examines how our memories are distorted by new experiences, others' narratives, and changing environments, layering performers, audiences and spaces.

Admission

General admission: £5
City students, staff, unwaged and concessions: Free admission - please sign up to attend here.

Please note, separate bookings are required for each Symposium event. To see all events (27-31 May 2026), please visit the Symposium overview page.

About Rosie Middleton

Mezzo-soprano Rosie Middleton performs and creates experimental music, opera and performance art. Her work examines humans and intimacy, through experiments in unpredictability, precarity and vulnerability. Her collaborations include include PLASTIC BODIES, (‘FIVE STARS’ - Opera Now), and 12HOURS - a marathon performance by/with Catherine Kontz created for Somerset House and Rainy Days Festival, Luxembourg (‘radiant, violent, mesmerising’ - Opera Magazine). She has performed her work at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Dark Music Days, Iklecktik, The Tate Modern, Mimosa Gallery, Tête-à-Tête Festival, and with Music in the Round.

Her recent opera roles include The Blue Woman (Laura Bowler, Royal Ballet and Opera) and Carmen, cours d’assizes, (Diana Soh, Opera National de Bordeaux; Grand Theatre Luxembourg). Other recent performances include at Donaueschinger MusikTage with LoveMusic collective, Songs After Nature (Pia Palme, Finland), Oracle Song (Melanie Wilson, Barbican) and Gosch (Zara Ali, Podium Festival).

In November 2026 she will premiere A Grammar of Distance, a new 45-minute monodrama for voice, electronics and film with composer Kari Watson at HCMF.

About p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r

p.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.c.l.u.t.t.e.r is an experimental performance group which creates expansive and playful interpretations of new work. Our performances explore choreographed movement, language and performativity. Our work is informed by our embodied experience as four women, and by our diverse artistic backgrounds incorporating activism, composition, opera, psychodynamic theory, virtuosity and queer theory. We are Rosie Middleton, Sarah Parkin, Katherine Tinker and Helen Whitaker.