Giles Swayne

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Giles Swayne

Giles Swayne (born June 30, 1946 in Hertfordshire ) is a British composer .

biography

Swayne spent his childhood in Singapore and Australia , later in Liverpool and Yorkshire . With the help of his cousin Elizabeth Maconchy , he began composing at the age of twelve. After finishing school at Ampleforth College , he studied at the University of Cambridge , where he was taught by Raymond Leppard and Nicholas Maw , among others .

In 1968 he received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music . There he had Nicholas Maw, Harrison Birtwistle and Alan Bush as teachers. In 1976 and 1977 he attended courses with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatory . A study trip took him to Gambia and Senegal in 1981/1982 . With his second wife, a native Ghanaian , he spent the years 1990 to 1996 in eastern Ghana before he returned to London , where he still lives and works today.

Swayne teaches composition at the University of Cambridge and is a research fellow and composer in residence at Clare College there .

Works (selection)

  • CRY, op.27 for 28 singers and electronic instruments, commissioned by the BBC , dedicated to Olivier Messiaen, composed 1980
  • Magnificat, op.33, for eight-part a cappella choir, commissioned by Christ Church , composed in 1982
  • String quartets 1 - 3, op. 8, 24, 61, composed in 1971, 1977 and 1993, respectively
  • HAVOC, op.83, continuation of CRY, composed in 1999
  • Riff-raff for Organ, composed in 1983

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Swayne, Giles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 30, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Hertfordshire