Paul Whitty
Encyclopedia
Paul Whitty is an England-based composer born in Northern Ireland.
His work has been performed by the London Sinfonietta
, Ensemble Expose, IXION
, Michael Finnissy
, [rout], Philip Howard
, and Mieko Kanno amongst others, and his music has featured at many festivals including Brighton
, Ultima
in Oslo, the Gaudeamus
Music Week in Amsterdam, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
and at State Of The Nation in London. He has received numerous awards, including from the Arts Council of England, AHRC
, the Britten-Pears Foundation, and the British Council.
Paul Whitty is a founder, along with the composers Sam Hayden and Paul Newland
, of the ensemble [rout], which has made several concert tours in the uk, appearing on BBC
Radio 3's contemporary music programme Hear and Now, on a BMIC Cutting Edge concert tour, at the ICA and at the Huddersfield Festival.
He is Reader in Composition; Research Director for Film, Fine Art and Music; and Co-Director of the Sonic Art Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University
and has been a visiting tutor in collaborative practice at Dartington College of Arts
and the Laban Centre, London.
More recently he has become increasingly interested in collaborative cross-disciplinary work methods, often involving site-specific projects and installations. Site-specific projects have taken place in the unlikely environments of the Mecca State Bingo Hall in Kilburn, Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, the office of Beaconsfield art gallery in Vauxhall, the freezer compartment of a fridge in Romford amongst others.
Cross, London; an installation at the Museum of Garden History as part of their Tempered Ground exhibition, and two performances at Tate Britain. In November 2008 a concert version of the project took place at the Warehouse, London as part of the BMIC Cutting Edge Series, in the form of a film, an installation and a live performance.
Biography
Paul Whitty was born in Lisburn, N.Ireland in 1970. He studied with Roger Marsh at York University, Magnus Lindberg and Colin Matthews at the Britten-Pears School, and Vinko Globokar at the Dartington International Summer School, and completed a DPhil in composition with Michael Finnissy at the University of Sussex.His work has been performed by the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, Ensemble Expose, IXION
Ixion
In Greek mythology, Ixion was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares, or Leonteus, or Antion and Perimele, or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes "fiery". Peirithoös was his son...
, Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy
Michael Finnissy is an English composer and pianist. His music is characterised by the range of extremes often found in his work; opposing binary structures are found commonly, often seen as juxtaposing textures, register and tempi...
, [rout], Philip Howard
Philip Howard
Philip Howard may refer to:*Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, Saint Philip Howard, *Philip Howard , English army officer and Member of Parliament*Philip Howard Philip Howard may refer to:*Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, Saint Philip Howard, (1557–1595)*Philip Howard (1629–1717), English...
, and Mieko Kanno amongst others, and his music has featured at many festivals including Brighton
Brighton Festival
The Brighton Festival is an annual arts festival which takes place in the city of Brighton and Hove in England each May. It was founded in 1966, and is the largest multi-art form festival in England...
, Ultima
Ultima
Ultima is a series of fantasy role-playing video games from Origin Systems, Inc. Ultima was created by Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British. Several games of the series are considered seminal games of their genre...
in Oslo, the Gaudeamus
Gaudeamus Foundation
The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center is a renowned center for contemporary music. The Gaudeamus Foundation organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts both in the Netherlands and abroad...
Music Week in Amsterdam, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival is held in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has a repertoire of cutting-edge jazz, orchestral, choral and electroacoustic performances, along with film, dance and music theatre...
and at State Of The Nation in London. He has received numerous awards, including from the Arts Council of England, AHRC
AHRC
AHRC can refer to:* Asian Human Rights Commission* Arts and Humanities Research Council* Association for the Help of Retarded Children* American Homeowners Resource Center* Australian Human Rights Commission...
, the Britten-Pears Foundation, and the British Council.
Paul Whitty is a founder, along with the composers Sam Hayden and Paul Newland
Paul Newland
Paul Newland is a British composer of contemporary classical music. He has won numerous prizes, including the RPS Composition Prize 1990, a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award in 1993, and in 1995 he was awarded the Royal Academy of Music's Josiah Parker Prize by György Ligeti...
, of the ensemble [rout], which has made several concert tours in the uk, appearing on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 3's contemporary music programme Hear and Now, on a BMIC Cutting Edge concert tour, at the ICA and at the Huddersfield Festival.
He is Reader in Composition; Research Director for Film, Fine Art and Music; and Co-Director of the Sonic Art Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
and has been a visiting tutor in collaborative practice at Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts institution near Totnes, Devon, South West England, it specialized in post-dramatic theatre, music, choreography, Performance Writing and visual performance, focusing on a performative and multi-disciplinary approach to the arts. In addition to this,...
and the Laban Centre, London.
More recently he has become increasingly interested in collaborative cross-disciplinary work methods, often involving site-specific projects and installations. Site-specific projects have taken place in the unlikely environments of the Mecca State Bingo Hall in Kilburn, Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, the office of Beaconsfield art gallery in Vauxhall, the freezer compartment of a fridge in Romford amongst others.
Vauxhall Pleasure
One of Paul's more recent collaborative works Vauxhall Pleasure (2004) with Anna Best consisted of a site event at VauxhallVauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
Cross, London; an installation at the Museum of Garden History as part of their Tempered Ground exhibition, and two performances at Tate Britain. In November 2008 a concert version of the project took place at the Warehouse, London as part of the BMIC Cutting Edge Series, in the form of a film, an installation and a live performance.
Selected works
- .stop.direction.pause. (1998) for electric guitar, prepared piano and sampler
- bcnsfld (2000) a collaboration with [rout], dance company prang & Anna Best.
- on/off (2000) for electric guitar, double bass and short-wave radio
- input-output (2000) an installation in collaboration with Anna Best, presented at Beaconsfield Artspace, Vauxhall.
- Love (1999–2001) for soprano, electric guitar, double bass, sampler, mini-disc and piano
- erase (2001–2002) for steel-string guitar and alto/baritone saxophone
- take it or leave it (2002) for alto saxophone, violin, vibraphone and piano
- stop me if you think you've heard this one before (2002) for harpsichord
- whatnoiseannoysanoyster (2002) a site-specific installation at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, in collaboration with Anna Best
- in the midst of life we are in death etc. (2002) for electric violin, electric guitar, double bass, harpsichord, harmonium and sampler
- erase/rewind (2002–2003) two duos: (i) for steel-string guitar and alto/baritone saxophone; (ii) for cello duo
- Vauxhall Pleasures (2004) site-specific event and installation in collaboration with Anna Best