Jonty Harrison
Encyclopedia
Jonty Harrison is an electroacoustic music
composer born April 27, 1952 in Scunthorpe
, UK, and currently living in Birmingham
, UK.
Jonty Harrison studied with Bernard Rands
at the University of York, graduating with a DPhil in Composition in 1980. Between 1976 and 1980 he lived in London, working at the National Theatre (where he produced the tape components for many productions, including Tamburlaine the Great, Julius Caesar, Brand and Amadeus) and City University. In 1980 he joined the Music Department of The University of Birmingham, where he is now Professor of Electroacoustic Composition, as well as Director of BEAST
(Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre) and the Electroacoustic Music Studios; for ten years he was Artistic Director of the department's annual Barber Festival of Contemporary Music. He has played an active role in musical life, making conducting appearances with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (most notably conducting Stockhausen's Momente in Birmingham, Huddersfield and London), the University New Music Ensemble and the University Orchestra (most recently in Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps and Vic Hoyland
's Vixen). He was a Board member of Sonic Arts Network (SAN
) for many years (and Chair between 1993 and 1996). He has also been on the Council and Executive Committee of the Society for the Promotion of New Music
and was a member of the Music Advisory Panel of The Arts Council of Great Britain.
As a composer he has received several Prizes and Mentions in the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (including a Euphonie d'or for Klang in 1992 cited as one of the most significant works in the Bourges competition's history), two Distinctions and two Mentions in the Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria), First Prize in the Musica Nova competition (Prague), a Lloyds Bank National Composers' Award, a PRS Prize for Electroacoustic Composition, an Arts Council Composition Bursary and research grants from the Leverhulme Trust and from the Arts and Humanities Research Board.
Commissions have come from many leading performers and studios, including two each from the Groupe de recherches musicales (Ina-GRM, Paris) and the Institut international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB - formerly the Groupe de musique expérimentale de Bourges), the International Computer Music Association (ICMA
), MAFILM/Magyar Rádió (Budapest), IRCAM/Ensemble intercontemporain
(Paris), the BBC, Birmingham City Council, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
, the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, the Nash Ensemble
, Singcircle, John Harle
, Beverly Davison, Harry Sparnaay
, and Jos Zwaanenburg. Despite renouncing instrumental composition in 1992, he wrote Abstracts, a work for 8-channel tape and large orchestra, in 1998. He has recently completed a work for dance, to be given its UK premiere in Trafalgar Square in August 2007 and ReCycle - a cycle of four 8-channel works:Rock'n'Roll; Internal Combustion; Free Fall and Streams given its world premiere at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham in May 2007.
His music is performed and broadcast worldwide, and several works are available on empreintes DIGITALes, SAN/NMC, Cultures électroniques/Mnémosyne Musique Média, and CDCM/Centaur.
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
composer born April 27, 1952 in Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, UK, and currently living in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK.
Jonty Harrison studied with Bernard Rands
Bernard Rands
Bernard Rands is a composer of contemporary classical music.Rands studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna in Darmstadt, Germany, and with Luigi Dallapiccola and Luciano Berio in Milan, Italy.He held residencies...
at the University of York, graduating with a DPhil in Composition in 1980. Between 1976 and 1980 he lived in London, working at the National Theatre (where he produced the tape components for many productions, including Tamburlaine the Great, Julius Caesar, Brand and Amadeus) and City University. In 1980 he joined the Music Department of The University of Birmingham, where he is now Professor of Electroacoustic Composition, as well as Director of BEAST
Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre
Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre, or as it is more commonly known, BEAST, is a sound diffusion system specifically designed for the performance of electroacoustic music. Created in 1982, it is a long-running project of the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham under...
(Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre) and the Electroacoustic Music Studios; for ten years he was Artistic Director of the department's annual Barber Festival of Contemporary Music. He has played an active role in musical life, making conducting appearances with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (most notably conducting Stockhausen's Momente in Birmingham, Huddersfield and London), the University New Music Ensemble and the University Orchestra (most recently in Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps and Vic Hoyland
Vic Hoyland
Vic Hoyland is an English composer.He was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Educated at Hull and York universities , Hoyland was Haywood Fellow at the University of Birmingham where he is currently Reader in Composition.Influenced by Luciano Berio and Franco Donatoni, Hoyland has composed...
's Vixen). He was a Board member of Sonic Arts Network (SAN
Sonic Arts Network
Sonic Arts Network was a UK-based organisation, established in 1979, that aimed to enable both audiences and practitioners to engage with the art of sound through a programme of festivals, events, commissions and education projects...
) for many years (and Chair between 1993 and 1996). He has also been on the Council and Executive Committee of the Society for the Promotion of New Music
Society for the Promotion of New Music
The Society for the Promotion of New Music was founded in London in 1943 with the intention of promoting the creation, performance and appreciation of new music...
and was a member of the Music Advisory Panel of The Arts Council of Great Britain.
As a composer he has received several Prizes and Mentions in the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Awards (including a Euphonie d'or for Klang in 1992 cited as one of the most significant works in the Bourges competition's history), two Distinctions and two Mentions in the Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria), First Prize in the Musica Nova competition (Prague), a Lloyds Bank National Composers' Award, a PRS Prize for Electroacoustic Composition, an Arts Council Composition Bursary and research grants from the Leverhulme Trust and from the Arts and Humanities Research Board.
Commissions have come from many leading performers and studios, including two each from the Groupe de recherches musicales (Ina-GRM, Paris) and the Institut international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB - formerly the Groupe de musique expérimentale de Bourges), the International Computer Music Association (ICMA
International Computer Music Association
The International Computer Music Association is an international affiliation of individuals and institutions involved in the technical, creative, and performance aspects of computer music. It serves composers, engineers, researchers and musicians who are interested in the integration of music and...
), MAFILM/Magyar Rádió (Budapest), IRCAM/Ensemble intercontemporain
Ensemble InterContemporain
The Ensemble InterContemporain is a French chamber orchestra, based in Paris at the Cité de la musique and IRCAM, which specialises in contemporary classical music....
(Paris), the BBC, Birmingham City Council, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is a chamber orchestra based in Birmingham, England. BCMG specialises in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham...
, the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, the Nash Ensemble
Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble of London is an acclaimed English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman in 1964, while she was a student at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around the Academy...
, Singcircle, John Harle
John Harle
John Harle is an English saxophonist and composer.-Biography:John Harle - SaxophonistJohn Harle is one of the world’s leading saxophonists, and the most significant performer of the saxophone in the concert hall today...
, Beverly Davison, Harry Sparnaay
Harry Sparnaay
Harry Sparnaay is a noted Dutch bass clarinetist, composer, and teacher. He is the most well-known player of new music for the bass clarinet and has won the following: First Prize Gaudeamus Contest , Swedish Record Prize , Bulgarian Composers Union Award , Inaugural Sounds Australian Award ,...
, and Jos Zwaanenburg. Despite renouncing instrumental composition in 1992, he wrote Abstracts, a work for 8-channel tape and large orchestra, in 1998. He has recently completed a work for dance, to be given its UK premiere in Trafalgar Square in August 2007 and ReCycle - a cycle of four 8-channel works:Rock'n'Roll; Internal Combustion; Free Fall and Streams given its world premiere at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham in May 2007.
His music is performed and broadcast worldwide, and several works are available on empreintes DIGITALes, SAN/NMC, Cultures électroniques/Mnémosyne Musique Média, and CDCM/Centaur.
Works
- Aria (1988)
- EQ (1980), soprano saxophone, and tape
- et ainsi de suite (1992)
- Hot Air (1995)
- Klang (1982)
- Pair / Impair (1978)
- Rock 'n' Roll (2004)
- Sorties (1995)
- Splintering (1997)
- Streams (1999)
- Surface Tension (1996)
- Unsound Objects (1995)
Recordings
- Etc with Horacio VaggioneHoracio VaggioneHoracio Vaggione is an electro-acoustic and musique concrète composer who specializes in micromontage, granular synthesis, and thus microsound and whose pieces often are for performer and computer-generated tape...
, Trevor WishartTrevor WishartTrevor Wishart is an English composer, based in York. Wishart has contributed to composing with digital audio media, both fixed and interactive...
(EMFEMF- Music :* EMF , a British band** "EMF", a bonus track on EMF's album Schubert Dip* E.M.F. , a 1983 album by GG Allin* English Music Festival, a British music festival- Organizations :...
, EMF 053, 2004) - Évidence matérielle (empreintes DIGITALesEmpreintes DIGITALesempreintes DIGITALes is a record label founded in 1990 and based in Montreal which specialises in contemporary electroacoustic music, acousmatic and musique concrète.In 2005, empreintes DIGITALes shifted from CD to DVD-Audio.- Composers :* Mathew Adkins...
, IMED 0052, 2000) - Articles indéfinis (empreintes DIGITALesEmpreintes DIGITALesempreintes DIGITALes is a record label founded in 1990 and based in Montreal which specialises in contemporary electroacoustic music, acousmatic and musique concrète.In 2005, empreintes DIGITALes shifted from CD to DVD-Audio.- Composers :* Mathew Adkins...
, IMED 9627, 1996)