The Hermes Experiment is one of the UK’s leading young contemporary music ensembles. Winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award 2021 and the Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Competition 2019, the group has rapidly built a reputation for vibrant, genre-defying performances.

Described by The Arts Desk as “the cool kids of the contemporary music school”, The Hermes Experiment reimagine the concert experience with their idiosyncratic line-up of harp, clarinet, voice and double bass. Their collaborative ethos drives a dynamic programme of over 60 new commissions to date, alongside bold arrangements and electrifying free improvisation.

They have released three critically acclaimed albums on Delphian Records – HERE WE ARE, SONG and TREE. 

Performance highlights include Barbican Centre, Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Spitalfields, Oxford International Song, Leeds Lieder, and Aldeburgh Festivals, as well as Tallinn Music Week, Rotterdam’s De Doelen, and the RPS Awards. They were a showcase artist at Classical:NEXT 2019.

The ensemble champions contemporary music in education and community settings. Recent projects include their Virtual Composition Project supported by Arts Council England, a residency with Young Music Makers of Dyfed, and workshops with Trinity Laban, RAM, RCM, RWCMD, Leeds College of Music and Birmingham University.

The quartet has received funding from Arts Council England, The Marchus Trust, Vaughan Williams Foundation, Hinrichsen Foundation, Britten-Pears Foundation, Oleg Prokofiev Trust, Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust, PRS for Music Foundation, Help Musicians UK and Francis Routh Trust. For the 2023-26 seasons, The Hermes Experiment is extremely grateful to be generously supported by The Marchus Trust.

The Hermes Experiment repertoire list is available here.

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‘Britain’s music scene offers numerous dynamic small-sized groups, but The Hermes Experiment so spellbinding, so imaginative, continue to stand alone’ ★★★★ The Times

“The third album from The Hermes Experiment again shows what a liberating force in contemporary music this ensemble have become. Beautifully thought through and rewardingly eclectic” ★★★★★ The Guardian

‘This British group have released a most enticing calling card, advertising the skills of individual musicians and the liveliness and variety of Britain’s composing scene’ ★★★★ The Times

‘Hermes are quite an act, boldly entertaining’ ★★★★★ The Scotsman

“uniquely engaging ensemble” Andrew McGregor, Record Review, BBC Radio 3

“This clever mix of instruments is more versatile than you might first think.” ★★★★ The Observer

“The combination of harp, clarinet, voice and double bass is not one you hear every day, but in the right hands it works brilliantly. The Hermes Experiment who sport this line-up have in a short few years commissioned prodigiously for it, opening a whole new expressive world” Evening Standard

“odd but great” The Wire

“The virtuosic skill of each member of the group was on display from the start (…) witty and engaging performance, leaving the listener constantly wondering what was coming next” London Jazz News