- Simon Bainbridge
Professor Simon Bainbridge (born
30 August ,1952 inLondon ) is a Britishcomposer andprofessor of composition at theRoyal Academy of Music ,London , and theUniversity of Louisville ,Kentucky in theUnited States .Biography
Simon Bainbridge had his first major break with Spirogyra, written in 1970 while he was still a student. This work displays a passion for intricate and sensuous textures that remain the hallmark of Bainbridge’s style today. He was educated at
Highgate School and theRoyal College of Music . After graduating from theRoyal College of Music , he studied with Schuller at Tanglewood; his fondness for American culture is occasionally portrayed in works such as Concerto in Moto Perpetuo (1983), which contains echoes of American minimalism, and the be-bop inspired For Miles (1994). In the 1990s his work took on a new expressive dimension such as in Ad Ora Incerta (1994) which earned him the prestigiousGrawemeyer Award in 1997.Bainbridge was Head of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1999 to 2007, and was one of the first four Professors to be appointed in 2000 with the Academy's status as a constituent college of the University of London.He is married to English soprano and vocal coach Lynda Richardson, and father to the actress Rebecca Bainbridge.
Career highlights
1969-74 - Studied at
Royal College of Music , London then at Tanglewood withGunther Schuller .1976-8 - Forman Fellow in Composition at the
University of Edinburgh .1983-5 - Composer-in-Residence at Southern Arts.
1997 -
Grawemeyer Award for "Ad Ora Incerta".2001 - Appointed Head of Composition at the
Royal Academy of Music .2002 - Fiftieth birthday events in Cheltenham, Huddersfield and London.
Key works
* "Clarinet Quintet"(1993)
* "For Miles" (1994; trumpet, ensemble)
* "Ad Ora Incerta" (1994; mezzo-soprano, bassoon, orchestra)
* "Four Primo Levi Settings" (1996; mezzo-soprano, ensemble)
* "Guitar Concerto" (1998; guitar, ensemble)
* "Chant" (1999; amplified chorus, large ensemble)
Selected recordings
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=803 "Ad Ora Incerta; Four Primo Levi Settings"] - NMC D059
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=988 "Herbsttag"] - USK 1224CDExternal links
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&ComposerId_2905=60 Simon Bainbridge's homepage at Novello Co.]
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