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Tim Benjamin (born 1975) is an English
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 ...
.


Early life and education

Tim Benjamin was born in 1975, grew up in North London and attended
Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...
school. He studied composition at the
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
under Anthony Gilbert, privately with
Steve Martland Steve Martland (10 October 1954 – 7 May 2013) was an English composer. He helped to curate the Factory Classical label of Factory Records, featuring contemporary British composers. Life and music Martland was born in Liverpool, and studied co ...
and 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 ...
at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. He lives in
Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
.


Music

Benjamin composes chamber-sized one-act operas for performance in small theatres and non-standard spaces. His first opera ''The Bridge'' (to a
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by David Edgar) won the Stephen Oliver Trust's Prize for Contemporary Opera in 1994, resulting in its performance as part of the
Covent Garden Festival Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
in 1998. His second opera, ''
The Corley Conspiracy ''The Corley Conspiracy'' is an opera by Tim Benjamin to a libretto by Sean Starke, who also directed. The work premiered on 19 September 2007 in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre in London; the orchestral parts were played by the ensemble ...
'', was performed in September 2007 at the
Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...
, London. His opera ''Emily'' (libretto by the composer) was first performed at the
Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Hal ...
Hippodrome in July 2013. His opera ''Madame X'' (libretto by Anthony Peter) was performed at the Grimeborn 2014 festival. His twin operas ''Rest In Peace'' (libretto translated and adapted by the composer, after
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
) and ''Silent Jack'' (libretto by the composer and Anthony Peter) were performed at the 2015 Tête-à-Tête Festival.


Awards and recognition

Benjamin won the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Young Composer of the Year award in 1993 with his piece ''Antagony''. In 1996 he won the Stephen Oliver Prize, for his first
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
''The Bridge'' (to a
libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by David Edgar). The prize, which was worth £10,000, was awarded 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 ...
. During 1997 and 1998 the
Stephen Oliver Trust Stephen Michael Harding Oliver (10 March 1950 – 29 April 1992) was an English composer, best known for his operas. Early life and education Oliver was born on 10 March 1950 in Chester, the son of (Charlotte Hester) (née Girdlestone, born ...
worked with the
Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...
and the 1998 BOC Covent Garden Festival to achieve the performance of his winning opera, and that of the 1994 winner, David Horne's ''Travellers''. Both operas were brought to the stage in June 1998, as part of the 1998
Covent Garden Festival Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
.


Legacy

In 2015, Benjamin founded the Steve Martland Scholarship for young composers at the
Sound and Music Sound and Music is the UK's national agency for new music, established on 1 October 2008 from the merger of four existing bodies working in the contemporary music field: the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), the British Music Informa ...
Summer School, in honour of his former mentor.


References


External links

* 1975 births Living people English classical composers English opera composers Male opera composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Musicians from London People educated at Christ's Hospital English male classical composers 20th-century English composers 21st-century English composers 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians 21st-century British male musicians {{UK-composer-stub