Claudia Molitor (born 1974) is an English-German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

based in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, England.

Biography

Born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Claudia Molitor studied Music and Media at

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. After an MA in Music at

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

, she completed her PhD in Composition at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in 2004 (her supervisor was

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often r ...

). She currently lectures in music at

Work

Molitor can best be described as a conceptual composer.The Wire, 335 (January 2012), 18-19 However, she has composed works for more traditional ensembles, such as

Apartment House An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ...

, and for orchestra (awarded a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award). A fair number of her more recent 'works' are collaborations with composer-performers, such as ''Lemon Drizzle'' (a duo she formed with Sarah Nicholls) and site-specific works including ''Singing Bridge'' for a walk over

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

from

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

to the National Theatre in London, and ''Sonorama'' for the train journey between London's

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

and

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. Molitor is inspired by a wide range of music and composers including

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

, to whom her piece ''Auricularis Superior'' (commissioned by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival) is dedicated, exploring her idea of

Deep Listening Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

Scholarships and awards

* ''Alert'' (2008),

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Works (small selection)

* 'Paper cut ? a homage to Cage (and Beethoven of course)' * 'Who kissed my head?', for live electronics and acoustic instruments * 'Oh Du Kleines Kabinett', 2006 * 'Alert', 2008 * 'Untitled izzy painting makes me happy, 2007

References

External links

Claudia Molitor's official website

PRS page for CM
1974 births Living people English classical composers British women classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the University of Sussex German women classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century German composers 21st-century English women musicians German classical composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 20th-century German women 21st-century German women {{UK-composer-stub