Nicola LeFanu
Encyclopedia
Nicola LeFanu is a British
composer, academic, lecturer and director.
(also a composer, later Dame Elizabeth Maconchy). She studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford
, before taking up a Harkness Fellowship
at Harvard. In 1972 she won the Mendelssohn Scholarship
. She later became Director of Music at St Paul's Girls' School
(1975–77), taught at King's College London
(1977–1995, as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor), and then a Professor of Music at the University of York
where she was Head of Department from 1994 to 2001. She retired from teaching in 2008.
She is married to the composer David Lumsdaine
.
She earned a Doctorate in Music from the University of London in 1988 and holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Durham and Aberdeen and from the Open University
. She is active in many aspects of the musical profession, as composer, teacher and director.
Her operas are:
Some of her recent works include:
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
composer, academic, lecturer and director.
Life
Nicola LeFanu was born in England to William LeFanu and Elizabeth MaconchyElizabeth Maconchy
Dame Elizabeth Violet Maconchy Le Fanu DBE was an English composer, most noted for her cycle of thirteen string quartets.-Biography:...
(also a composer, later Dame Elizabeth Maconchy). She studied at St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, before taking up a Harkness Fellowship
Harkness Fellowship
The Harkness Fellowships are a programme run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. They were established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several countries to spend time studying in the United States...
at Harvard. In 1972 she won the Mendelssohn Scholarship
Mendelssohn Scholarship
The Mendelssohn Scholarship refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer, Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to continue their development.-History:...
. She later became Director of Music at St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
(1975–77), taught at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
(1977–1995, as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor), and then a Professor of Music at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
where she was Head of Department from 1994 to 2001. She retired from teaching in 2008.
She is married to the composer David Lumsdaine
David Lumsdaine
David Lumsdaine is an Australian composer. He studied at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music . He moved to England in 1952 and for a while shared a flat with fellow expatriate, the poet Peter Porter, with whom he collaborated on several projects including the cantata Annotations of...
.
She earned a Doctorate in Music from the University of London in 1988 and holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Durham and Aberdeen and from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. She is active in many aspects of the musical profession, as composer, teacher and director.
Works
LeFanu has written around sixty works, including music for orchestra, chamber groups and voices, as well as six operas. These have been widely played and broadcast, and many are available on CD. Her music is published by Chester Novello and Maecenas.Her operas are:
- Dawnpath, a chamber opera (1977),
- The Story of Mary O'Neill, a radio opera (1986)
- The Green Children, a children's opera to a libretto by Kevin Crossley-HollandKevin Crossley-HollandKevin John William Crossley-Holland is an English translator, children's author and poet.-Life and career:Born in Mursley, north Buckinghamshire, Holland grew up in Whiteleaf, a small village in the Chilterns...
(1990) - Blood Wedding (1992, libretto by Debra Levy after Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
) - The Wildman, another collaboration with Crossley-Holland, commissioned by the Aldeburgh Foundation and first performed in June 1995
- Light Passing (libretto by John Edmonds, BBC/NCEM, York, 2004), which played to sellout audiences and received critical acclaim
Some of her recent works include:
- Echo and Narcissus for two pianos
- Concertino for chamber orchestra
- Catena for eleven solo strings (2001)
- Amores for solo horn and string orchestra (2003)
- Piano Trio (2003)
- Songs without Words for clarinet and string trio (2005), dedicated to Ian Mitchell and the Ensemble Gemini.
- Songs for Jane for soprano and viola (2005), "written for my cousin Jane Darwin" and dedicated "for Carola to sing to Jane"