Oscar Bettison (born 19 September 1975) is a British/American composer known for large-scale chamber and large ensemble works. He has been described as possessing "a unique voice". His work has been described as having "An unconventional lyricism and a menacing beauty" and "pulsating with an irrepressible energy and vitality, as well as brilliant craftsmanship." He is a member of the composition faculty at the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

. Bettison has recently been named a 2017

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

by the

John Simon Guggenheim Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim John Simon Guggenheim (December 30, 1867 – November 2, 1941) was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. Life Born in Philadelphi ...

Early life and education

Bettison was born in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

to a British father and a Spanish/Catalan mother. He started playing and composing music at an early age and, at the age of nine joined the

Purcell School The Purcell School for Young Musicians is a specialist music school for children, located in the town of Bushey, south Hertfordshire, England, and is the oldest specialist music school in the UK. The school was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal ...

in London. After completing an undergraduate at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

with

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 ...

, he studied 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

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 ...

for his Master's. In 2000, he went to the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

to study with

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

and

Martijn Padding Martijn Padding (born 24 April 1956) is a Dutch composer and educator. Padding was born in Amsterdam, and was taught by Louis Andriessen (composition), Geert van Keulen (instrumentation) and Fania Chapiro (piano). He also studied sonology at th ...

, something which Bettison describes as a "formative experience." He stayed on in The Hague to complete another Master's degree and then went to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

for his PhD studying with

Steven Mackey Steven ("Steve") Mackey (born February 14, 1956) is an American composer, guitarist, and music educator. Life As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey's compositions are i ...

. He has been the recipient of a number of awards including a 2018 Fromm Commission, Chamber Music America Commissioning Award (2013), the Yvar Mikhashoff Commissioning Fund Prize (2009), a Jerwood Foundation Award (1998), the Royal Philharmonic Society Prize (1997), the first BBC Young Composer of the Year Prize (1993) as well as fellowships to both the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals. Since 2009, he has served on the composition department of

. His music is published by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

Selected works

*''O Death'' (2005–07) for ensemble *''B & E (with aggravated assault)'' (2006) for ensemble *''Gauze Vespers'' (2008) for ensemble *''The Afflicted Girl'' (2010) for ensemble *''Apart'' (2012) for percussion *''Livre des Sauvages'' (2012) for large ensemble *''An Automated Sunrise (for Joseph Cornell)'' (2014) for ensemble *''Threaded Madrigals'' (2014) for solo viola *''Sea Shaped'' (2014) for Orchestra *''String Quartet'' (2015) *''Presence of Absence'' (2016) for mezzo soprano and large ensemble *''Pale Icons of Night'' (2018) for violin and ensemble *''Remaking a Forest'' (2019) for Orchestra

References

External links

Oscar Bettison's page at Boosey & Hawkes
biography, works list, recordings and performance search.
Oscar Bettison's Peabody Institute faculty profile video Oscar Bettison on ''Livre des Savages''Oscar Bettison interview on Composition TodayOscar Bettison on New Music BoxOscar Bettison's Profile at the John Simon Guggenheim FoundationOscar Bettison's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettison, Oscar 1975 births Living people British people of Catalan descent British people of Spanish descent Jersey musicians American people of Catalan descent British emigrants to the United States Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of the Royal College of Music Peabody Institute faculty Princeton University alumni