Charlotte Bray (born 1982) is a British composer. She was championed by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London Sinfonietta and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been performed by many notable conductors such as: Sir Mark Elder, Oliver Knussen, Daniel Harding, and Jac van Steen.

Biography

Charlotte Bray was born in Oxford in 1982 and was brought up in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She studied cello and composition at Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with First Class Honours having studied with

Joe Cutler Joe Cutler (born London, 17 December 1968) is a British composer who grew up in Neasden and studied music at the Universities of Huddersfield and Durham, before receiving a Polish Government Scholarship to study at the Chopin Academy of Music i ...

. She then completed an MMus in composition with Distinction at the Royal College of Music, where she studied with

Mark Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of M ...

. She participated in the Britten-Pears Contemporary Composition Course in 2007 with Oliver Knussen, Colin Matthews, and

Magnus Lindberg Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg (born 27 June 1958) is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the begin ...

; and studied at

Tanglewood Music Centre The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

in 2008 with John Harbison, Michael Gandolfi, Shulamit Ran and

Augusta Read Thomas Augusta Read Thomas (born April 24, 1964) is an American composer and professor. Biography Thomas studied composition with Oliver Knussen at Tanglewood; Jacob Druckman at Yale University; Alan Stout and Bill Karlins at Northwestern University ...

. In 2011 Charlotte is an Honorary Member of Birmingham Conservatoire and was named as their Alumni of the Year 2014 in the field of Excellence in Sport or the Arts. Awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize 2010 resulted in a piano quartet commission for Cheltenham International Music Festival for which Charlotte wrote ''Replay''. She was also winner of the 2014 Lili Boulanger Prize. Bray was appointed apprentice Composer-in-Residence with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group/ Sound and Music for 2009/10, during which time violinist Alexandra Wood and the BCMG gave the première of her violin concerto '' Caught in Treetops'' under conductor Oliver Knussen. Her orchestral work ''Beyond a Fallen Tree'' was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding (UBS Soundscapes Pioneers commission), 23 May 2010. Her song cycle ''Verre de Venise'' (tenor, piano, string quartet), was co-commission by Aldeburgh,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

and Verbier Festivals in 2010. Her ''Scenes from Wonderland'' was commissioned by the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

, for soloist Jennifer Pike, and violinists from London Music Masters, 2011. As inaugural Composer-in-Residence with Oxford Lieder Festival 2011 Charlotte composed a new baritone cycle for Roderick Williams. July 2012 saw the première of ''

At the Speed of Stillness ''At the Speed of Stillness'' is an orchestral composition in one movement by the British composer Charlotte Bray. The work was commissioned by The Proms for the conductor Sir Mark Elder and the Aldeburgh World Orchestra. It was first performed ...

'', a BBC Proms commission, with Sir Mark Elder conducting the Aldeburgh World Orchestra. Also, Invisible Cities, commissioned by Verbier Festival and performed by

Lawrence Power Lawrence Power is a British violist, born 1977, noted both for solo performances and for chamber music with the Nash Ensemble and Leopold String Trio. Career Power started out as a violist (rather than beginning studies on the violin and switch ...

and Julien Quentin; and Making Arrangements, a new chamber opera written for Tête à Tête Opera Festival, London. In 2015 Bray's chamber opera '' Entanglement'' received its premiere from the Nova Music Opera. Charlotte collaborated with the librettist

Amy Rosenthal Amy Rosenthal (born 1974) is a British playwright from Muswell Hill, London. She is a recipient of ''The Sunday Times'' Drama Award. Biography Amy Rosenthal was born in 1974, the daughter of dramatist Jack Rosenthal and actress Maureen Lipman ...

on the story of

Ruth Ellis Ruth Ellis ( née Neilson; 9 October 1926 – 13 July 1955) was a British nightclub hostess and convicted murderer who became the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom following the fatal shooting of her lover, David Blakely. In her t ...

, the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Also premiered in 2015, ''Out of the Ruins'', commissioned by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for their youth company, mezzo-soprano and orchestra; Come Away for the Chester Cathedral Choir; and a new work for cellist Guy Johnston. Bray has written for some of the world's top musicians and ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble 360, Britten Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta, The Dover Quartet, Albany and Oberon Trio's, Claire Booth, Lucy Schaufer, Jennifer Pike, Lawrence Power, Isang Enders, Johannes Thorell, Julien Quentin, Huw Watkins, and Mona Asuka Ott; and festivals, namely BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Savannah, Aix-en-Provence, Festspiele Europäische Wochen Passau, Festival 3B, and Verbier. Conductors who have performed her work include Sir Mark Elder, Oliver Knussen, Daniel Harding, and Jac van Steen. She was in residence at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire summer 2013. And following this, at the Liguria Study Centre having been awarded a Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship.

Selected works

Works for orchestra or large ensemble

* ''Stone Dancer'' for orchestra (2016) * '' Falling in the Fire'' for solo cello and orchestra (2015) * ''Fanfare for Birmingham'' (2014) ensemble of 8 players * ''

Black Rainbow ''Black Rainbow'' is a 1989 psychological thriller film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards Jr., Tom Hulce, Mark Joy, Ron Rosenthal, and John Bennes. It was filmed in Rock Hill, South Carolina and Charlotte, Nor ...

'' for orchestra (2013) * ''

'' for orchestra (2012) * ''Scenes from Wonderland'' for solo violin & orchestra (2011) * '' Caught in Treetops'' for solo violin & large ensemble (2010)

Chamber works

* ''Renga Miniatures'' (2007) flute, clarinet, horn, piano, violin, cello * ''Trail of Light'' (2008) flute and viola/cello * ''Three Rhapsodies'' (2009) clarinet quintet * ''Throw Back'' (2009) saxophone quartet * ''Midnight Interludes'' (2010) clarinet and cello * ''Invisible Cities'' (2011) viola and piano * ''Replay'' (2011) piano, violin, viola, cello * '' The Sun Was Chasing Venus'' (2012) string quintet * ''Secret'' (2012) flute duet * ''The Barred Owl'' (2013) piano duet (two pianos) * ''Circling Point'' alto saxophone & piano (2014) * ''Those Secret Eyes'' and ''That Crazed Smile'' (2014) piano trio * ''Here Everything Shines'' (2015) flute and guitar * ''Perseus'' (2015) cello and piano

Solo works

* ''on the Other Shore'' (2014) cello * ''Beyond'' (2013) violin * ''Oneiroi'' (2013) piano * ''Suya Dalmak'' (2013) cello and tape * ''Off the Rails'' & ''All at Sea'' (2005/12) piano * ''Chapter One'' (2012) piano * ''Passing Shadows'' (2012) guitar * ''Late Snow'' (2009) oboe * ''Elegy for George'' (2005-6) viola

Vocal works

* ''Midnight Closes'' soprano, piano, clarinet and cello (2010) * ''Verre de Venise'' (2010) tenor, piano, string quartet * ''Sonnets and Love Songs'' (2011) baritone, piano * ''Yellow Leaves'' (2012) soprano, piano * '' Fire Burning in Snow'' mezzo-soprano, oboe/cor anglais, B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, and cello (2013)

Operatic and stage works

* ''The Fox and the Crow'' (2011) soprano, baritone, harp and cello * ''Making Arrangements'' (2012) soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, flute, cor anglais, harp, violin, cello and double bass * ''Out of the Ruins'' (2014) youth chorus, mezzo-soprano, orchestra * '' Entanglement'' (2015) soprano, tenor, baritone, flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, percussion, violin, cello, double bass

Choral works

* ''Walking with my Iguana'' (2007) choir and piano accompaniment * ''On the Green'' (2013) two-part choir and piano accompaniment * ''John, Tom, and James'' (2013) two-part choir and piano accompaniment * ''Come Away'' (2014) a cappella SATB choir * ''Agnus Dei'' (2014) a cappella SSATTB choir

References

External links

Official Charlotte Bray homepage

Composers Edition, online works publication

Charlotte Bray on Soundcloud

Nicholas Dawkes Photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Charlotte 1982 births British women classical composers Living people English classical composers MacDowell Colony fellows People from High Wycombe 21st-century English women musicians 21st-century British composers 21st-century classical composers Musicians from Oxford Musicians from Oxfordshire Musicians from Buckinghamshire 21st-century women composers