Dominic Muldowney (born 19 July 1952 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

) is a British

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 ...

Biography

Dominic Muldowney studied at the University of

with Jonathan Harvey, at the University of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(with

Bernard Rands Bernard Rands (born 2 March 1934 in Sheffield, England) is a British-American contemporary classical music composer. He studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Mader ...

and David Blake), and privately with

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

. From 1974 to 1976 he was composer-in-residence to the Southern Arts Association. In 1976 he was invited by Birtwistle to become Assistant Music Director of the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He succeeded Birtwistle as Music Director in 1981, remaining in that post until 1997. Muldowney's orchestral music includes a number of concerti (for piano, saxophone, oboe, violin, percussion, trumpet and trombone), many of which explore his fascination with polyrhythms. Other works include ''Three Pieces for Orchestra'' (1991), the song cycle ''Lonely Hearts'' (1988) and three full-length ballets, including ''The Brontës'' (1994). Muldowney’s

radio opera Radio opera (German: 'Funkoper' or 'Radiooper') is a genre of opera. It refers to operas which were specifically composed to be performed on the radio and is not to be confused with broadcasts of operas which were originally written for the stage. ...

''The Voluptuous Tango'' (1996) won the Prix Italia in 1997, and the Gold Award for Best Radio Drama at 1997 Sony Drama Awards, and received its stage premiere in Hoxton New Music Days, London in 2000. Muldowney has written much music for TV, radio and film including ''The Ploughman’s Lunch'' (1983), ''1984'' with Richard Burton (1984), ''

The Ginger Tree ''The Ginger Tree'' is a 1977 novel by Scottish novelist Oswald Wynd published in the UK by Collins Publishers. The novel was adapted into a 4-part TV series by the BBC and Japan's NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcast ...

'' (1989), Sharpe (1993), ''The Peacock Spring'' (1996), ''King Lear'' (1997), ''Bloody Sunday'' (2002) and ''Copenhagen'' (2002). He has written and arranged for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

. He is published by Carlin Music Corporation and Faber Music. Until 2006 Muldowney taught composition at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London.

Television and film credits

* ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Ofte ...

'' (Spiegel/Pinter - Horizon Films) - Producer:

Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer born in the Galician area of Austria-Hungary. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th centur ...

- Director: Hugh David Jones * ''

The Ploughman's Lunch ''The Ploughman's Lunch'' is a 1983 British drama film written by Ian McEwan and directed by Richard Eyre which features Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, and Rosemary Harris. The film looks at the media world in Margaret Thatcher's Britain around th ...

'' - Director:

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...

* ''

Loose Connections ''Loose Connections'' is a 1984 British film starring Stephen Rea. Plot A feminist travels through Europe with a male chauvinist. Cast *Stephen Rea as Harry *Lindsay Duncan as Sally *Jan Niklas as Axel *Carole Harrison Carol Harrison (born 8 ...

'' (Umbrella) - Director: Richard Eyre * ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'' (Virgin Films) - Director:

Michael Radford Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s. His best-known credits ...

* ''Singleton's Pluck'' - Director: Richard Eyre * ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' ( Alan Ladd Company) - Director: Richard Eyre * ''

Defence of the Realm ''Defence of the Realm'' is a 1986 British political thriller film directed by David Drury, starring Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, and Denholm Elliott, with Robbie Coltrane in a supporting role. The film takes its title from the Defence of the ...

'' (Enigma) - Director: David Drury * ''

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

'' - Director:

Alan Clarke Alan John Clarke (28 October 1935 – 24 July 1990) was an English television and film director, producer and writer. Life and career Clarke was born in Wallasey, Wirral, England. Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, ...

- starring

* ''The Black Candle'' - Director: Roy Battersby * ''Tales From Hollywood'' - Director: Howard Davies * ''Black Daisies For The Bride'' - Director: Peter Symes - Prix Italia Prize Winner * ''The Peacock Spring'' - Director:

Christopher Morahan Christopher Thomas Morahan Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 July 1929 – 7 April 2017) was a British stage and television director and production executive. Biography Early life and career Morahan was born on 9 July 1929 in London, the son ...

* ''Emma'' - Director: Richard Eyre * ''The Moth'' - Director: Roy Battersby * ''The Fix'' - Director:

Paul Greengrass Paul Greengrass (born 13 August 1955) is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of historic events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras. His early film ' ...

* '' Sharpe’s Enemy/Sharpe’s Company/Sharpe’s Honour Sharpe’s Return/Sharpe’s Revenge/Sharpe’s Waterloo Sharpe’s Rifles /Sharpe’s Eagle'' (Central TV) - Director: Tom Clegg * '' Eskimo Day'' - Director:

Piers Haggard Piers Inigo Haggard, OBE (born 18 March 1939), is a British theatre, film and television director, although he has worked mostly in the latter. Haggard was born in London but grew up on a small farm in Clackmannanshire. He is the great-great-n ...

* ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' - Director: Richard Eyre * ''

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

'' (

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

) - Director: Paul Greengrass * ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

'' - Director: Howard Davies *''

The Blasphemers' Banquet ''The Blasphemers' Banquet'' is a film-poem created in 1989 by English poet and playwright Tony Harrison which examines censorship arising from religious issues. It was created in part as a response to the Salman Rushdie controversy surrounding ...

'' (1989)

Selected Recordings

* ''Piano Concerto'' ( Peter Donohoe/

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 ...

/Mark Elder) (EMI) * ''Saxophone Concerto'' (

John Harle John Harle (born 20 September 1956) is an English saxophonist, composer, educator and record producer. He is an Ivor Novello Award winner and has been the recipient of two Royal Television Society awards. Biography Harle was born in Newcastl ...

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 ...

)/Diego Masson (EMI) * ''Oboe Concerto'' (

Roy Carter Roy Carter is an English oboist. Early career Carter began playing the oboe at the age of 10. He won scholarships to study with Margaret Eliot at the Royal Academy of Music (at 12) and later under Terence MacDonagh at the Royal College of ...

/ LSO)/Michael Tilson Thomas (NMC)

Bibliography

* Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages, *Dominic Muldowney, Opera and the voice: once more with meaning

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muldowney, Dominic 1952 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers English classical composers Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of the University of York Musicians from Southampton English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians