Thallein Ensemble

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The Thallein Ensemble was a new music student group set up in the early 1990s with graduates from the Birmingham Conservatoire known as the NEW Birmingham Group, not to be confused with the BCMG. Principal founders were Alistair Zaldua (composer/ conductor), Mark Gasser (Pianist), John Webb (composer) and John Meadows (clarinet). The name 'Thallein' comes from a piece by Iannis Xenakis by the same name. - an ancient greek word generally meaning "to sprout" or "to shoot forth". Within certain circles in new music they even made a name for themselves in performances of Varese, Xenakis, British complex music ( Michael Finnissy, James Dillon, Mike Vaughan, Richard Barrett as well as modernist Italian composers (Luigi Nono, Aldo Clementi and Luigi Dallapiccola.

They gave over 60 world premiers across Europe. The group varied in size from 8 - 130 players. One interesting anecdote was their open-air performance during the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in front of international heads of state. Mark Gasser was soloist in a highly controversial performance of John Cage's Concerto for Prepared Piano which ended in the performance being banned due to the "sheer volume" and "disruption to the traffic and security" surrounding the signing of the Maastricht Treaty.