Param Vir is a British composer originally from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Born in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

into a family life permeated with Indian classical music, Param Vir's strong interest in music developed as a teenager when attending a Roman Catholic secondary school and had informal lessons from composer

Hans-Joachim Koellreutter Hans-Joachim Koellreutter (2 September 1915 – 13 September 2005) was a Brazilian composer, teacher and musicologist. Koellreutter was born in Freiburg, Germany and lived in Brazil from 1937 onward, where he became one of the country's most i ...

, then resident in India. With no prospects as a composer in India, he read history and philosophy at

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

, but returned to music on graduation in 1974 as a teacher. From 1983 Vir studied composition at

Dartington Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located west of the River Dart, south of Dartington H ...

with

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

and at

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

with

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

. In 1986 Vir was a composition fellow at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

. The following year he was a featured composer in the Festival of India in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Career highlights

* 1983 – attended

Dartington International Summer School Dartington International Summer School is a summer school and festival of music held on the medieval estate of Dartington Hall and is a department of the Dartington Trust. Operation First established at Bryanston School in 1948 (largely throu ...

on a scholarship. * 1984 – moved to London to study with

. * 1987 – awarded Benjamin Britten Composition Prize. * 1993 – Pierre Audi production of ''Broken Strings'' wins

Ernst von Siemens Music Prize The Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (short: Siemens Music Prize, german: link=no, Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis) is an annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) on behalf of the Ernst v ...

for young composers (Munich). * 2003 – first full production of ''ION'' tours Europe. * 2005 – ''Horse Tooth White Rock'' performed at the BBC Proms. * 2005 – ''Hayagriva'' commissioned and premiered by the Schoenberg Ensemble in Amsterdam * 2006 – ''Between Earth and Sky'', inspired by Anish Kapoor's ''Cloud Gate'', premiered by 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 ...

in London *2008 – ''He Begins His Great Trance'' for the BBC Singers; ''Black Feather Rising'' for Stichting Octopus *2010 – ''Constellations'' for the BCMG performed at the Barbican *2013 – BBC Proms Commission ''Cave of Luminous Mind'' *2014 – ''Raga Fields'' – co-commission from Klangforum Wien, Fulcrum Point Chicago, the BCMG *2017 – international tour of ''A Kinsman to Danger'' *2020 – awarded PRS Composer Award for portrait CD on NMC

Selected works

Stage works

Other

* ''Before Krishna'' (1987; string orchestra) * ''Horse Tooth White Rock'' (1994; orchestra) * ''Ultimate Words: Infinite Song'' (1997; baritone, six percussion, piano) * ''The Theatre of Magical Beings'' (2003; large ensemble) * ''Hayagriva'' (2005; large ensemble) * ''Between Earth and Sky'' (2006; orchestra) * ''Cave of Luminous Mind'' (2013; orchestra) BBC commission for 2013 Proms *''ABLAZE!'' (2014, soprano, piano)
Raga Fields
(2014, sarod, mixed ensemble) *''Drum of the Deathless'' (2017, percussion quintet or percussion duo) *''A Kinsman to Danger'' (2017, baritone, piano)

Selected recordings

* ''White Light Chorale'' – Metronome METCD1053 *Video extracts on the Param Vir official website

References

External links

Param Vir
official website
Param Vir's homepage at Chester Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vir, Param British opera composers Male opera composers Indian composers of Western classical music Indian male composers British classical composers British male classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers 1952 births People from Delhi Living people 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers 20th-century Indian musicians 21st-century Indian musicians Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize winners 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians