Sophie Viney (born 1974) is an English composer and arranger. Her compositions have been performed at significant venues such as the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

and St. Martin-in-the-Fields and her music has featured in the

Spitalfields Festival Spitalfields Music (previously known as Spitalfields Festival, officially registered as Spitalfields Festival Ltd) is a music charity based in the Bethnal Green area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Through musical events, the charity hop ...

and the

Brighton Festival Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brighton and Hove in Engla ...

. In February 1999, Viney received critical acclaim in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' for her work ''Music of the Spheres'' which was described as "eerily conjured". Her choral work ''Missing God'' was commissioned under the

Society for the Promotion of New Music The Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), originally named The Committee for the Promotion of New Music, was founded in January 1943 in London by the émigré composer Francis Chagrin, to promote the creation and performance of new music in ...

's ''Adopt a Composer'' programme and performed by the

London Oriana Choir The London Oriana Choir is a choral group comprising around 120 singers, based in London, England. It was formed in 1973 by Leon Lovett, who acted as conductor and musical director. David Drummond became the choir's musical director in 1996, and Dom ...

in 2003. She has written for the

Philharmonia The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

and has also written for theatre groups such as

Watford Palace Theatre Watford Palace Theatre, opened in 1908, is an Edwardian Grade II listed building in Watford, Hertfordshire. The 600-seat theatre on Clarendon Road was refurbished in 2004. It houses its own rehearsal room, wardrobe, cafe and bar. History The ...

, and Barbican Studio Theatre. On 7 March 2015, ''Sonatina in 7 and 5'' was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of a programme aired on the eve of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. Her music is influenced by phenomena ranging from the wedding chant of Masai warriors to passages from

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

Biography

Viney began composing around the age of 7 or 8 and in the years that followed, developed her craft to the extent that she gained entry to the Royal College of Music studying composition with

Jeremy Dale Roberts Jeremy Dale Roberts (16 May 1934 – 11 July 2017) was an English composer and teacher. After early contact with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi, Dale Roberts studied with William Alwyn and Priaulx Rainier at the Royal Academy of Music, L ...

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 St ...

. Whilst studying for her BMus she also studied piano and conducting. After graduating, she undertook postgraduate study at the

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

Robert Saxton Robert Saxton (born 8 October 1953 in London) is a British composer. Biography Robert Saxton was born in London and started composing at the age of six. He was educated at Bryanston School. Guidance in early years from Benjamin Britten and El ...

where she gained a Master of Music in composition. Viney has received awards for composition, amongst them, the

Adrian Cruft Adrian Francis Cruft (10 February 1921 – 20 February 1987) was a British composer. Cruft, the son of the double-bassist Eugene Cruft was educated at Westminster Abbey Choir School, Westminster School, and as a Boult conducting scholar at the ...

prize and the Sullivan and Farrer prize and she was awarded a Fellowship by the Arts Council to facilitate the researching of her opera on a theme inspired by the Gaarder novel, '' Through a Glass Darkly''.

Selected works

* ''A Time to Dance'' * ''Dartmoor Theme'' * ''Detective Theme'' * ''Kingdom of Heaven'' * ''Missing God'' * ''Music of the Spheres'' * Norfolk Suite (Three movements) * ''Sonatina in 7 & 5'' * ''To The Seaforths''

Arrangements

* ''Ting-a-ling (Reprise)'' * ''We Know Where They Are'' * ''When This Bloody War is Over''

Music for theatre

* ''All's Well that Ends Well'' * ''Monster Song'' (from The Wild Things show) * ''Staring Magic'' (from The Wild Things show) * ''Wild Rumpus Dance'' (from The Wild Things show)

Music for film

* ''Voyage instrumental track'' (used by Vagabonds Cinema)

References

External links

*
Sophie Viney on Soundcloud
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viney, Sophie 1974 births Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Music British women classical composers People associated with the Royal College of Music Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama People associated with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English composers English classical composers 20th-century women composers 21st-century women composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Composers for piano Choral composers