In the 1970s, Gavin collaborated with composer friends including John White, Dave Smith and Christopher Hobbs in composer/performer ensembles. They composed music for one another to perform, tolerating the occasional weirdness of the resulting instrumentation and they performed each other's compositions. Mutual regard, musical trust and the capacity to decipher various types of musical shorthand were the guiding principles. He added three of his pupils to the ensemble to perform pieces like The Sinking of the Titanic during the first time they performed a concert including just my compositions, which was at the Festival d'Automne in Paris at the Chapelle de la Sorbonne.
In recent years, Gavin has been playing double bass and occasionally piano with Morgan Goff on viola, Nick Cooper on cello, James Woodrow on electric and acoustic guitars. Additional members are added to the core group based on the repertory. Gavin adds Nick Barr or Katie Wilkinson if he needs a second viola, which is occasionally required for vocal repertoire. Gavin would also include Audrey Riley as a second cellist. Audrey, Morgan Goff, James Woodrow, and Gavin were the group for practically all of the latter performances of Biped. Alexandra Maria Tchernakova, his daughter, serves as his regular pianist when he requires one.
The Moers Festival, Barbican London, Ha Concerts Gent, Rimini Festival, Snape Maltings, Sheffield University, St Martins in the Fields, Stoller Hall Manchester and Canterbury Cathedral are among the venues he will be performing at..

How to hire Gavin Bryars Ensemble for an event