Wild Azure Sea (electric guitar concerto) Perusal Score

Anton Pearson electric guitar performing Ed Hughes’s Wild Azure Sea with University of Sussex Symphony Orchestra

Solo Electric Guitar & orchestra. Timpani; Percussion. Strings

Duration 10’

Programme Note

Wild Azure Sea is in three movements (fast, slow, fast).

Ed Hughes - Wild Azure Sea (2025)

Wild Azure Sea is a new concerto for solo electric guitar and orchestra by Ed Hughes (Professor of Composition at Sussex University), written specially for Anton Pearson, a Sussex Music alum and guitarist with globally recognised indie rock band Squid, and the University of Sussex Symphony Orchestra. In the words of Ed Hughes: "The phrase "wild azure sea" expresses an intensely subjective experience of the sea and the natural world. The composition is at times gently lyrical and plangent but reaches peaks of intensity through the piercing and radiant sound of the electric guitar matched to the lushness of the orchestra."

Anton Pearson is a guitarist and songwriter in the rock band Squid. The band has toured the UK, Europe, South America, North America, and Asia with their unique approach to experimental rock, including repeated major festival slots at Glastonbury, Primavera, Roskilde, and many others, as well as headline shows to sold-out crowds of thousands. They have released three critically acclaimed albums, with their debut reaching number 4 in the UK albums chart. Their music has been playlisted globally on radio stations and lauded as spearheading innovation in modern independent music. They were shortlisted for BBC Sound Of 2020. Outside of Squid, Anton delves deeper into left-field music, creating rich, complex, and evolving pieces that blend drone, electronic, and minimalist elements, built with analogue equipment. He has composed for the Grammy Award-winning For the Birds project alongside Laurie Anderson and Nick Cave, and contributed to the Peaky Blinders original soundtrack with Anna Calvi. Anton has also created remixes for other independent artists. Last month, he delivered a workshop to the public at the Tate Modern as part of Warp Records’ partnership with Tate Lates and began performing solo shows of experimental music. His first solo EP was released in 2020, with new music on the way. Anton studied BA and MA Music at Sussex University.

Programme (PDF)

Hire from University of York Music Press

Orchestra Concerto

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