about
with a focus on contemplative sound art practices, a noisy silence exists to help us listen more carefully to the world and to ourselves. We use sound as a vehicle for supporting wellbeing, building community and caring for our environment.
a bit about us...
a noisy silence was conceived in 2013 by Richard Bentley and has grown to draw on the skills and expertise of a team of creatives. Together, our aim is to tap into people’s natural curiosity, affinity and love of sound to support wellbeing, build community and care for the environment. A lofty aim needs to be grounded in practical, workable action. We are committed to developing services and artworks that catalyse effective, meaningful and discernible change. By ‘catalyse’, we recognise that what we offer is often a catalyst for change, giving people the opportunity to be present, connect with others, reflect, share their fears, joys, concerns and aspirations, experience meaning and integrate this with their understanding of the world. In supporting people on this journey, we signpost to, and work alongside established charities, community groups and organisations that can help meet the longer-term needs and aspirations of those we work with and produce work for, such as...
values
Our values are not an afterthought, knocked-out in an away-day, but are the ground from which a noisy silence has grown and continue to underpin our work. Our core values are…
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Presence - that we are present to ourselves, open, authentic and caring in our interactions.
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Community - that we are deeply interconnected and that our wellbeing relies on the strength of our connections with others and our environment.
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Care - that we care for ourselves as the foundation for caring for others.
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Equity - that there is an acknowledgement of personal, social and environmental injustice and a strong desire to move towards fairness.
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Creativity - that creativity keeps us adaptable, open to alternative ways of hearing the world and new possibilities in our work.
team
Richard Bentley (Sound Artist)
Creatively combining sound, music and contemplative practices, Richard's aspiration is to support personal and community development through listening. Richard has a PhD in Sound Art following a Masters Degree in Community Arts at Goldsmith's University of London. He works with the NHS developing arts and contemplative care initiatives for patients and staff. Richard is a qualified lecturer (Cert. Ed. & FHEA) with over twenty years teaching experience and is currently training in mindfulness facilitation at the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.
Nino Auricchio (Musician and Producer)
Nino has worked for Sony Music, BMG and numerous dance and soul labels. Nino has had success as part of the funk act Funkshone, releasing records globally through Skyline Records, P-Vine in Japan with work remixed by Kenny Dope Gonzalez. Nino composes library music and has work licensed by Red Bull for the World BBoy Championships and the US film, Growing Reason. Nino is a senior lecturer in sound engineering at the University of West London and is undertaking a PhD in electronic music composition.
Aundre Goddard (Theatre Maker)
Aundre is a theatre maker, educator and creative practitioner. He holds a master’s degree in Performance Practices from De Montfort University and believes the most interesting things happen in between spaces. He is currently the Creative Director of Berzerk Productions, a drama company that has been supporting young people in Reading and South Oxfordshire since 1994. His goal is to create the next generation of creatives and open young people up to the weird and wonderful world of performance.
Nisha Anil (Theatre-Maker and Presenter)
Nisha's career ranges in live Performance, Theatre, Visual art, Film and T.V; having worked as an Actress, Arts Manager, Storyteller, Workshop Facilitator, Artist Mentor and as a Children’s T.V. Presenter for CBeebies Worldwide Asia and the UK. She has also worked in various creative capacities in her local town; within the regional arts community for Slough Museum, The Curve, Resource Productions, Creative Junction, Home Slough, 101 Arts Creation Space in Newbury, Third Angel in Sheffield, Beautiful Creatures Theatre and the MERL in Reading.
Sam Proctor (Mastering and Music Production)
Sam has had a varied career as a sound engineer, musician and educator which has lead to the formation of his audio mastering studio, Lismore Mastering where he undertakes mastering work alongside mixing and audio production. He continues to be passionate about music education after leaving his role as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology at University of West London where he taught for over a decade and has recently begun teaching at University of Huddersfield.
Matthew Foster (Musician)
Matt is a musician, educator and music producer who has been working in the south of England for over 20 years. He is Head of Academy for local music charity The Rock Academy Foundation and regularly works with young people on creative sound-based projects. Matt studied popular music at Bretton Hall College and, following a move to Berkshire, he taught music and music technology at Reading College for 14 years. He continues to teach at Newbury College alongside his work with The Rock Academy and Readipop and his national performance and recording work with Ma Bessie and her Pig Foot band.
Collaborators
Natalie Ganpatsingh (Director Nature Nurture CIC)
Natalie believes that connecting people with the wild spaces within our towns and cities is crucial to building strong, happy, healthy communities who care about each other and the environment. Her award-winning social enterprise, Nature Nurture CIC collaborates with the conservation, heritage, health and education sectors to achieve positive outcomes for people and the planet. She also works as ‘Nature Lead’ for Dr. William Bird’s company, Intelligent Health, helping to re-wild communities across the UK.
Liz is the founder of not for profit Silent Space - a project encouraging beautiful parks and gardens open to the public to reserve an area for silent visiting. Taking time out to stroll quietly or to sit and reflect, we can engage more deeply with the sights and sounds of nature. At the same time and in a very gentle way, we also engage with ourselves. Liz is a freelance garden writer and historian, writing on all aspects of gardens but with a particular interest in their relationship to health.