Edward Southall

Edward Southall (born December 24, 1986 in Hereford) is a young English composer of classical music who currently resides in Jersey, Channel Islands. Edward is currently in his second year studying Politics at Queens' College, Cambridge. In 2006 he completed a year of studying with Mark-Anthony Turnage at London's Royal College of Music.

Edward's earliest compositional success came in the year 2000, when he was a prizewinner in the European Piano Teachers' Association Composition Competition. His work for solo piano was consequently performed at St Hilda's College, Oxford.

For four years Edward was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Composers Course where his teachers included Paul Patterson, Diana Burrel and Gary Carpenter. Many of his works were given first-class performances, including large-scale compositions for the NYO Sinfonietta, conducted by Peter Stark.

In 2003 he was a runner-up in the BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer Competition after submitting a work for cello quartet, entitled Monsieur Moustique. The work was later broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The Endymion Ensemble performed Edward's piano quartet Athens is Burning! at the Purcell Room, London in February 2004. This piece was subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio Jersey and BBC Radio 2's show, The Green Room.

The following year, Edward received a commission from Gerard Le Feuvre to write a work to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Jersey's liberation from its occupation by the Nazis. Edward's piece, The Faces of Freedom, was performed in May 2005 by The King's Chamber Orchestra of London, conducted by Gerard Le Feuvre at Jersey's Opera House. The composition has been released on CD.

In July 2005, Edward's composition Fanfare for the EU was premiered at the British Council Building, London as part of the celebrations, hosted by Neil Kinnock, for the UK taking over the presidency of the European Union. The performance was filmed by the BBC World Service.

Whilst studying at the Royal College of Music, Edward had works performed at venues including The Warehouse (Theed Street, London), the RCM's Concert Hall, Steinway Hall (London) and The Juilliard School (New York) by the RCM Sinfonietta, The Contemporary Consort and The New York Miniaturist Ensemble.

Performances in 2007 so far include a work performed by the Britten Sinfonia, conducted by James MacMillan at Cambridge's West Road Recital Hall, as well as the Contemporary Consort playing Edward's City in Abeyance at the RCM. Edward is Cambridge Young Composer of the Year for 2007.

References

* [http://www.cambridgeyouthmusic.org.uk/competitions/Southall.html Edward Southall : Cambridge Young Composer of the Year 2007]
* [http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/user_page.pl?url=edwardsouthall Profile at Sibelius Music]

External links

* [http://www.southalls.eu/ The Southall Family of Jersey]
* [http://www.kingschamberorchestra.co.uk/ The King's Chamber Orchestra]
* [http://www.jerseyoperahouse.co.uk/ Jersey Opera House]
* [http://www.rfh.org.uk/main/index.asp/ The South Bank Centre, London]
* [http://www.thewarehouselondon.co.uk/ The Warehouse, Theed Street, London]