I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Ivan Reshetilov, whom I met earlier this year in London.

Ivan was so eager to meet people, and to create new kinds of music.

At a singing workshop for Contemporary Music for Amateurs, I sang in a rehearsal of a piece he had just written, called Chartuziyah, meaning locusts.

I was so excited with it, I asked if we could perform it in Firewire – our experimental ensemble which performs new music in Colchester. It was then that I discovered he was a Colchester- educated student.

He was excited to hear there was a contemporary ensemble based in Colchester and he hoped to join us for a project.

Firewire gave the first performance of Chartuziyah at the end of May in our Spring Sounds concert at Wivenhoe Church.

I am devastated to hear of Ivan’s death and send condolences to his friends, teachers and family.

Julia Usher
Music director
Contemporary Music for
Amateurs, Firewire