Luke Bedford (born 25 April 1978) is a British composer. He studied composition with

Edwin Roxburgh Edwin Roxburgh (born 1937) is an English composer, conductor and oboist. Roxburgh was born in Liverpool. After playing oboe in the National Youth Orchestra, he won a double scholarship to study composition with Herbert Howells and oboe with T ...

and

Simon Bainbridge Simon Bainbridge (30 August 1952 – 2 April 2021) was a British composer. He was also a professor and head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and visiting professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in the United ...

at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

, and won the

Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to co ...

in 2000. This was followed by post-graduate study with Simon Bainbridge at the Royal Academy of Music. In 2007 Bedford signed to Universal Edition London. Awards include the 2000

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 ...

Composition Prize for composers under 29 and the 2004 BBC Radio 3 Listeners' Award at the British Composer Awards. In 2007, Bedford became the first compositional recipient of a Paul Hamlyn Artists' Award since

David Sawer David Sawer (born 14 September 1961), is a British composer of opera and choral, orchestral and chamber music. Biography Sawer was born in Stockport, England. After attending Ipswich School, he studied music at the University of York where he b ...

in 1993. 2007 also saw him receive a nomination for the

large-scale composition prize, for his song cycle ''On Voit Tout En Aventure''. In 2008, Bedford received his second British Composer Award for his 2007 orchestral work ''Wreathe''. In 2012, he was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. Bedford was the Wigmore Hall's first ever Composer-in-Residence, from 2008-2011. In 2015 his work for large orchestra, Instability, was premiered at the Proms, and in October 2017 his Concerto for Saxophone Quartet & Orchestra had its premiere at the Berlin Philharmonie. Bedford has written two operas, Seven Angels with librettist Glyn Maxwell, and Through His Teeth with David Harrower. Both have received multiple performances both in the UK and Germany. In 2018 Bastille Musique released a studio recording of Through His Teeth, performed by Opera Factory Freiburg. Luke is married, lives in Shrewsbury, and plays cricket.

Selected works

;Stage * ''Seven Angels'', Chamber Opera in 2 acts for 7 singers and 12 instruments (2009–2011) * ''Through His Teeth'', Opera in 1 act for 3 singers and 8 musician (2013) ;Orchestral * ''Rode with Darkness'' (2003) * ''Outblaze the Sky'' (2007) * ''Wreathe'' (2007) * ''Più Mosso'' for large orchestra (2009) * ''Instability'' (2015) * Concerto for saxophone Quartet and orchestra (2017) ;Concertante * ''Wonderful Two-Headed Nightingale'' for violin solo, viola solo and 15 players (2011) ;Ensemble * ''Five Abstracts'' for 14 players (2000–2001) * ''Catafalque'' for large ensemble (2002) * ''Man Shoots Strangers from Skyscraper'' for 8 players (2002) * ''Slow Music'' for 8 players (2005) * ''Or Voit Tout En Aventure'' for soprano and 16 players (2006) * ''By the Screen in the Sun at the Hill on the Gold'' for 18 players (2008) * ''Self-Assembly Composition No. 1'' for any instruments (2009) ;Chamber and instrumental music * ''Chiaroscuro'' for violin, cello and piano (2002–2005) * ''Of the Air'' for string quartet (2008–2009) * ''Great Bass Rackett'' for solo bassoon (2009) * ''Faraway Canons'' for piano and bass drum (2018) ;Piano * ''Catafalque'' (2002) ;Vocal * ''Good Dream She Has'' for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and chamber ensemble (2007) * ''On Time'' for choir and orchestra (2008) * ''Upon St. George's Hill'' for tenor and guitar (2008)

External links

Luke Bedford
biography and works on the UE website (publisher) *
Interview with Luke Bedford, LSO and UBS Sound Adventures
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Luke 1978 births 21st-century classical composers English classical composers Living people People from Wokingham Alumni of the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Mendelssohn Prize winners International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners English male classical composers Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize winners 21st-century British male musicians