David Horne (born 12 December 1970) is a Scottish composer, pianist, and teacher. A resident composer with the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

for four years, he has been awarded several commissions. His works have been performed by international calibre artists. As an award-winning pianist, he has performed with leading British orchestras.

Biography

He was born in

Tillicoultry Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...

, near

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, in 1970. His father played piano (non-professionally) and he started learning the piano at the age of seven. Early in his life his family moved to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, his mother's native country. Aged eleven, he went to St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh to study piano with Audrey Innes and composition with Geoffrey King. In 1989 he moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

to study at the Curtis Institute, where he studied with

Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althoug ...

. He moved on to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he obtained a PhD in 1999 and became a visiting lecturer, still in his 20s. He has since returned to the United Kingdom and lives in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where he is Professor of Music and Head of Graduate School at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 2004 he led the New Music/New Media course for the Britten-Pears School. In 2006/07, he was visiting professor at the

Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya The Catalonia College of Music ( ca, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC; ) is a music school in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school is located at L'Auditori, a performing arts center inaugurated in 1999 which also houses three conc ...

. He was composer in residence with the

from 2000 to 2004. As a pianist, he received the piano section

BBC Young Musician of the Year BBC Young Musician is a televised national music competition broadcast biennially on BBC Television and BBC Radio 3. Originally BBC Young Musician of the Year, its name was changed in 2010. The competition, a former member of the European Uni ...

award in 1988. He has performed as soloist with orchestras including the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

, and

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

. He has appeared at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

, making his debut in 1990 performing

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

's Third Concerto and has been featured several times as a composer.

Work

Horne composes concertos, orchestral, ensemble and chamber music, operas, and songs. He received the ''Yorkshire Arts Association Young Composers' Competition'' at the

Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has feature ...

for his composition ''Splintered Unisons'', which was performed by the Prometheus Ensemble. In 1994 he was awarded the inaugural Stephen Oliver Prize, which was worth £10,000 and given to a young composer for a new work of

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

, for his opera ''Travellers''. During 1997 and 1998 the Stephen Oliver Trust worked with the 1998 BOC Covent Garden Festival to achieve the performance of the winning opera (and that of the 1996 winner), and ''Travellers'' was brought to the stage in June 1998, as part of the 1998 Covent Garden Festival. He has received commissions for compositions by soloists such as percussionist

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

(''Reaching Out'' and ''Ignition''),

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Nobuko Imai , is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument. Biography Imai began her musical training at the age of six. She began studying at Tokyo' ...

(''Stilled Voices''), and pianist Boris Berezovsky (''Liszt''), as well as a Koussevitzky Commission in 1995.See 1995 Koussevitzky Commissions, under External links. He was shortlisted for the vocal category of the 2007 British Composer Awards for his work ''Life's Splinters''. His opera ''Friend of the People'' was premiered at the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

in November 1999. His works have been performed by groups such as the

, the

Nash Ensemble The Nash Ensemble of London is an English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman and Rodney Slatford in 1964, while they were students at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around ...

, the

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, tour ...

, the California EAR Unit, the Ensemble für neue Musik Zürich,

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber music. CMS's home is ...

, the

Nieuw Ensemble The Nieuw Ensemble ( or ; English: New Ensemble) is a Dutch musical ensemble. It was founded in 1980 in Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure, using plucked instruments such as mandolin, guitar and harp in combination with wind, str ...

, Ensemble Moderne, and string quartets Mendelssohn Quartet, Yggdrasil Quartet, Daedalus Quartet and Brentano Quartet. He is published by Boosey and Hawkes and his music has been recorded on BMG and NMC.

Selected works

;Stage * ''Jason Field'', Chamber Opera in 1 act (1993) * ''Travellers'', Chamber Opera in 1 act (1994) * ''Beyond the Blue Horizon'', Music Theatre (1996–1997) * ''Friend of the People'', Opera in 3 acts with a prologue (1998–1999) ;Orchestral * ''Flicker'' (1997) * ''Strands'' (2000) * ''Fixation'' (2001) * ''Concerto for Orchestra'' (2003–2004) * ''The Turn of the Tide'' for chamber orchestra (2006) * ''Submergence'' (2007) ;Concertante * ''Piano Concerto'' (1992) * ''Vapours'' for

glass harmonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instrument that uses a ...

and orchestra (1994) * ''Flex'' for piano and chamber ensemble (1997) * ''Fireflies'' for glass harmonica and orchestra (2002) * ''Ignition'', Concerto for percussion and orchestra (2002) * ''Double Violin Concerto'' for 2 violins and string orchestra (2003) * ''Splintered Instruments'' for harp and chamber ensemble (2004) * ''Phantom Instruments'' for clarinet and chamber ensemble (2006) ;Chamber and instrumental music * ''Splintered Unisons'' for clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1988) * ''towards dharma...'' for flute, oboe, viola, cello and percussion (1989) * ''Out of the Air'' for chamber ensemble (1990) * ''Contraries and Progressions'' for flute, clarinet, violin (or viola), cello and piano (1991) * ''Concerto for Six Players'' for flute, (piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, cello, percussion and piano (1993) * ''3 Dirges'' for flute and harp (1993) * ''Phantom Moon'' for flute (alto flute) and percussion (1993) * Sonata for trombone and piano (1993) * ''Surrendering to the Stream'', String Quartet No. 1 (1993) * ''Pulse'' for marimba solo (1994) * ''Reaching Out'' for percussion solo (1994) * ''Sparks'' for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion (1994) * ''Clarion'' for clarinet, trumpet, celesta, violin and double bass (1995) * ''Persistence'' for chamber ensemble (1995) * ''Stilled Voices'' for viola solo (1995) * ''Undulations'', String Quartet No. 2 (1995) * ''Aureole'' for bassoon and digital tape (1996) * ''Rush'' for percussion solo (1996) * ''Unbound'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, violin, viola and cello (1996) * ''Filters'' for viola and piano (1998) * ''Glow'' for chamber ensemble (1998) * ''Shiver'' for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (1998) * ''Spike'' for flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano (1998) * ''Broken Instruments'' for chamber ensemble (1999) * ''Zip'' for cello and piano (1999) * ''Blunt Instruments'' for chamber ensemble (2000) * ''Elegy'' for trumpet and piano (2000) * ''Deep Flux'' for bass clarinet, contrabassoon and tuba (2001) * ''Five Divisions of Time'' for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (2001) * ''Subterfuge'' for 2 violins, viola and cello (2002) * ''Disembodied Instruments'' for chamber ensemble (2003) * ''Disintegrations'' for chamber ensemble (2003) * ''Emerging Dances'' for chamber ensemble (2004) * ''Flight from the Labyrinth'', String Quartet No. 3 (2004) * ''Interrupted Serenades'' for 8-string guitar (2004) * ''Gossamer'' for saxophone quartet (2004) * ''Double Concerto'' for piano and string quartet (2005) * String Quartet No. 4 (2006) * ''Will o' the Wisp'' for flute and piano (2006) * ''Restless Feeling'' for chamber ensemble (2007–2008) ;Piano * ''6 Short Studies'' (1990) * ''Nocturnes and Nightmares'' (1991) * ''Resound'' for piano and digital tape (1995) * ''Liszt'' (1996) * ''Refrain'' (1996) * ''Sostenuto'' for piano and digital tape (1996) ;Vocal * ''The Burning Babe'' for 2 sopranos, alto, flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion and piano (1992) * ''Days Now Gone'' for tenor and piano (1992) * ''The Letter'' for tenor and piano (1993) * ''Lied der Mignon'' for soprano and piano (1997) * ''Pan's Song'' for soprano, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1999) * ''You'' for soprano, alto flute/piccolo, cello and piano/

claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony o ...

(1999) * ''Slow, Slow'' for tenor and piano (2000) * ''Sweet Disorder'' for tenor and piano (2000) * ''Life's Splinters'' for tenor and flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (2006) * ''A Curious Thirsty Fly'' for tenor and piano (2008) * ''Last September'' for baritone and orchestra (2008) ;Choral * ''Northscape'' for chamber orchestra with violin and harp obbligato and unison children's voices (optional) (1992) * ''The Lie'', Cantata for soprano, tenor, children's chorus and chamber ensemble (1993) * ''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis'' for mixed chorus and organ (1993) * ''Mass'' for mixed chorus and organ (1995) * ''Praise Ye'', 2 Psalms for children's chorus and organ (1995) * ''Pensive'' for mezzo-soprano, mixed chorus and chamber orchestra (or organ) (1998) * ''The Year's Midnight'' for tenor, chorus and orchestra (2000) * ''2 Songs'' for female chorus a cappella (2003)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Official WebsiteSite
at Boosey and Hawkes
Extended biography
in the above site
Site at the Royal Northern College of MusicAll about David Horne at soundjunction.org

by Lynne Walker {{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, David 1970 births Living people Scottish people of Norwegian descent Scottish classical composers British male classical composers Scottish opera composers Male opera composers Curtis Institute of Music alumni Harvard University alumni People from Tillicoultry 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers People educated at St Mary's Music School 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians